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"Frank and Speak" by A. Rhea King
Rating: PG
History 101 (3) “Captain,” T’Pol said over the companel. Without looking, Archer reached out and touched the companel. “Yeah?” “We have detected a Menshara class planet a light year away.” “That should take us about three hours. I’ll be done by the time we’re close enough for a visual.” “Acknowledged,” T’Pol replied. Archer finished his work and walked out onto the bridge. T’Pol rose from the captain’s chair and stepped aside. “We will be there within the hour, Captain,” T’Pol informed Archer as she returned to her station. Archer sat down, glancing at the crew on the bridge. Today Trip and Malcolm were both working at their stations. Hoshi was working on calibrating an echo relay before they deployed it tomorrow. Archer looked up at the view screen. There was a blue and white planet starting to come into view as they drew closer. “Looks like home,” Archer commented. Archer heard the two crewmen who were working in the situation room walk up to the railing behind his chair. Travis, Trip, Malcolm, and Hoshi looked up at the monitor. T’Pol was watching the readings on her monitor. “It does have the same atmosphere as Earth...” Archer noticed she’d trailed off and looked at her. “What’s wrong?” “Their ozone layer appears to be in early stages of degradation.” T’Pol looked around at Archer. “I’ve also detected a space station orbiting the planet, but I do not believe this is a warp capable civilization.” Archer nodded. “Keep us out of sensor range, Travis.” T’Pol continued to report. “There appears to be a great deal of debris as well as communication satellites orbiting the planet.” Enterprise came to a stop by the planet’s moon. “There’s the space station!” Travis cried out, watching a space station slowly come into view. “That looks old.” “It does look old,” Trip agreed. Archer smiled. So did the satellites. “Can they detect us from that space station?” “No. The station is unmanned,” T’Pol reported. “Really?” Archer looked at T’Pol. “There are no bio readings from the space station, Captain. Nor does it have an atmosphere of any kind. It appears to be abandoned.” “Get us as close as you can, Travis.” “I am detecting a variety of communication frequencies from various technologies, Captain, but no deep space scans. They are still using fossil fuel powered vehicles which would explain the degrading ozone layer,” T’Pol reported “Get me a shot of a city,” Archer ordered. T’Pol sat up straight as if stuck with a pin. Archer looked at her. “What’s wrong, T’Pol?” T’Pol turned, looking at Archer. “This planet is engaged in a world war, sir.” “What?” “The occupants of this planet are--” “What is that?” Hoshi asked. Everyone looked at the view screen. There was a thin cloud cover but they could still clearly see a cloud pillar rising from the surface on one of the continents. On the surface there was a rapidly growing orange colored circle that closely resembling molten lava. “Get me that, T’Pol. Quick,” Archer ordered. T’Pol turned and focused visual sensors on the cloud. She magnified it several times until it became clear that the cloud rose over twelve kilometers into the atmosphere from the ground and rounded at the top like a mushroom. The bridge was silent in stunned shock. “They didn’t...” Malcolm almost whispered. “They didn’t just detonate an atomic weapon, did they?” “Oh my God,” Trip said. “This ca... We didn’t really happen along in time to see these people release an A-bomb. That ca... This can’t be real!” Trip laughed out of horrified shock. Archer walked around helm, stopping halfway between helm and the view screen. He had to swallow several times before he finally could get the lump in his throat to go down. “I strongly advise against interfering,” T’Pol said. None of the crew responded to T’Pol. Another mushroom cloud began forming several kilometers to the right of the first explosion, followed by a two more forming lower on the continent. On another continent across a large body of water a fifth mushroom cloud began forming. “They’ve released more, Captain,” T’Pol informed Archer. “I’m detecting three more explosions on the continent to the right. We should be able to see the clouds in a few minutes. “Those are... Are those atomic bombs, aren’t they, T’Pol?” Archer asked. T’Pol had checked for that when Hoshi had inquired about the rising cloud. “Yes, Captain.” “T’Pol...show me...the first blast site. Show me ground zero. But n-- But not street level. Aerial...just...aerial.” The view zoomed in. They could see through the slowly dissipating cloud that ground zero had been in the center of a densely populated city. For several kilometers buildings had been flattened to their building components -- brick, wood, metal -- and as the blast had expanded the damage to the buildings became less. Archer knew what it looked like at street level. He didn’t have to see the dead or dying to know what that looked like. Fire was quickly spreading across the city, releasing black smoke that was slowly darkening the sky. Archer had to look away to stop his imagination from filling in the missing sights, sounds and smells. It was horrific enough just knowing what these aliens had done to themselves without his imagination giving him graphic details. “Take it off, T’Pol. Get that off the view screen,” Archer ordered. “I wonder what they look...looked, like,” Hoshi thought out loud. “I’ve never seen an atomic bomb dropped...or what it looks like afterward,” Travis said. “And you never want to, Travis. Never,” Trip practically whispered. Travis took Commander Tucker’s word. “Do they have any idea what they’ve just done?” Malcolm whispered. Archer shook his head. “I doubt it. Travis, resume course.” Travis obeyed and for a long time the bridge was silent. “No one...” Archer turned, looking at his bridge crew. “If anyone asks about the planet, say they were pre-warp. You won’t be lying, but say nothing more.” Archer turned and walked to his chair, easing himself into the seat. T’Pol looked around her at the humans on the bridge, noting their reaction to the events that they had just witnessed, but deciding against any comment. # Doctor Phlox walked into an empty mess hall, seeing T’Pol sitting alone at a table. He picked up a sandwich from the cabinet and retrieved a glass of water before joining her at the table. T’Pol didn’t acknowledge him when he sat down opposite of her. “How are you this evening, Sub-Commander?” T’Pol looked at Doctor Phlox. “Today I am perplexed by humans.” “Oh.” Doctor Phlox. “More than usual?” “We investigated a Menshara class planet today. You are aware of this?” “I was aware of that. The visit appears to have left the bridge crew in a very distressed emotional state. They’ve told other crewmen that we didn’t stay because the culture was pre-warp. That was not entirely true, was it?” “Correct. We witnessed several atomic weapons detonated on the surface and at the explosions of each one I could sense fear and anxiety increase. I do not understand why this event elicited this reaction among the crew.” “Then the race was at war?” “Yes, Doctor.” Doctor Phlox frowned, “I’m afraid I do not have an answer, Sub-Commander. Perhaps they were upset by the race being at war.” “This could be. I feel I cannot ask any of them about it though. In my experience humans are not open to questioning when they are in this state of mind.” “That has been my experience too.” “In the twentieth century America dropped two A-bombs on Japan,” a voice came from a darkened corner to their right. Both looked around, watching Trip emerge from the darkness. Trip stumbled a little on his way to a chair at the end of their table. “Commander, we didn’t realize you were in here,” Phlox began. “Computer, ligh--” “No lights,” Trip interrupted as he eased into a chair. Trip sat a Double Old Fashioned glass on the table that contained strong liquor both T’Pol and Doctor Phlox could smell. Trip rested his arms on the table; one hand on top of the other and then rested his chin on his hands, staring into the glass in front of him. T’Pol and Doctor Phlox exchanged glances. “Have either of you seen, or do you know, what happens after an A-bomb detonates?” “I assume you mean an atom bomb and no, I have not,” T’Pol said. “During the Vulcan war, we used weapons more technologically advanced than an atom bomb.” “I haven’t either,” Doctor Phlox replied. He watched Trip’s face curiously. Trip turned his head, laying his cheek on his hands so he could stare out the mess hall port into space. T’Pol started to speak but Doctor Phlox motioned her to wait. For several minutes no one spoke. Trip turned his head, resting his chin on his hands again. “When I was in college,” Trip cleared his throat. “I had to do this final thesis for a history class. We had to draw subjects out of a hat and I drew the cause, effects and results of the Manhattan Project,” Trip swallowed, closing his eyes for a minute. T’Pol waited for a few minutes before asking, “What is the Manhattan Project?” “It’s what the United States called their nuclear weapons research project during World War II. From that project came two atom bombs they code named Little Boy and Fat Man,” Trip smirked, thinking back. “I was sooooo stupid. I thought this was going to be a cinch topic because I knew the library had all these videos about it. I’d waste a Friday and maybe a Saturday watchin’ ‘em, whip out the twenty-page requirement, and be back out with my friends by next Friday.” Trip shook his head. “Some, most, of the videos were edited but they still told a gruesome story. But it was the unedited ones that really got to me.” Trip laid his cheek on his hand to stare out at space again. “I’ve seen some horrible, horrible things, even out here, but this... I mean humans discovered this awesome power and they used it to destroy other humans.” Trip reached out and turned his glass as he continued speaking. “The U.S. dropped Little Boy on Hiroshima, Japan; Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. Both killed thousands instantly; leveled houses and people to the ground for over six kilometers in Hiroshima. Even today people argue if it was the right thing to do. Hell, no one knows. Maybe the war would'a went on longer after that. Maybe Japan would’a surrendered. It killed Allied troops and Americans too. Is the loss of a few better than the loss of many? I never came up with an answer. I don’t think anyone ever will.” Trip sat back. “Today, the ones at ground zero... They’ were the lucky ones in that war. Damn lucky.” Trip sipped his drink. “Why were the ones at ground zero lucky?” Doctor Phlox asked in a gentle voice. “They died instantly.” Trip snapped his fingers and for a few minutes simply stared at the two fingers pressed together. He continued talking, looking back down into his glass. “It’s those left alive with the radiation fall out that are gonna be bad off, and as many as they dropped, the entire planet is headed for a nuclear winter. Everything’s gonna die.” “And why did seeing this race commit these acts of war affect the crew so much?” T’Pol asked. Trip sighed, falling back in his chair. He shook his head as he finished off the liquor in his glass. He sat the glass down hard and then leaned into T’Pol. She didn’t move despite the heavy scent of used liqueur on Trip’s breath. “I wish I could turn off my emotions and forget what I saw in college and what I saw today.” Trip stood and staggered toward the door, adding, “Go back to analyzing humans you two. Maybe someday you can teach us how to forget our history and bury our emotions and not feel sorry for those poor bastards that just killed themselves, their children, their animals and their planet, all in the name of WAR!” The mess hall doors closed, cutting off the rest of Trip’s tirade. Doctor Phlox and T’Pol sat in silence for several minutes. “Did you get your answer?” Doctor Phlox asked T’Pol. “Not entirely. What is your view on their reaction, Doctor?” “Humans are compassionate for a variety reasons. In this case, because they suffered a similar tragedy in their own history, they were saddened and scared when they saw this race doing the same thing to themselves. They know first hand, if you will, what is going to happen to that race now. Those of the race that are still alive are sure to perish, painfully, from the after effects of their war.” T’Pol lifted her chin. “Humans are foolish to allow a historical even to cloud their emotions.” Doctor Phlox shrugged. “I don’t agree. I think perhaps their emotions kept them from racing down to help those aliens. I imagine Captain Archer knew after the second or third bomb that there was nothing he could do even if he wanted to. That alien race had already sealed their fate.” T’Pol looked past Doctor Phlox. The Denobulan had a very logical point. T’Pol contemplated everything that she had witnessed and been told this day, getting another step or two closer to understanding humans and their dependency on emotions. |
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