Forwarded by the ASC-VSO Posted: Sun, 11 Apr 2004 00:28:11 -0400 In: alt.startrek.creative From: Quills Title: "Enemy of the State" 17 Author: Quills Contact: the_quill_pen@yahoo.com Series: ENT Rating: PG-13 Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star trek and I derive no financial gain from this story. Codes: A, T/Tu, Ma, S, R, P angst, drama, romance, humor, action/adventure Summary: The starship Enterprise is on a desperate mission to save Vulcans, which threatens not only Earth, but the entire galaxy. Now it is up to Archer and his crew, with the help of Soma, to unravel the Xindi plot and prevent Earth and the galaxy from falling at the feet of their greatest threat…Vulcan . ***Special note: This story takes place after the season three episode, "Carpenter Street", but before the episode "Harbinger". Chapter 17 Trip Tucker stared at the Preserver transporter. The unit produced a low hum that echoed through the cavern walls. Shaking his head, he sighed in frustration. For everything he and his team had accomplished there were limitations that even they had to acknowledge. Tucker had hoped he could find a solution, but there just wasn't any tricks left in the bag. He was about to watch his three closest friends risk their lives and there was nothing more he could do to increase their odds of making it back alive. Hearing the familiar sound of a transporter beam, Tucker turned towards the designated transport staging area. He watched as three light shafts coalesced into the familiar forms of Archer, T'Pol and Soma. Tucker's brow shot up. The three officers had exchanged their uniforms for civilian disguises and he was more than a little surprised. Soma was wearing what resembled a black trench coat. The coat had a high, straight collar that circled the back half of the captain's neck. Underneath, he was wearing a tight fitting light gray wrap banded collar shirt and dark gray slacks that covered short black boots. Trip couldn't help grinning. He looked like he was picking up a date, not going on a dangerous mission. He had to wonder if Soma selected his own disguise. Glancing over at Archer, Tucker was equally surprised at the outfit his captain was wearing. It was a simple dark gray two-piece "suit". The pants were loose fitting and covered a pair of plain black boots. The shirt was a wrap piece that circled around his torso, while the arms were loose fitting, terminating at banded cuffs. He looked every bit the part of a well-groomed servant. And if anyone had any lingering doubts, the clearly visible red tattoo on the right side of the captain's neck erased them all. As Soma and Archer stepped out of the transporter staging area, Tucker immediately noticed T'Pol. Her disguise was definitely a departure from her usual attire. She wore what resembled black tight fitting pants that were tucked into knee high black boots. Her top was a long sleeve jacket piece, with muted silver trim, that ended just above her navel. The upper part of the jacket was zipped down, revealing more cleavage than normal; that and her bare abdomen revealed more of her body than most Enterprise crew were used to seeing. Although he had the dubious distinction of being the only crewman rumored to have seen what no man has seen before, he found the site of her more than a little breathtaking. Archer and Soma walked down the short incline as they approached Tucker. They both noticed his attention was focused directly behind them. Neither of the men had any difficulty figuring out what or rather who had the engineer's rapt attention. Soma was the first to reach Tucker and he gave him smile. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's not polite to stare?" Tucker's head snapped towards Soma and Archer. His cheeks turned a bright crimson color as Archer and Soma looked at each other and laughed. Tucker swallowed hard and then cleared his throat; trying to will his embarrassment away before T'Pol reached them. "Well I'm glad you two are in such a good mood," he said taking on a serious tone, "because I'm afraid we've got a problem." Soma looked over at Archer and shook his head. "Condition normal." "What is it Trip?" asked the captain, a concerned look replaced his smile. "It's the power cell," replied Tucker with a sigh. "Of course it is," said Soma shaking his head in agreement. "Let me guess. It won't generate enough energy to complete the transfer." "No…we're pretty sure it'll get ya there," replied Tucker. "We just can't bring ya back." Tucker watched as Soma, T'Pol and Archer looked at each other in surprise. "Not right away," he added. "Explain," said T'Pol Tucker turned and walked towards the Preserver transporter's main console. "Best I can figure," replied Tucker, "the cells work in tandem. They augment each other's power. With three cells damaged, that leaves just one to supply the load. Without the other three cells, the power supply of the operational cell will be depleted exponentially. Once you arrive, your stuck there until the cell cycles through and recharges." Archer stared at the transporter. "And how long will that take?" "If the cycle time is consistent…eleven hours. And we can only keep the corridor open a few minutes. If you're late reaching it, then you'll have to wait another eleven hours." "Great," sighed Soma. Tucker shook his head. "Wait, I've saved the best for last." "There's more?" Soma asked hesitantly. "Since this cell is working on it's own, the power drain is enormous," explained Tucker. "Each time it recharges, its power capacity also degrades exponentially. We'll have three chances to cycle through. That's three times we can open the portal. And the cell will cycle regardless of whether or not we use it." "Then we only have thirsty six hours," said T'Pol. "I'm afraid that's about the size of it," Tucker reluctantly replied. "So let's see if we've got this right," said Archer looking at T'Pol and Soma. "If there isn't enough energy in this thing to get us to Vulcan, we're dead. However, if there is enough energy and we make it to Vulcan, but we're discovered, we're dead. On the other hand if we make it to Vulcan and aren't discovered…but can't complete our mission in less than thirty-six hours…we're dead?" "That's sounds about right," replied Tucker. "Actually, we will merely be stranded," corrected T'Pol. Soma looked down at her. "In my book it's the same thing," he said shaking his head. "I don't know about you but the thought of being stranded on a planet full of blood thirsty Vulcans doesn't exactly instill me with the hope for a long lifespan." T'Pol cocked her brow as she shook her head in agreement. "Ya know, the likelihood of this mission succeeding is slowly proceedin' from dim to dimmer to dimmest," said Tucker. "You wanna tell him or should I?" asked Soma, looking at Archer. "Tell me what?" asked Tucker in concern. "Before we transported down," explained Archer, "Hoshi finished deciphering part of the shuttle's communication log's. It seems the shuttle was sending regular communications every twelve hours, which means they're now five hours overdue." "So in point of fact chief," interjected Soma, "we've skipped 'dim' and 'dimmer' and have already arrived at 'dimmest'." "So what are ya gonna do, sir?" asked the engineer as he looked at Archer. "Go ahead with mission," replied Archer. "But Capn'-" "Commander," said Archer as he turned sharply to face the engineer. "Our three lives are small price to pay for the success of this mission. We have to try, Trip." "Yes, sir," he replied weakly. He knew Archer was right, but it didn't make it any easier. "Trip, you're in command, " said Archer placing his hands on the man's shoulders. "I'm counting on you to do whatever it takes to protect the ship. Enterprise is Earth and Vulcan's only hope. If a ship comes looking for that shuttle, and you know you're outgunned, don't try to fight. Break orbit and get the hell out of here. Find another way to get to the answers we need." "Aye, capn'." Archer gave him a smile and nodded. "We'll synchronize our watches once we reach Vulcan. Open the portal every eleven hours. Keep it open as long as you can. We'll try to make one of them." T'Pol pulled out a small palm held device and checked the setting. Tucker looked down at the tiny instrument, his curiosity aroused. "What's that?" T'Pol looked up. "A disruptor weapon," she replied. "Lieutenant Reed took two of them off of the Vulcan soldiers and a third from a fairly well stocked weapons locker aboard the shuttle." Tucker noticed the disdain in her voice. She had told him that one of the reasons she left Vulcan Intelligence was because it placed her in a position where she might have to employ lethal force. Something she never found easy to reconcile. "They're more compact than Starfleet phase pistols," added Archer rolling his sleeve up to reveal a similar palm held weapon strapped to his forearm, "so they're easier to conceal." Rolling his sleeve back down Archer looked up at Trip. "We'll take our own communicator's. We'll just have to use them sparingly. It seems in this time line, Vulcans are more than a little paranoid. They monitor all the communication bands." "What about a scanner?" asked the engineer. "Right here," said Soma pulling a small brown hand unit from his coat. "That's not Starfleet issue," frowned the engineer. "You get that off the shuttle." "It's T'Pol's," replied Soma. "She brought it with her when she first came aboard Enterprise. I thought it might come in handy since its database is more likely to be closer to the ones used by these Vulcans than a Starfleet scanner." "So we're ready?" asked Archer. "Ready, captain," replied Soma. "Sir," responded T'Pol. "Then let's do it," said the captain as he approached the portal. "Commander, start the sequence." Tucker took up his position at the main console. Flipping his communicator open he signaled his team to begin the energy cycle. "I need full power to open the portal folks," said Tucker. "This is not a test…we're doin the real deal." A response came over the communicator. "Commencing power transfer, commander," replied a female voice. "I see it," replied Tucker glancing at the power level display. "You're toppin' it to fast; cut back on the flow." After a moment, the voice responded again. "No good sir. It's all or nothing." "Dammitt, the test run didn't have this problem." "What's the matter," called Archer. "The power relay is commin' in too fast," said Tucker. "I'm tryin to compensate…hold on." Moving his hands across the alien display, Tucker adjusted what he hoped would compensate the power regulation. For all he knew, he might blow the whole system. Suddenly, a high-pitched screech reverberated through the cavern. "Trip!" shouted Archer. Tucker didn't respond, he frantically continued adjusting the controls. Touching what he believed was an auxiliary control to an emergency power shunt. Almost instantly, the high-pitched screech subsided and the power display leveled off. "I think I got," said Tucker. "You think?" said Soma. Tucker just shrugged. "You folks sure ya still wanna go through with this?" Archer turned, looking at Soma and T'Pol, then back at Tucker. "No, but we'll do it anyway." Tucker nodded and looking down at the display, adjusted the setting. Hoshi and Soma had made some 'cheat ' labels to help the engineer make sense out of the alien language. When he was sure the parameters were properly set, he looked up to see the portal had changed from a white, opaque sheet, to a black void. "It's ready," he said. Archer approached the black void. Turning, he looked at Soma. "I'll go first, then you two follow." Soma nodded as Archer readied himself. "Hey!" shouted Tucker. The three travelers stopped and both Soma and Archer turned back to look at the engineer. Their first thought was that something else had gone wrong. But seeing the look on his face, they knew better. "You three better make it back …or I'll never talk to you again." Archer gave him a slight smile and turning, jumped through the portal. Soma, looked over at Tucker and nodded as he followed Archer into the void. The engineer knew that neither man would acknowledge defeat; that only left T'Pol. Of the three, she was the more sensible. She knew the risks and Tucker was certain she would keep the two captains from doing anything crazy. They'd make it back. He had to believe that. T'Pol hadn't turned back to look at him. Staring at the void, she watched where Archer and Soma had passed through. Moving toward it, she prepared to follow them, then stopped. Turning, she looked at Tucker for a moment before she turned back and entered the black void. Trip Tucker stood motionless as he watched the inky darkness fade until it was once again an opaque and impenetrable barrier. Starring at it, her last words echoed in his mind. Live long and prosper…Charles. TBC… -- Stephen Ratliff ASC Awards Tech Support http://www.trekiverse.us/ASCAwards/commenting/ No Tribbles were harmed in the running of these Awards ASCL is a stories-only list, no discussion. Comments and feedback should be directed to alt.startrek .creative or directly to the author. 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: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ From ???@??? 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