Living Among the Thorns - Ch 8

Living Among the Thorns

By Triplover

Summary: See Chapter One.
Disclaimer: See Chapter One.
A/N: I’ve loved your comments; you may not realize it but they’ve really helped me continue this story! It’s not easy trying to come up with all this so fast, but I’ve been trying to get them to you all because I know how annoying it is to have to wait! Anyways, just wanted to add a thanks for all those who have been reading this story!

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Chapter Eight

What was done was done. Captain Torlic had been warned of the Human spies on his ship. There was only one thing left to do. Attack Enterprise, and take it from the Humans. Captain Halias stood on the bridge, watching the ship that would soon be his. It flew gracefully, flying through space before him with much speed. Halias had to admire the Humans; the ship was certainly amazing, and he could see that it would make him rich. Halias looked over at his second in command and nodded. "It's time. You know what to do." He said so softly he almost whispered. The man returned the nod, then turned to his station and began to work. Their time had come. Enterprise would be theirs, and Archer would be gone. There was no turning back now.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Well that's odd." Malcolm Reed announced from his station on the bridge. He was in command of Enterprise while the captain had retired to his quarters for some well deserved rest. Malcolm looked over at Hoshi and Travis. "Do you see what I see?" They looked down at their consoles then back up at him. The readings they were getting were quite odd. Malcolm could tell something was near them... watching them... He could feel a shiver run down his spine as he watched the disturbance of waves going through something in space. Finally a ship appeared in front of them. Malcolm hit the com as soon as he saw the ship.

"Reed to Captain Archer! I think you should get down here... something's happened. A ship has just appeared on our view screen!" He shouted. Everyone looked at him: all worried, all wondering what would happen and what that ship was up too.

Malcolm had a bad feeling. Something was wrong.


Jonathan Archer had been asleep for less than an hour when he heard the call from Malcolm on the bridge. A ship? Could it be Xindi? Could they finally be there to attack the Human ship moving through their expanse. Or worse, had the captain finally found out about his human and Vulcan spies and was now about to try and destroy the remainder of the Humans who were in the expanse? He quickly grabbed his clothes and raced down from his quarters, his uniform half on. Quickly he moved his arms into the jumpsuit while running full force down the corridor towards the turbolift. He had to get to the bridge. Finally reaching the turbolift, he walked zipping up, and shifted his weight, banging buttons to take him to the bridge. After what seemed like an age the turbolift began to move up. Archer let out an exasperated sigh. It was always something! It seemed like his ship might as well paint a bullseye on it since everyone was already targeting them anyways. One thing after another. He was sick and tired of being shot at. There was no more ‘mister nice guy’. He was tired of being the one who tried to find another way out. It was time to stand his ground. He wasn’t about to back down anymore. He wouldn’t run. He’d fight and he’d win. There was no other way. He had to do it, for Earth. Even if it meant that he’d have to give up what made him Human. It was the only way.

Malcolm's eyes when wide as he watched the ship draw closer, realizing who it was. "That's Captain Halias' ship!" He shouted. He could only think of one reason for why they were back. They wanted something. He looked at Travis who already seemed ready for what they all knew would happen. There was no time to waste. As quickly as he could, he charged weapons and informed the armory to be ready. He also made sure the MACOs knew to prepare for the possibility if Captain Halias decided to try to board their ship. But before he could do anything else he watched the weapons go offline, then the hull depolarized. “What the--?”

“Navigation is down!” Travis shouted in a panicked voice that Malcolm knew all too well. He gulped in air as the lights went out. The entire ship was losing power. Hoshi looked over at Malcolm, although he could hardly make out her face through the darkness.

“Somehow they’re taking over the ship… everything’s going offline. We only have life support.” She told him. He closed his eyes, trying to think fast yet unable to do anything but sigh.

“We’re dead in the water.” Travis whispered. Malcolm opened his eyes and looked at the screen that had just gone black. What could they possibly do now? They had no power, Captain Halias was in control of their ship somehow, and there was nothing anyone could do. Could this possibly be it? Could Enterprise’s luck finally run out? No! He couldn’t think like that. There had to be something he could do. Something, anything! But what?

Jonathan Archer had been in the turbolift for less than a minute when the lights went out and the turbolift came to a sudden stop. “What the heck?” He looked around, unable to see in the dark turbolift. What in the world could have happened? Archer sighed inwardly. He was stuck in a turbolift, in the dark, and with no way to get to the bridge to find out what was going on. He looked at the comm, pounding it for the bridge.

Nothing.

He didn’t really expect to reach the bridge, but it was worth a try to see that not everything was offline. Obviously it was. But another thought came into his mind. Life support. Was life support offline, too? If it was, he didn’t have much time before he lost air and/or froze to death. He had to get out of the turbolift and fast. But how would he get out? With another sigh he looked at the door, unable to see what the heck he was looking at, but his hands told him that it was the door. He felt for a crack, something that could help him open the doors and get him out of there. He found only one, but it would be hard to get through with the small line where the turbolift door would open and close. Quickly, he looked for something to help him, but remembered he couldn’t see anything, so he used his hands once again to find a panel that shouldn’t be far from the door. There he could get out the only thing that could get him out of his small prison. It took him only a few seconds to find what he was looking for.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Trip Tucker tried to ignore T’Pol’s pacing. Very unusual for a Vulcan. But then again, T’Pol was no ordinary Vulcan. Or I wouldn’t be in love with her. came a voice in his head. He shook the thought away as fast as it had come and focused on the work before him. He had little time to contact the captain, so he would have to work fast. There was no time to waste. Torlic would soon trace the signal to the cargo bay and then he would know that someone had broken in. He’d then get a security team down to the cargo bay which meant that Trip and T’Pol would have a fight on their hands. This was it. There was no turning back. He was almost ready.

“How much longer?” A beautiful voice came from behind him.

“Just a minute.”

“You said that a minute ago, Commander.” she reminded him.

“I thought I told ya it’s Trip.” He chuckled, reminding her right back, then lifted an eyebrow. “Was that a hint of impatience in yer voice there? Didn’t think Vulcan’s got impatient.”

T’Pol stopped pacing and looked over his shoulder sending a shiver running down his spine. He then realized that she was breathing on his neck, he gulped in air. “I am not impatient; I am simply concerned about our time. Torlic will soon realize we are missing.”

He gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry T’Pol. Everything will be okay. I promise; don’t worry bout a thing.” he told her then looked at the console ready to send the data before him. With another press of a button he sent the data, a light flashed before him. His frown grew. “Uh oh.”

“I do not like that ‘uh oh’ Com… Trip. What’s wrong?”

“The information isn’t goin’ through. It’s bein’ deflected. Nothing’s goin’ out. T’Pol… I can’t send the message, someone’s deflecting our transmission.” He told her. He could tell by the silence that T’Pol was worried. He was too. He didn’t know how she couldn’t be worried. If they didn’t get a message to Enterprise then… Trip decided it was best that he didn’t finish that sentence. He gulped in more air, feeling his breathing grow more strained. “We gotta get outta here. Now!” He shouted but before he could move he felt a cold piece of technology on the back of his skull. Too late. They knew, and he was a dead man.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Archer grunted in pain as he used all the strength he had left to force the door open. It slowly moved open. But not enough to get through just yet. He took a deep breath, wheezing and gasping for air from the exhaustion he felt. Finally he gripped the handle and cried out, feeling the door move open once more until there was a much larger gap, one that he could get through. He let out a breath and tried to move through. But even that took effort. He cried out again, only this time from trying to get through the gap he’d made. He sucked in air, and closed his eyes once again, feeling the sweat fall down his face, his uniform was soaked with the sweat he’d raised from just trying to open the door. Finally he pushed through the hole and tried to gain his balance before falling to the floor, but he failed. He took a few breaths to regain his control, his eyes opened and looked around. Dark. Still dark. He sighed then got to his feet. He had work to do. He ran to down the corridor, he was only one deck under the bridge. Finally he found the ladder to the bridge and took it, rushing up. As soon as he was up he looked at the door before him. Another door. He sighed loudly. Another door… just great! Well, he might as well get started.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Trip Tucker had never been so angry. He looked at the man before him, the man holding the weapon to his head. His enemy, the man who was supposed to be his friend. But now Trip realized he never had been. How could he? “So, a friend gave you this cargo huh? Don’t want to hurt anyone, huh? You’re a pretty good liar, Torlic.” He said and stood before the man. He looked over at T’Pol who was being restrained by the same officers she’d rendered unconscious. They looked mad, really mad. He turned his focus back on Torlic.

“I’m sorry Tobin, I never thought it would come to this. But you lied to me. There is nothing else I can do. Earth is trying to destroy my people.”

“We didn’t even know the Xindi existed until ya’ll sent that probe and killed seven million of our people!” Trip shouted. Torlic looked impassive though.

“I am not a simple… captain, Tobin. I am one of the scientists that created that… probe and I did it to save my people. I did it for my son.” He told Trip calmly. Trip looked at him with defiance, with hate.

“You killed my sister for no reason at all but because of what some guy told ya! We’re not yer enemy! We didn’t want to fight ya! We didn’t even know ya existed. Even now, we don’t want ta destroy you, we just wanna stop this weapon from killing our people, our planet. We don’t want to fight you.” He tried to keep his anger under control but it was slowly melting away. There was no way to stop it.

“I’m sorry Tobin.”

“No yer not! Ya said it yourself, you’re trying to protect your son. Well I’m tryin’ to protect my family too. You killed my sister. Torlic. I’m not Tobin Kel’tara… my names Charles Tucker the Third, and I can’t let you destroy my people.”

“Well Charles, I am quite sorry. I’m sorry it had to be you. I enjoyed your company, but you are human, and I must do what I must do.”

“So do I. You killed millions of people back on my planet. I have a mission to complete.”

Torlic activated the gun he held. “I’m afraid you will not be completing that mission.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jonathan Archer grunted loudly as he finally got the door to open some. “Captain?!” He heard a familiar voice shout out through the crack he’d made. He smiled.

“Malcolm, help me with this!” He shouted back. He could tell Malcolm was nodding as he always did, then began to help him. They got the door open far faster than he had managed the turbolift alone, and finally Jonathan squeezed in the door, sighing in relief. Finally! “I didn’t think I’d ever get here.” He said, panting hard.

“I wondered what happened with you… We were worried.” Malcolm smiled grimly.. Archer would have smiled back at the comment, but they were a little pressed for time, pleasantries would have to wait for another time.

“Report!” He barked a little more harshly than he would have liked. But it got Malcolm to attention fast.

“We lost power; everything went offline. Sir, Captain Halias’s ship appeared before we lost power; he must have control of the ship.”

Archer frowned. Then he looked past the lieutenant towards the light that had appeared showing Captain Halias’ face.

“Right you are, Lieutenant Reed. I am in control of this ship.” Halias said. Malcolm turned around in surprise.

“You!” Archer put a hand on the man’s shoulder and waited for him to calm down. Malcolm sighed then stepped aside. Archer walked closer to the screen.

“What do you want Halias?!” He said gruffly.

“What I want captain, I already have. Your ship, and you.” Halias smiled back smugly. “I will probably be rewarded if I kill you and give your dead body to the Xindi, huh?! I like you captain, I’ve read all about you from the ship’s computer. Very interesting information. I don’t know if I could kill you just yet.” He paused for a second then his smile grew. “Oh, who am I kidding? you may peak my interest, but that’s all you do. Good bye, Captain.” He bowed his head and then the screen went black again. Archer scowled at the blackened screen.

“Captain! Life support just went offline!” Hoshi shouted. Archer resisted the urge to hit something and looked over at Malcolm in the dark. They all held flash lights now. He had to think fast.

“How could Halias have control over Enterprise?! For god’s sake he wasn’t here but a few minutes and even then it was only to make the trade, and that was it! How in the world could he get control of my ship?!”

“Maybe he left something, was he ever alone with any of the computer’s systems?” Travis asked but Malcolm shook his head.

“No, I was with him the entire time, or the captain… He was never alone.” He answered with a bit of anger in his voice. Archer could understand why. Then it hit him… left something in the computer’s systems… The module!

“My god… that little…” Archer balled his fist and looked over at Malcolm. “We’ve got to get to engineering. Now! I’ll need some help with doors on the way. Come with me! Travis you have the bridge.” He shouted as the two squeezed through the opening he’d made earlier and out toward engineering.

“Sir, what exactly are we going to do in engineering?” He asked as the captain raced down the ladder and jumped to the floor.

“Remember, that module that Halias gave us with all that helpful information?”

“Yes… oh my!”

“Exactly.”

It took the two officers little less than a few minutes to get to engineering and open the doors. As soon as the doors opened he looked down at the module that was integrated in their systems. He took out his phase pistol and pointed it at the module.

“Sir?” Came one of the engineer’s voices.

“No time to explain.” He muttered back, paying the officer no mind before he pulled the trigger and watched the module go up in flames. Systems sputtered, but immediately went back online. Archer smiled then looked at Malcolm. “We’ve got to get back to the bridge. Prepare for battle!” He ordered and the two ran back the way they came leaving engineering in total confusion.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Trip Tucker breathed in and out hard as he watched Torlic, looking at him in total disgust. Torlic sighed then frowned and looked at the other guards. “I don’t know why I ever thought you were innocent. What would Koelin think if he saw you right now?”

Torlic’s eyes snapped over to look back at him. “Do not talk to me about my son! I am doing this for him! For all my people, just as you are. I’m sorry, Charles, but I must do what I must do.”

Trip shook his head , unable to understand his reasoning.. “Do ya really think that Koelin would want you to kill seven million people, and later even more than that just to protect him?”

“What’s done is done. The Xindi ship will be here soon and there is nothing I can do, but I don’t want to stop this. I am sorry, Charles, but you are trying to destroy us. Maybe not now… but you will attack us, and I must stop that from happening. For my family. I was one of the scientists that made the first weapon and now I am going to send this to the Xindi to make the next.” He said stubbornly then raised an eyebrow and looked at T’Pol.

“Take her to the airlock. Put her in space… we only need one person alive to interrogate.” He ordered. “Kill her.”

Trip’s eyes went wide. No! Not T’Pol! He was going to kill her! Trip had to think fast, he couldn’t let T’Pol die. He’d never forgive himself if he let her die. But what could he do?

Continue to Chapter 9

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A handful of people have made comments

Another cliffhanger ending. More. More More. Write faster please.

No! No, no, no!!!! Either stop with all these terrible cliffhangers or post faster! PLEASE!

Please..... More and Hurry!

Cliffhangers! ::pounds on keyboard:: NO!

So, the spies have been discovered. Finally. And just how will Trip save the fair Vulcan maiden? Can't wait for more! Update soon!

OMG!!! Come on please post longer and faster and damn just give us more.

Oh Torlic! you idiot. your son is going to hate your actions! and you.