The Sacrifice-Ch 11

The Sacrifice

By Triplover

Rating: R
Disclaimer: in Chapter 1

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Chapter Eleven

Hostage

It happened before anyone could react. The force knocked everyone back. Archer went flying first into a tree and down into the mud. T’Pol fell into the bushes on impact while the MACO Wayne was not quite so lucky as he was blown into sharp rocks. Hayes had been blown back as well and hit the ground hard. The explosion had caught them all off guard. Archer, Wayne and T’Pol fell unconscious while Hayes remained awake but felt a slight pain in his head when he hit the ground. Smoke blinded his eyes as he began to look for the others in the deep woods while it was still yet dark. He bit back a cry of pain as his headache worsened as soon as he got to his feet. It was then that he became dizzy and once again found himself lying down on the dirty ground. He let out a breath and closed his eyes.

==

Jonathan Archer gasped for breath but only felt the taste of mud in his mouth. He struggled to see but encountered only darkness. Rain poured on his face until he felt he was close to drowning. He tried hard to move but could do nothing. His lungs were burning now for the lack of oxygen. His hand finally felt the surface above the mud. He tried to push himself up but didn’t have the strength. His body went limp and Archer fell unconscious.

It was then that a hand grabbed through the mud and pulled Archer slowly out of the mud. It was strong and able to carry his body weight although not exactly with ease. He moved the man against a tree, scanning him to make sure he was okay. He was not. The man was instantly worried.

“Cap’n?! Cap’n, you okay?”

Slowly the captain moved out of his unconscious state at the sound of the man’s voice. Archer recognized the voice and felt a flicker of hope. Could it be? Archer’s eyes fluttered open as he spit out the mud from his mouth. His lungs finally felt air. He looked up at the person who had saved his life. A smile grazed his lips as he saw the concerned look on the blonde man crouching up in front of him.

“My god… it wasn’t a trick… you’re alive!” the captain chuckled softly.

“Well if the air in my lungs is any indication… guess I am. You okay Cap’n?” Trip asked.

Archer nodded slowly, still trying to breath in oxygen into his lungs after they had been denied such a vital gas for way to long. He swallowed his relief upon seeing his best friend. More than anything he wanted to hug Trip. He wanted to laugh like crazy. But there were other matters to attend to. That would have to wait. But Archer knew this time around he wouldn’t make the same mistake. Trip and Archer had a lot to talk about.

“Where’s… Hayes, T’Pol and Wayne?” Archer asked. Trip’s smile seemed to fall at the question.

“We found Hayes. He’s got a headache but other than that he’s fine. Wayne didn’t fair quite as well. He’s lost a lot of blood and I’m not sure what we can do for him. I couldn’t find T’Pol.”

“We?” Archer questioned in confusion.

Trip nodded. “Yeah. Remember Ambassador Vassion?”

The captain nodded.

“Well apparently he isn’t as dead as we thought. The Xindi attacked him but they never got a body because there wasn’t one. He just lost an arm… but apparently they can grow back their appendages. He took my body and revived me.”

Archer’s eyes widened. “How?!”

Trip suppressed a chuckle. “The execution releases some type of radiation into the brain to shut down all brain functions. The process can be reversed in ten hours of the person’s death. They got me just in time.” He then moved some hair away from behind his ear to show him the implant on his neck. “This implant they put in me is keepin’ my brain workin’ while it dissipates the rest of the radiation. It’ll take a while before I can remove it. But it’s keepin’ me alive so there are no complaints here.” Archer watched the implant for a while when Trip finally shifted and moved his hair back over it. “Come on… we’ve got ta find T’Pol.”

Archer nodded as the man helped him up. It was then that he began to see the other people before him that he did not recognize except for one. “Ambassador Vassion?”

The man nodded warmly. “I am he.”

Archer was about to say more when he heard someone cry out for the Ambassador. The Ambassador turned away and ran towards the shout. Trip was just behind him so Archer followed as well. It was then that everyone froze as they saw ripped blue cloth on one of the bushes along with a little drop of green blood and a phase pistol.

"Oh god… T’Pol,” Trip breathed.

Archer rested a hand on Trip’s shoulder and squeezed it. “The Xindi!” he exclaimed with all the hate he could muster in his voice.

==

It was all a blur at first. But slowly things changed as she began to recognize dark and light, then different colors and finally everything came into focus. Standing before her was two reptilian Xindi and in the back she could see what she knew to be Judge Corrow. The Xindi standing before her took off the gag he’d put on her to stop her from talking and moved away to allow the other Xindi to walk up. He bowed his head slightly. “I am Tarvin. And you are not human,” he pointed out.

T’Pol raised an eyebrow. “You are correct.”

“Why are you working with the humans? Are your people allies with the humans?” he asked her. T’Pol said nothing. “Answer me!” the reptilian shouted. He then looked back at the Judge and sighed. “Prepare your drugs Corrow. It seems that only torture will make her talk… much like the Commander.” T’Pol’s eyes opened wide. Corrow hesitated.

“Are you sure that is wise? We only wanted a confession out of Commander Tucker… with information gathering; we should use a different drug. One that would simply make her more…agreeable,” Corrow stated. “By law no criminal can be drugged… only tortured… but you do not live under this law.”

The Xindi growled at the Roelorian. “I will try your other drugs if my torture does not work. Now get me what I want!” he shouted. Corrow walked out of the dark room almost immediately. T’Pol breathed in as the Xindi moved his head closer to her. “Will we have to destroy Vulcan as well as Earth?”

T’Pol still said nothing.

The Xindi laughed then moved away and left, leaving her completely alone. She closed her eyes and tried to will the panic in her heart away. It would not leave. T’Pol swallowed hard.

==

“Where could she be?” Trip asked more to himself than anyone else.

Archer moved his hand on Trip’s shoulder. “We’ll find her, Trip. Don’t worry… maybe Enterprise can scan for her bio signs,” he offered.

Trip shook his head. “If the Xindi got to her then you’ll never find her. There’d be a shield blocking your scans. They’ve been hiding here for a while now,” Trip told Archer.

“So what do we do?” Archer asked, genuinely tired of doing nothing.

Trip folded his arms in thought. “We find the Xindi base… it’s the only way.”

Ambassador Vassion moved closer to Trip with a sigh. “We were going there anyway Captain. The information you will need for your mission is in there.”

Everyone looked at Ambassador Vassion. “What kind of information?” asked Archer.

The Ambassador frowned. “The kind that could tell you where the weapon is.”

==

When the Xindi came back, T’Pol was deep in meditation finally. Her calm returned. Her inner peace grew. She was once again able to concentrate. She felt all the fear leave her. All emotion was locked away.

The Xindi sighed. “I’ve been looking into your species. The Vulcans are a very logical race. They control emotions. You’ve been trained to take pain… haven’t you?”

T’Pol said nothing.

“Answer me Vulcan!”

Still nothing.

The Xindi exhaled and sat in front of her. “Not in the mood to talk, hmm? That can be remedied.” With that, a needle moved to her neck. He injected something into her and cocked his head as a rush of emotion broke out of T’Pol’s box. He smiled. “I met your race before. They have a certain weakness to Trellium D… am I right?”

T’Pol glared at him. “What have you done to me?!”

The Xindi laughed. “What do you think, Vulcan? A small dose of harmless Trellium D… for most that is. You on the other hand… it soon kills you… does it not? You won’t have much time before you’ll be damaged… beyond repair.” The Xindi stood, still laughing. “I must give the Trellium D time to work… until then… there’s food near you. You should eat.” He told her pointing to the plate besides her then left.

T’Pol could already feel the effects of the Trellium D. Her control was slipping. The door shut behind the Xindi as T’Pol moved into a corner in the room, sitting in a fetal position. Fear and panic were already beginning to overwhelm her. But more than that, she could feel hate. Hate for these Xindi. The ones that were now taking away her control. T’Pol closed her eyes while trying to meditate. She could not.

==

An hour later the Xindi returned. Panic swelled up inside her. Her emotions seemed to swallow her whole. All calm she had managed to keep left in just that moment. Two other guards moved her into the chair and put on her restraints but she fought against them, crying out. Anger flew through her veins as if they were blood. Pouring into her heart and surrounded her brain. Sweat fell down her face as she finally stopped fighting. She was breathing hard now. “I’ll kill you!”

The Xindi again cocked his head. “No wonder the Vulcans control their emotions. Temper, temper… I had no idea. How interesting. But Vulcan… I’m afraid you can kill no one.”

She once again fought against the restraints. “Kill you! Enterprise… kill you!”

The Xindi looked her straight in the eyes. “Where is Enterprise? Tell me about the ship. Codes… are they the first wave of an invasion force?”

She closed her eyes and cried out again in anger. “Enterprise… kill you! Charles kill you!”

“Charles? As in Commander Charles Tucker? He is dead… he can kill no one.”

“No!” Her anger grew with every second. “Alive!” Sorrow and anger soon moved together. Together they grew even stronger until they overwhelmed her. Her thoughts became more jumbled then ever before. All clear thought was soon lost.

==

Trip tried to calm himself. She could still be okay. T’Pol could be fine. It was possible. He had to believe it was possible. He had to hold on to hope. Rodney Wayne had been sent to the base with two of the Ambassador’s men. Vassion, Captain Archer, Hayes, Trip and Vassion’s men all moved through the woods. Trip, too, had learned a few things thanks to Vassion and his friends. He hadn’t spent too much time with the people but he had gotten the chance to learn a little. He knew some of the forest. He’d tried to commit it to memory as best he could. Some was still hard to remember but he had remembered a lot so far.

Everyone was quiet since they were now in Xindi territory. One sound might alert the Xindi guards that walked around in the forest. They had to be invisible. They soon began to see the base where part of the weapon. They would store it there for shipment later to another location. They had soon realized the place was not grounds for building but taking. They were using it as shipping grounds. It made sense. They needed certain materials in order to make the weapon. It was smart to make little allies with others in order to get what they wanted. And the races who made friends with the Xindi would never know just what they were doing… and how they’d all been cheated… big time.

Vassion moved to Trip’s side. “We must find a way inside. Kalore and I are going to go around the base and look for a way in. You stay here and wait for our return.” Trip nodded at the Ambassador’s order. Soon Vassion again moved as he and Kalore began to sneak around the base. Trip took in a deep breath until they were out of his sight. He then focused his attention back onto the base before him.

“Please be okay, T’Pol… please be okay. Oh god… please be all right,” he whispered then shut his mouth, not saying another word as he heard footsteps. He looked to his left to see a Xindi guard making his rounds. Trip moved deeper into the bush he was hiding in.

Continue to Chapter 12

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Two folks have made comments

Nooooo, Trellium-D? Nice touch, but I hope she'll be ok. I would like to think that I know she will, but ya never know, I've read some fics where Trip dies, or T'Pol dies, or they both die. I hate that! But anyhow, I think Trip's not going to happy for what the Xindi did to T'Pol, I hope their necks are stong enough to not get ripped apart. I've got the feeling there are going to be Xindi heads rolling.

Damn those evil despicable Xindi plying poor T'Pol with Trellium D. I hope Trip does something really nasty and painful to that Xindi for hurting her. I am so glad that Archer has realised how much Trip means to him. This is such a good story, I can't wait for the next part! Thank you, Ali D :~)