Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: 6 Jan 2004 09:57:18 -0800 In: alt.startrek.creative From: shouldknowbettertt@yahoo.co.uk (shouldknowbetter) Title: Deception Series: ENT Begins with "A Logical Proposal" "Deception is fourth in the series Part: 3/4 Story 13/34 Series Author: ShouldKnowBetter Email: Shouldknowbettertt@yahoo.uk.com Rating: PG13 Codes: Tu/T, all "Enterprise" characters, eventually Soval and Forrest, action, angst, drama. Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters, the Star Trek franchise and the universe. I just use them for my own private, non-profit making amusement. Summary: When Archer is critically injured in a shuttle pod accident, DECEPTION Part Three When T'Pol and Reed entered the ready room in response to a peremptory summons, Captain Krajewski was studying a PADD; and continued to study it whilst they waited until his first officer decided that she had better things to do than allow Enterprise's new captain to make a point. "You requested our presence, captain." "I did." He still didn't look up. "This is a confidential briefing, sub-commander, lieutenant. I trust you understand the implications of that?" "Of course." "Yes, sir." Reed shot a quick look at T'Pol, seeing one eyebrow raised. So she too thought it odd that such a briefing excluded the other ranking officer on board. Then Krajewski looked up and Reed found himself stiffening at the contempt in the man's grey eyes. Just what had they done or not done to earn that? "Starfleet has become aware of corruption within its own ranks. It is believed that certain individuals are involved in the transport and distribution of illegal substances." "Drug smuggling!" Reed was outraged. "That's appalling." "I'm glad you think so, lieutenant. Perhaps it will displease you to know that Enterprise has been implicated in the trade." "What?" "The distribution pattern of the drugs has been mapped. It coincides with Enterprise's movements over the last six months." "The implication," T'Pol said slowly, "is that the distribution is in the hands of someone who can either anticipate Enterprise's missions or influence them." Reed stared at her but Krajewski nodded approvingly. "Exactly, sub-commander. It is feared that Captain Archer may be involved in this crime." "That's ridiculous!" Reed's ascertain earned him a hard stare. "Your loyalty is commendable, lieutenant, but don't let it blind you to the facts." "I concur with Lt Reed," T'Pol stated flatly. "The facts of Captain Archer's conduct do not support such an allegation." "I repeat, Starfleet has evidence. It is our task to investigate further." "Investigate what?" Reed was still scathing. "The recent shuttle pod accident. It was probably undertaking a delivery. The explosion could have been a botched attempt at destroying the evidence." "I don't believe this," Reed muttered and Krajewski rose to his feet, coming to stand just in front of the Englishmen, invading his space. "You will participate in this investigation, lieutenant, or have your own behaviour called into question. Do you want that?" "No, sir." Reed had stiffened to attention. "You'll have my full cooperation, Captain Krajewski, just so that I can prove Captain Archer innocent." "Good. I want you to begin with a detailed analysis of the shuttle pod. The initial investigation failed to identify a cause of the explosion, I believe." "Indeed." T'Pol tried to apply a little logic to the situation. "The obvious person to conduct the analysis is Commander Tucker. He was excluded from the initial investigation but he was reinstated when no evidence of negligence was found." "No." Krajewski returned to his seat. "Who better to aid Archer than his chief engineer? You will exclude Tucker from this except as a suspect." This time neither officer protested, both having reached the conclusion that the easiest way to proceed was to prove the ludicrous allegations false. "Dismissed." ************************* ************************* (flashback) T'Pol returned to sickbay within the hour to find Tucker still hovering over Archer's biobed, although from the fact that he looked a little more healthy himself deduced that Phlox had finally treated him. She ignored the two humans in favour of Phlox who looked up questioningly. "Are you familiar with the Moreni?" "I'm afraid not." "Neither was I. The Vulcan database states that they are a pre-warp society who have nevertheless had contact outside their own system. A Vulcan vessel visited there fifteen years ago and was favourably impressed, particularly with the level of medical science, which was far in advance of the rest of their technology. It is approximately 60 hours away at our highest sustainable warp." Together they looked over at their unconscious captain and the Denobulan shrugged. "Why not?" (end flashback) *************************** *************************** Fortunately, Tucker hadn't yet scheduled the refurbishment of Shuttle Pod 1 so it was in much the same condition as when Enterprise had retrieved it. The previous investigation had been mostly non-intrusive because the engineering team had been conscious that once their boss snapped out of his abstraction and read their report, he would certainly want to rip the pod apart himself. Reed and T'Pol, less concerned at the prospect of Tucker's wrath, had dismantled the remnants of the pilot's console and were none the wiser. Grumpy, Reed sat back on his heels and scowled at the science officer who was methodically recording the status of each fragment of debris. "This is a waste of time, sub-commander." She didn't respond. "Commander Tucker's the only one who stands a chance of making sense of this mess." "You heard Captain Krajewski's orders." "Do you really think that Captain Archer and Commander Tucker are involved in drug smuggling?" It was a rhetorical question that she knew better than to answer. "And don't you believe that Commander Tucker wants to know just as much as the rest of us what caused the captain to be injured?" She looked back at him thoughtfully. "Your argument has merit." "Then can't you think of a logical reason to get Trip down here? We don't have to tell him he's under suspicion again." "I will give the matter some thought." ***************************** ***************************** (flashback) Phlox emerged for another of his half hourly checks and sighed reprovingly at the sight of Tucker again slumped forward in his chair, head resting on an arm propped on the side of biobed, his other hand still loosely clasped around Archer's. "Commander Tucker!" The engineer started at the peremptory tone and blinked up at the Denobulan, rubbing his eyes. "Doctor? Is he …?" "Captain Archer's condition is unchanged. Commander, I must insist that you leave. You have been here for the past twelve hours. You need to eat and sleep." The familiar, stubborn look crept over the American's face as he pushed himself upright. "I'm staying. The Cap'n needs to know that someone's here." "Commander, I have Captain Archer deeply sedated. He is not going to regain consciousness and he is unlikely to be aware of his surroundings." "Unlikely." The man's shadowed eyes met Phlox's even bluer ones. "Not impossible. I'm staying." The doctor shook his head and went to call in reinforcements. (end flashback) ******************************** ******************************** "I don't understand it." Tucker's irritation was growing with every repetition of his complaint. "Malcolm and I went over every damn circuit. There was nothing wrong. Nothing that could have caused that blow-out." "Commander." T'Pol's interjection went unnoticed. "There should have been some sign. That sort of catastrophic failure ..." "Charles." It worked as it always did. "If you and Lt Reed could not find a fault, then there is a high probability that there is nothing to find." They had reached his cabin and she turned to face him. "You were not to blame for what happened to Captain Archer." His eyes closed as he scrubbed a hand over his face. "I know. If there was nothing wrong, I couldn't have fixed it." "Indeed." Tucker opened his eyes to look down at T'Pol, a fond smile forming, and after a moment stretched out a hand to stroke the backs of his first two fingers gently down her cheek. "I never thanked you for looking out for me when Jon was so ill, did I?" "No." She allowed a short pause. "However, even amongst humans I believe that the existence of friendship brings with it an obligation of care." Her tone was cool but Tucker wasn't fooled; the dark eyes looking back at him were warm. His smile widened. "Thanks anyway," and he leant forward to press a chaste kiss to her forehead. It was a mistake. Tucker had been under severe stress and T'Pol had been worried about him and the physical attraction between them hadn't lessoned just because they both tried their best to ignore it. Tucker's lips lingered and T'Pol shivered, raising her head so that their mouths were only centimetres apart. He groaned at the silent invitation and took her mouth hard, arms going around her to pull her close while she obligingly fitted her body to his. "T'Pol?" Tucker mumbled a long passionate kiss later but got no further because she pulled his head back down to meet hers. T'Pol didn't even register that he had spoken. She certainly didn't comprehend the implicit question, but Tucker took her response as answer enough and let long denied desire take over entirely. He retained just enough sanity to reach for the door release, backing the unresisting woman into his quarters then pulling her even more tightly to him, hands running urgently over her back, sliding downwards to press her into his groin. T'Pol's thought process had been suspended from the moment Tucker's tongue invaded her mouth. It only re-engaged when one of his hands managed to free the fastening of her cat suit and slipped inside, working its way under her tank top. The feel of his cool flesh on her bare skin was wonderful but it couldn't be allowed to continue, however much they both wanted it to. She pulled her mouth from his although that only encouraged him to explore the soft skin of her neck. "Charles." Her voice sounded strange to her own ears. "We cannot." He took no notice of such sensible advice, sliding his mouth up to her ear. T'Pol heard herself gasp with pleasure and tried again. "We cannot do this." "You want to," he whispered, breath caressing her skin, and flicked his tongue over the point of her ear, making her shudder. "But I cannot." Sanity was returning despite the lust he had provoked and she struggled to free herself from his possessive embrace. "Charles, please, we must stop." She wriggled harder. "I do not want to hurt you." For a second longer, Tucker held her tight, breath harsh in her ear, then he released her abruptly and turned away, leaning his head on an arm propped against the wall. "At least tell me why." His voce was muffled. "You want me, I know you do. We could keep it quiet, stop your family finding out." He'd thought he'd understood the reasons last time they'd had this conversation but then he'd had himself on a very tight rein. This time he was tired, aroused and he needed her. T'Pol's hands were unsteady as she re-fastened her uniform. "My husband will expect me to be untouched." "Couldn't you come up with an excuse?" "No." He had finally turned back to face her and T'Pol could see his anger as well as the desire she shared. "Vulcans form telepathic bonds with their marriage partner. He would know." "He will anyway! You wanna be with me!" She did and he had no right to say it. "Before my marriage, I will ensure that I have … purged … such feelings as I have for you." "Just like that?" "I will perform the rite of Kolinahr." It was a decision she had reached some weeks before, when she had finally admitted that she was incapable of suppressing the emotion he had aroused without help. The Masters of Gol would assist her in eradicating every trace of emotion and then she would be at peace. "It will be thought unexceptional given the amount of time I have spent amongst humans." "Get out of here." "Charles …" "Just go!" She went. Title: Deception (3/4) (13/34 in seires) Series: Begins with "A Logical Proposal" "Deception is fourth in the series Author: ShouldKnowBetter Email: Shouldknowbettertt@yahoo.uk.com Rating: PG13 Codes: Tu/T, all "Enterprise" characters, eventually Soval and Forrest, action, angst, drama. Disclaimer: Paramount owns the characters, the Star Trek franchise and the universe. I just use them for my own private, non-profit making amusement. Summary: When Archer is critically injured in a shuttle pod accident, DECEPTION Part Three **************************** **************************** (flashback) Tucker didn't look up even though he knew someone had come to stand at his side. "I'm staying." "Do you believe that you are the only member of this crew who cares for Captain Archer's survival?" That did make him look up. "No." "Then allow someone else to bear him company while you rest. I do not believe that the captain would be pleased if you were to become ill." He swallowed and looked back at the other man. "It's just … if he … and I wasn't here …" He broke off, catching his lower lip in his teeth, squeezing his eyes closed as he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. T'Pol observed the human's battle for control with misgiving, unsure whether she should help as she once had with Sato. Tucker had always been the most volatile of Enterprise's crew but she had never seen him so distressed, not even when they first retrieved the shuttle pod. She had touched him far too much lately but … She laid her hand over his. "Will you allow me to help you?" He gasped and stared up at her, tears clear in his eyes, then pulled her to him before she realised that he had misinterpreted her offer, pressing his head into her stomach just below her breasts, arms going around her waist as he sobbed, finally giving vent to the desperation he had so far suppressed. T'Pol sighed internally and began to stroke his hair, other hand resting on his shoulder. She would pay for this indulgence later. Once released, Tucker's crying jag didn't last long. After less than a minute the sobs had stopped although he didn't lift his head. "Sorry." T'Pol regarded the back of his head with resignation; she loved him even when he was at his worst. "You are human." "I'm sorry about that too. God, T'Pol, do you have any idea how much I love you?" His voice was low and husky with the remains of tears but she had excellent hearing. The hand petting him faltered only slightly. "As I trust you know that I am your friend." Slowly he pulled away from her, wiping his face. "Yeah. I meant that." "Ensign Sato has said that she would like to sit with Captain Archer." T'Pol stepped back, using the physical separation to emphasise the emotional distance they had to maintain. "I will relieve her later." "You?" "Of course. I have a regard for Captain Archer." Tucker rose to his feet, looking around a little nervously. "Where is Hoshi?" "I believe she is in Dr Phlox's office." She had heard the comm. officer retreat when Tucker began to cry. The other woman emerged at that moment, trying to look as if she hadn't been eavesdropping, something cradled in her arms. Tucker stared. "Did Phlox let Porthos in here?" Sato smiled at him. "We put him through decon. He hated it but I thought Captain Archer would like to have him here. There you go, Porthos." Carefully she placed the beagle by Archer's head, watching as the small dog licked the man's face then settled down, apparently happy to be with his master again. T'Pol took advantage of Tucker's amusement to remove him. (end flashback) ********************************* ********************************* It wasn't long into the first shift of the day when Tucker appeared on the bridge and scowled at Reed. "What does Krajewski want?" "I've no idea, sir." Then he took another look at his friend. "Are you all right?" "Fine." Tucker crossed to the engineering console and began to punch keys, randomly as far as Reed could see. Reed considered continuing the conversation then shook his head as he thought better of it. To say that the engineer looked tense could be considered the understatement of the year. He'd wait until they were off duty. Perhaps Tucker had just missed his breakfast. The ready room doors parted and Krajewski's head appeared. "Sub-Commander T'Pol, Commander Tucker, in here." They both moved to obey and, watching curiously, Reed noticed the complete lack of eye contact between them. In fact, Tucker positively ignored the science officer and it was a long time since Reed had seen that sort of behaviour from him. If Malcolm was a betting man, his money would be on another argument, but there again the two hadn't clashed seriously in a very long time. He looked across the bridge to find that Sato had also been watching. She shrugged and turned back to work so he did the same. Krajewski again spent a few seconds staring disapprovingly at his officers but this time neither obliged by speaking. "You told me, Sub-Commander T'Pol, that there were no inappropriate relationships aboard Enterprise." He couldn't read the Vulcan's expression but he saw the engineer grimace. "There are none." "You're lying." "I am not." "Then how do you account for the fact that I saw you, the first officer of this vessel, kissing its chief engineer?" Close observation suggested that the muscles along her jaw shifted but she did not speak. "Answer me, sub-commander!" "It was … an accident." "An accident! How do you accidentally stick your tongue down someone else's throat?" T'Pol flinched internally at the crudity, hoping that Tucker would come to her support; he had been culpable too. "Perhaps I should have said … a mistake." Krajewski snorted and turned on Tucker. "Do you have nothing to say, Commander Tucker?" "It was a mistake." There was a bite in the engineer's voice that T'Pol didn't recall hearing before. "It won't happen again." "It most certainly will not. If I ever hear or see the slightest sign between you of anything other than strictly professional behaviour, I will have you, Commander Tucker, broken down to crewman and you, Sub-Commander T'Pol, removed from my ship. Do I make myself clear?" "Sir." Tucker was out of the room without waiting for a dismissal and Krajewski's expression darkened still further. "Perhaps you should tell your lover, sub-commander, that if he continues to ride his luck with me he will be in serious trouble." "He is not my lover." She didn't think he was even her friend at the moment. "And I'll accept no more Vulcan half-truths from you! Get out." T'Pol retreated to the bridge, wishing her head wasn't aching quite so much. It was distracting her from her work. *********************** *********************** (flashback) When Tucker cautiously stuck his head into sickbay there was no sign of Phlox so he inserted the rest of his body, joining Reed at Archer's bedside. "How is he?" "Still here." The Englishman looked up from the PADD he had been studying. "You're not supposed to be." "Yeah, I know. I was just passing." "A likely story." "It's on the way to Engineering – sort of." "I thought you were relieved of duty." "T'Pol reinstated me. She said the investigation hadn't found anything." Reed eyed his friend suspiciously. "You two seem awfully friendly." Tucker didn't respond; he was getting very fed up with the continual needling on that subject. "Well, I don't ever want you holding my hand, thanks all the same." He watched Tucker scratching Porthos' ears. "Phlox didn't think the captain would make it this far, you know. He's doing OK." "Yeah, and we're just a couple of hours from this planet T'Pol found." He came to stand at Reed's shoulder, mainly to give it an affectionate slap. "What you reading?" "Vulcan poetry. T'Pol said she'd been reading it to the captain." He frowned at the PADD. "I don't think it translates well." "Bad?" "I'd rather read one of your comic books." "I reckon the Cap'n'll hang in there just to tell her so." He reached over to squeeze Archer's hand. "See you around, Cap'n." (end flashback) ************************* ************************* "Drop to impulse." Krajewski's curt order cut through the silent bridge and Mayweather made haste to obey. "Hold this position." "Aye, sir. Holding position." T'Pol looked up from her scanner. "There is nothing of interest here. Gas giants have been thoroughly investigated by Vulcan science vessels far better equipped than Enterprise." "Scan for sub-space anomalies." She stared at him. "For what reason?" "I gave you an order, sub-commander. Follow it." She hesitated for a moment longer then turned to her scanner. If the angle of her eyebrow was anything to go by, she certainly didn't approve such a waste of her time. T'Pol was still involved in pointless activity half an hour later when Reed arrived on the bridge armed with a PADD and a determined expression. He gave T'Pol a nod that she interpreted as indicating success and approached Krajewski. "Captain, we've identified the cause of Shuttle Pod 1's blow out." The short man turned to frown at him, apparently not impressed with the completion of an investigation he had ordered. "We, Lieutenant?" "Myself and Sub-Commander T'Pol, sir." Reed recovered quickly from his lapse. "Well?" Reed handed over the PADD. "We were all looking in the wrong place. It wasn't a hardware fault at all. A worm programme had been inserted into the auxiliary computer. It infiltrated the non-critical systems until it was able to access power control. Then it simply overloaded the pilot's console." Krajewski snorted gently as he gazed at the executive summary on the PADD that was telling him the same thing that Reed just had. "Moderately ingenious." Cold grey eyes met the armoury officer's. "Tucker has the ability and the opportunity to have introduced the worm programme." "Well, yes." "Arrest him." "What?" Reed wasn't given to questioning orders but that one was outrageous. "You heard me, Lieutenant." "But … Trip would never do that! And why the hell would he?" "Lieutenant Reed is correct." T'Pol had come to stand at Reed's side. "Commander Tucker considers Captain Archer to be his best friend. He would never do anything to endanger his life. He was most distressed when Captain Archer was injured." Krajewski sneered. "Your judgement is suspect where Tucker is concerned, sub-commander." "I assure you it is not." "The man's your lover!" T'Pol could sense the shock of the rest of the bridge crew. "I am Vulcan. We do not take alien lovers." "So you told me before." His smile was nasty. "But I don't believe you, Sub-Commander T'Pol. Until this issue is resolved, I'm relieving you of duty." She stared at him in well controlled fury, wishing that just once she could give in to her primal Vulcan nature and kick the stupid, infuriating, arrogant human's head from his shoulders. Perhaps fortunately for Krajewski's safety, he turned back to Reed without a pause. "You have your orders, lieutenant. Execute them." Resolutely, Reed drew himself up to his full height. "I will, sir, but may I request confirmation of those orders from Starfleet Command?" For a long moment Krajewski stared back then slowly nodded. "Very well, lieutenant. If it will make you feel that you have shown your loyalty to your colleagues." He nodded to Sato. "Establish a channel to Starfleet, ensign." It took Sato only a few seconds before she looked nervously over at Krajewski. "Channel open, captain." "On screen." Forrest appeared and Krajewski went straight to the point. "Admiral, we have established evidence that implicates Commander Tucker in the attempted murder of Captain Archer. Do I have your permission to arrest him?" "You do." The unhesitating endorsement stunned the already bemused bridge crew but not as much as the next statement. "But the charge is murder, captain. I regret to inform you that Captain Archer is dead. Good work, captain. Do what you have to. Forrest out." "I trust that you're satisfied, Lt Reed?" There appeared to be a smirk hovering on the man's lips and Reed restricted himself to a brief, "Sir," although T'Pol tried again. "Captain Krajewski, I protest this behaviour and request …" "Enough!" Krajewski came to his feet, standing eye to eye with her, uncomfortably close for a Vulcan. "Lieutenant Reed, while you are arresting Tucker, place this woman in detention at the same time." Reed drew a deep breath, sent T'Pol an apologetic look and nodded at the lift doors. She gave Krajewski a look that should have reduced him to cinders and proceeded the armoury officer into the lift. Tucker was too stunned by the news of Archer's death to protest his own arrest for which Reed was grateful. He hadn't liked the idea of calling in extra support to restrain the engineer and the idea of stunning him hadn't appealed either. As it was, Tucker followed T'Pol into one of the cells in Enterprise's brig – Reed rather thought they'd prefer to be together – and only then really looked at his friend. "Are you gonna let this go, Malcolm?" "I don't know what else I can do at the moment," he said honestly and held out a hand. "I'm sorry, Trip." Briefly the other man hesitated then took the proffered hand, meeting Reed's level stare. "OK." The other man backed out, locking the door, and Tucker took a seat on one of the benches, glaring at T'Pol. "We've got some talking to do." "If you are referring to …" "I'm not! This is business. We have to work out what game Krajewski's playing." "I do not understand your meaning." "Yes, you do! I'm tired, sub-commander and that means I'm cranky and unless you start using those brains of yours, you're finally gonna see me irrational as well." It was as if the last two years had never happened. She could almost believe that this was the Tucker from the earliest days of their acquaintance when he hadn't trusted her and was incapable of a civil word. "Then please endeavour to be lucid." His glare didn't abate; she was fairly sure he was gritting his teeth. "Don't you think this whole deal with Krajewski's crazy? Ever since he's got here he's done all he can to disrupt the crew. That's not good captaincy even if he is out to make his mark." "He has Admiral Forrest's backing." Tucker tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Do you believe that I'm involved in drug smuggling? That I tried to kill Cap'n Archer?" "No." "Then why the hell does Forrest?" "I do not know." "Well, think, damn it! Whatever evidence they have must be forged." "Yes." "So we have a conspiracy in Starfleet with Krajewski and Forrest implicated. Great!" "It is one option." T'Pol was starting to believe that there was some justification for Tucker's impatience with her. Perhaps he had so disordered her thought processes over the last few days that she had been blinded to what was occurring around her. "Another is that Captain Krajewski is an impostor." "Son of a bitch! But you must have checked his ID when he came onboard." He read her discomfort at once; angry or not, he still knew her far too well. "You didn't!" "He came with Admiral Forrest's approval." "That transmission from Starfleet …" "Could have been falsified." Tucker was starting to grin. "So Cap'n Archer's not dead." "That is a possibility but it is only a theory." "A good one. But why? And who?" "Who had the opportunity to introduce the worm programme into Shuttle Pod 1?" He shrugged. "Any of my team." "Recount exactly what occurred whilst you and Captain Archer were on Tro'ga Prime." "You think … "Just do it, Commander. Accurately." Continued in Part Four -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Stories Only Forwarding In the Pattern Buffer at: http//trekiverse.crosswinds.net/feed/ Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASCL/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:ASCL-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. From ???@??? Wed Jan 07 23:31:23 2004 Status: U Return-Path: Received: from n2.grp.scd.yahoo.com ([66.218.66.75]) by kite (EarthLink SMTP Server) with SMTP id 1aErO073j3NZFkD1 for ; Wed, 7 Jan 2004 20:30:00 -0800 (PST) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-1977044-12840-1073536197-stephenbratliff=earthlink.net@returns.groups.yahoo.