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"Black Widow" by A. Rhea King
Rating: PG CHAPTER 1 Archer leaned back in his desk chair, continuing, “...the Andorians are at least trying, Admiral. This misunderstanding is very sensitive and deserves our attention, which is why I asked Ensign Mayweather to accompany me instead of T’Pol. I didn’t want the presence of a Vulcan to make them any more uncomfortable. I think that if we can convince the Vulcan High Command to bend some on this, they could be looking at finalizing the peace treaty as early as the end of the year. I would caution them against entering Andorian space until this matter is resolved. Perhaps we should monitor perimeter along their borders to encourage both sides to--” Archer’s companel beeped. “Computer pause,” Archer ordered. He waited for the computer to beep before answering it. “Yes?” “Sir, I’m picking up a distress signal,” Hoshi told him. “Tell Travis to set a course to intercept.” Archer tapped the control and got up. He walked onto the bridge, standing behind Travis. The change of course brought them into view of an attack. “Hoshi, hail the ship broadcasting the distress.” Hoshi tapped her controls and nodded to him. “This is Captain Archer of the starship Enterprise.” “Please help!” a woman’s voice cried. “All systems are failing. Please help.” “We’re within weapons range, sir,” Reed told Archer. “Fire on the attacking vessel.” “Her ship’s gonna blow, Cap’n,” Trip said. “Get down to the transporter, Trip. Get her out of there.” Trip leapt up from his station and ran to the lift. The attacking ship starts firing on Enterprise. Reed returned fire. The ship suddenly turned and leapt to warp. Archer stepped up to helm and tapped the companel. “Trip, status.” “I have her.” The woman’s ship exploded. “Take her to Sickbay. I’ll be there shortly.” Archer tapped the companel. “T’Pol, was that ship in our database?” T’Pol checked and shook her head. “Resume course, Travis. You have the bridge, T’Pol.” Archer walked over to the lift. # Archer walked into Sickbay, watching Phlox scanning the woman sitting there. She was short and stocky. Her face had streaks of darker skin fanning in from the edges. Her eyes were a dark yellow with dark green pupils. She wore a one-piece outfit with a short vest over it and nothing else. On the floor beside the biobed was a satchel with a piece of fabric sticking out. “I’m Captain Archer,” Archer said. “And you are?” “Bionq,” she said. “Have we met before?” “No. I would recall if we had.” “Why was that ship chasing you?” “I don’t know. I’m a seamstress. I don’t have anything of value.” “How is she, Doc?” “I’m okay. Just shaken.” Archer glanced at her with open suspicion. “She is, Captain,” Phlox answered. “Show her to the guest quarters when you’re done. Where were you headed?” “Kastun. It’s the next system over.” “We can drop you off. Excuse me.” Archer turned to leave. “If you’re not too busy later, I’d love to hear about your species.” Archer stopped and turned. “Over supper, perhaps.” “Supper?” “It’s our last meal of the day.” “You make it sound so final, but I would love to join you. Just you and I?” Archer didn’t reply right away. “I think so. I’ll see you then.” Bionq nodded once. Archer turned and left. # Bionq watched the steward came in with their plates. The man left and Archer began eating. He noticed that Bionq didn’t eat or take her eyes off him. Archer swallowed the bite in his mouth before asking, “Not hungry?” Bionq shrugged. “I just don’t want to eat yet.” “Perhaps you’d like something different?” “No. Thank you.” “What species are you?” Archer asked her. “It’s not important. How long have you been a captain?” “A while. How long have you been a seamstress?” “A while.” Bionq stood, walking over to the port windows. She looked over her shoulder at Archer. “We’re going so fast. We should slow down so we can see the stars while we dine. Don’t you think?” “How long is a while?” “It must be exciting to travel around space, meeting other aliens. Have you met a lot of species?” Archer stood and walked up to her. He pulled his hands behind his back, staring down his nose at her. “I saw you at the Sata Linus and you are anything but a seamstress. Why was that ship shooting at you?” Bionq turned to face him. Her smile deepened. “There’s no fooling you, is there, Captain Archer?” Bionq leaned close to him. “Can you keep a secret?” “It depends on the secret.” Bionq stood up on her toes, moving in as if to kiss him. She exhaled a red mist before he pulled away, drawing a breath as he did. Archer closed his eyes, swaying. Bionq moved close, wrapping her arms around him. Archer didn’t try to pull away. Bionq breathed out another cloud of red mist. “You need to relax. Hold me, Jonathan.” Archer obeyed, looking at her. “You’re beautiful,” he murmured. Bionq nodded. “I know. I’m told that all the time.” Bionq pulled a hypospray from her pants pocket and pressed it against Archer’s neck. He closed his eyes again, smiling. “Better?” she asked. “Yeah. Much.” Bionq didn’t look away from him, sliding her hand down to put the hypospray back in the bag. It caught on the edge as she let go. Bionq pulled a device from her shirt pocket and held it up to her mouth. “Are you there?” Bionq asked. “What’s taking so long?” “I’m paying you enough so stop complaining. Where are you?” “Watching you through the window.” “Are you certain you can transport at warp?” “Yes. We’ve stolen enough cargo at warp. We know what we’re doing. Are you ready?” “Yes. Transport both of us.” “Were are we going?” Archer muttered. “Away.” Bionq dropped the device back in her pocket. The hypospray fell out of her pants when she shifted her weight to move closer to Archer. She grabbed for it, but was already being deconstructed. It hit the floor and rolled under the table. # “Commander,” T’Pol said as soon as Trip stepped off the lift. “Yeah?” he started to turn toward her station but found her standing behind Travis. “Did Captain Archer talk to you last night about departing?” “Departing? No. Why?” “He’s missing.” Trip almost laughed, but she looked far too serious for this to be a joke. “Have you scanned the ship?” “A crewman discovered all sensors have been tampered with. External visual sensors were brought back online just a few minutes ago.” “Did we drop out of warp last night?” “Ensign Burke said we did not.” “Well he couldn’t have left at warp, T’Pol!” “Yes. I know. Which is why I’m concerned.” T’Pol turned, looking at the screen. She tapped the companel on helm. “Security teams, report.” One after another reported they hadn’t found Captain Archer. “Did they check his quarters?” Trip asked. “He didn’t answer.” “I’ll go see look.” Trip walked back onto the lift. # Trip walked into Archer’s quarters. Porthos ran up to him, hopping and prancing. “Where’s your daddy, pup?” Trip asked him. He walked into the bathroom and came back out. Trip walked over to the desk companel, tapping it. “T’Pol.” “Go ahead.” “He’s not here. Porthos is the only thing in here.” “He wouldn’t have departed without asking someone to tend to Porthos.” Trip looked out the windows. He turned back to the companel. “Do you have sensors back yet?” “Yes.” “Scan for the alien we picked up – Bionq she called herself. I haven’t seen her all morning either.” After a few minutes she reported. “She is not onboard either.” Trip shook his head. “Something tells me that wherever Bionq is, so is Cap’n Archer.” “How could she have abducted him at warp?” “I don’t know, but she must’ve found a way.” “Return to the bridge. We must determine a course of action.” “On my way back.” Trip walked to the door and stopped. He looked down at Porthos. The Beagle sat on his bed, looking a little lost and confused. Trip crouched down and he ran over to him. Trip swept him up in his arms and left the room. # Trip joined T’Pol and Reed in the situation room. “Bionq must have been working with the Andorians.” Reed said. “This happened after Captain Archer spoke them and he’d mentioned they were unhappy when he told them he couldn’t promise he could make the Vulcan’s discontinue mining on their borders.” “We don’t know it was them, yet, Malcolm,” Trip argued. “Charles is correct,” T’Pol added. “We cannot jump to conclusions. And besides, the Andorians are more prone to killing someone than abducting them.” “Perhaps it was the Suliban again.” “It could be any one of a number of enemies we’ve acquired over the years, Lieutenant. Again, we cannot jump to conclusions. The first thing we must do is confirm Bionq’s identity and determine whom she was working for.” “How? We know nothing about her. Her ship blew up. We don’t have anything.” Trip argued. “She couldn’t have vanished without a trace, Charles. We will start with questioning any allies we have to see if they have seen her species or her.” “That’s a lot of allies.” “And since we’ve already lost twelve hours since his abduction, I suggest you start inquiring now. Captain Archer was last seen in the Captain’s Mess, so I’m going to go down there and scan it for any clues.” “Gonna dust for fingerprints and search of the hidden compartment with the gun too?” Trip jabbed. “I beg your pardon?” “T’Pol, she is gone without a trace. Vanished. This is like some old mystery movie with a dead end case.” “If you two are prepared to accept that we will never see our Captain again, then I will conduct this search alone.” T’Pol turned and walked to the lift. Trip and Reed looked at each other. “We’ll start calling people,” Trip told her before the door shut. # T’Pol walked into the Captain’s mess. It was upsetting not to see Archer sitting at the end of the table. She began scanning the room, moving with measured steps around the table. Her brow creased when the scanner beeped. She crouched down, watching the scanner. T’Pol looked up, spotting the hypospray under the table. She picked it up and continued scanning. # Phlox and T’Pol watched the screen, waiting. “Here we are,” Phlox said when readings began to roll across the screen. He tapped the controls in front of the screen and a different screen came up. His brow furrowed. “What is it?” T’Pol asked him. “There were four doses in this hypospray and only one was used. It contains pheromones mixed with another substance that the computer can’t identify.” “What would pheromones be used for?” “The make-up of these pheromones is similar to the Hartiku arachnid. They’re used to induce euphoria and lure a mate. I believe she used this mixture to get Captain Archer to go quietly. If he were injected with the amount of pheromones that is contained in one of these doses, Bionq could have talked him into jumping out of an airlock at warp four. “Perhaps I should see if I can find her finger prints in her quarters after all. We may be able to utilize the information to find her.” “I would suggest we find out as much information as possible about her before we have to take Archer back, T’Pol. She has apparently had much experience at this and she may be expecting us to pursue her.” T’Pol turned and left. |
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