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"Mistake" by A. Rhea King
Rating: PG13 CHAPTER 3 Trip opened his eyes, staring at the lights overhead. After a moment he realized they were turned on. He moved his arm and felt a hand take his. His heart leapt with fear until the person laced their fingers with his and the skin was soft and smooth. “Trip?” T’Pol said quietly, leaning forward into his view. Trip stared at her. “Am I dreaming?” “No.” “Is he awake?” Trip heard Archer’s voice ask. “Cap’n?” Trip said. Another hand lay on his shoulder and Trip’s fear ebbed. “Did they give you water?” Trip asked. “Yeah. I’ll be right back,” Archer said. Trip tried to sit up. T’Pol gently pulled him up and rested his head against her shoulder as she cradled him in her arms. “Here’s some water,” Archer said, crouching down in Trip’s line of sight. He lifted the cup to Trip’s lips. Trip sipped a little and then turned his head. “When did you have water last?” T’Pol asked. “I don’t know.” Archer sat the cup down beside him. “What do they want?” Archer asked him. “The one, Reace, keeps asking about the Vulcans. Wants to know what I know.” “You don’t know anything.” Trip looked at T’Pol. Archer’s body wilted. “How much does he know?” Archer whispered. “Nothing more than I do,” T’Pol whispered back. Archer and T’Pol looked at the door, hearing footsteps coming down the hall. Archer stood, determined to protect Trip. T’Pol gently laid Trip down and stood beside him. The door opened and four Sorh entered, aiming phasers at the two. Reace walked in behind them. Two of the Sorh walked around Archer and T’Pol and grabbed Trip. “NO!” Archer said, punching one. One of the guards stunned Archer. T’Pol looked away from Archer and Trip to Reace. He was watching her. “If you torture him any more you will kill him,” T’Pol said. “Humans are very resilient I’ve discovered, and one way or another, I’m going to get information out of him.” “He doesn’t know anything.” Reace held up a PADD, tapping it. The conversation the three had just had played back. T’Pol looked at Trip; he could barely stand on his own. She turned back at Reace. “I will tell you what you want to know.” Reace turned. “Bring him.” “I will tell you everything you want to know! There is no need to torture him any more!” Reace stopped outside the door, watching the two Sorh lead Trip out. He turned to T’Pol. “Some records we recovered tell us these humans have an alliance with Vulcans, which makes them our enemies. So even if he doesn’t tell me anything about Vulcans, I am learning much about how to deal with our new enemies. But don’t worry, T’Pol. I won’t kill him all the way.” Reace smiled, his wings lifting. “My wife enjoys her meat begging for mercy and you will watch.” The door shut. T’Pol looked down at Archer. She closed her eyes, fighting to remain in control of her anger and desperation. The lights in the room turned off. # T’Pol sat up when the door opened. She watched a Sorh carry Trip in and drop him on the floor. The door closed, shutting them in darkness again. T’Pol felt her way across the floor to Trip. She felt his hair and then his face. Sticky blood wet her hands. “T’Pol?” Trip whispered in a shaky voice. “I’m here,” T’Pol said. She gently pulled him into her arms and cradled him to her, resting his head under her chin. “They gave me a drug, T’Pol. I don’t know what I said. I can’t remember anything. I don’t know--” “Shhh. Rest.” “I’m sorry.” Trip started crying. “It was not your fault.” “I’m so sorry.” “It is all right. Everything will end well.” Trip started crying. “When they took me, I heard what he told you. I don’t want to be like that screaming pig I saw ‘em eating in the market. I want to die. Help me die. Please.” T’Pol closed her eyes. She kissed his forehead. “I can’t and I won’t. Be strong, Trip.” He turned his face into her chest, sobbing. # Archer opened his eyes. In the darkness he had to touch his eyes to make sure they were open. He sat up, wondering what had woken him. “T’Pol?” Archer asked quietly. There was a second before she answered. “Yes, Captain?” “Did they bring Trip back?” “Yes. He’s sleeping.” “How is he?” T’Pol didn’t answer. “T’Pol?” “The Sorh found documents indicating humans were allies of Vulcans. They have focused their torture on breaking or killing him.” Archer got up and walked toward her voice. He felt her shoulder on his leg and knelt beside her. “But how is he?” “I don’t know.” Archer heard her voice crack, a strange sound coming from her. He opened his mouth to ask about it when an explosion outside cut him off. He looked in the direction of it, hearing yelling and screaming in Sorh and Vulcan outside the room. The sounds of a phaser fight erupted right outside, followed by more yelling. “There are Vulcan soldiers in the building,” T’Pol said. “They’re calling each other’s rank.” Archer said nothing. The lights came on suddenly, blinding him. He heard the door open and when his eyes adjusted, he found five Vulcans in military uniforms had secured the room. One walked over to T’Pol and Trip, and crouched down before her. “Before he was killed, Ambassador Sukal sent a message to the Vulcan High Command of you and your Captain’s rescue attempt.” The soldier stood. “A revolt has broken out and the Sorh are forcing the Vulcan’s to depart their system. We have orders to extract you and take you to the Vulcan embassy for transport.” T’Pol nodded, looking down at Trip. The soldier touched her arm and she looked at him. He lowered his voice, but Archer could still hear him. “How much did this human tell the Sorh?” “He had no important information to give them.” “He was given a truth agent, was he not?” “I assure you, he said nothing.” “He is human, he--” “I know this human far better than any human I have ever met. When I tell you he said nothing, I back it on my word.” “You are speaking with emotions.” “My emotions have nothing to do with this. Commander Tucker may suffer the physiological frailty of other humans, but psychologically he is the strongest human I know.” The two Vulcans stared at one another for a long moment. T’Pol stood suddenly, waking Trip. She grabbed his arm and started helping him to his feet. Archer grabbed Trip’s other arm to help. Trip looked up, noticing the Vulcans. “Where’d they come from?” Trip asked. “The sky,” Archer said. Trip smiled a little. “They’re paratrooper Vulcans?” Archer smiled. “You amaze me, Trip. We gotta move.” The group turned to go up the hall but it was blocked by Vulcan’s firing at Sorh. “This way,” the soldier said. He led them down the hall and into the basement. Archer looked around, not seeing any windows or doors. The lead soldier was looking at a device, slowly walking around the room. “We can contact Enterprise and they can transport us out of here,” T’Pol told the Vulcan soldier. “Even if you could reach your ship, you could not transport. The Sorh are scrambling transporter signals. We’ve already lost one hundred and sixty soldiers transporting to the surface beyond the embassy. The embassy is the only secure area to transport to or from.” He stopped walking suddenly and looked down, tapping the heel of his shoe on the floor. Instead of dull thumps on ground or concrete, they all heard a hallow ring of metal. “Move the table,” he ordered. The other four soldiers moved it, quickly uncovering a metal grate that they pried off. The soldier lowered himself into the hole and disappeared. “Toss me a beacon and my weapon,” he called back Another soldier dropped the items to him. “Send them down,” the lead soldier ordered. A soldier turned to Archer. “Where does that go?” Archer asked. “Captain Archer, the Sorh will be in here soon. You must hurry,” the lead soldier told him. Archer looked at T’Pol. “Got him?” T’Pol nodded once. Archer walked over to the opening, staring into it. It was four meters down into the sewage catacombs. The tunnels were lit with dim lights along the ceiling, most which were broken or burned out. The Vulcan soldier stood in wastewater up to his waist. “Trip isn’t going to make this jump.” “He’ll have to or die,” the Vulcan soldier said. Archer looked back at Trip. He had his arms wrapped around T’Pol, using her to keep himself standing. An explosion went off over their heads, shaking the ground and showering ceiling plaster over them. Archer sat down on the edge and dropped into the water below. The stench of the sewage hit him and he swallowed hard to keep from vomiting. “Send T’Pol down first,” Archer ordered. T’Pol appeared and leapt into the water. She turned back, watching the opening above. The Vulcan soldiers surprised Archer when they brought Trip to the edge and worked together to lower him as far as their arms would reach before letting him drop. Archer grabbed Trip to keep him from falling into the sewage. “AHHH!” Trip cried out, falling against Archer. “What? What’s wrong?” “Whatever’s in the water-- Burns in my cuts!” Two more soldiers dropped into the water with them. “Follow me,” the Vulcan soldier ordered. Trip leaned on Archer for support and the group started moving. # “Trip.” Trip opened his eyes. Light danced off the water, reflecting daylight coming through a grate overhead. “Trip, climb up on the cement,” Archer told him. Trip turned his head, looking at the cement slab beside him. Two of the soldiers were crouched on it, holding their hands out to him. Trip slowly left Archer’s support and let them pull him up on the slab. He rolled onto his back, closing his eyes. Archer pulled himself up on the slab and turned to T’Pol, holding his hand out to her. She linked her hand around his wrist and climbed up. “We can only stop for a few minutes,” the lead soldier told Archer. Archer looked up at him. “What’s your name?” “Commander S’Tah.” “And theirs?” “Trahk and Sat’k.” “Do any of you have a med pack?” One of the other soldiers unfastened a pouch from his belt and handed it to Archer. Archer sat down next to Trip, opening it. He frowned at the Vulcan writing on the contents. “T’Pol, I can’t read these.” T’Pol crouched on Trip’s other side and took the pack from Archer. She pulled out a tube of gel and wrap, handing them to Archer. She held Trip’s hand while Archer cleaned and bandaged his wounds. “Perhaps we should move on,” S’Tah said. “You said we had a few minutes,” Archer said. “Without him.” Archer looked at T’Pol when she stopped moving for only a moment. “He will remain with us,” T’Pol informed S’Tah. S’Tah crouched by T’Pol. She looked at him. “You are letting your emotions for this human cloud your judgment.” “Your orders were to guide all three of us to the embassy. It would reflect poorly on your record if you failed to bring all three of us to the embassy as ordered.” Archer looked at T’Pol. Perhaps her emotions were ruling her judgment, but so was his. He wasn’t about to leave Trip behind. “He is slowing us down.” “Commander S’Tah,” Archer said. S’Tah turned to Archer. “Yes?” “Things work different among humans and T’Pol is aware of that. We do not leave crewmembers, injured or otherwise, behind. She is only doing what her captain, me, would order her to do anyway. And since I outrank you, I am ordering that he remains with us. Understood?” S’Tah looked from Archer to Trip. He walked over to the other two soldiers and held his hand out for something, speaking in Vulcan. One handed him a small container and he brought it back to Archer. “This will most likely not be to Commander Tucker’s liking, but he needs nourishment if he is to continue.” Archer took the container. “Thank you.” S’Tah walked to the edge of the slab and stood guard. # “Captain Archer.” Archer woke up, finding S’Tah standing over him. “We have to move. Sat’k was able to get near a Sorh unit above. They’re going to be entering the sewer to search of Vulcan fugitives.” Archer stood up, looking down at Trip and T’Pol. She had rested Trip’s head in her lap and was stroking his hair, staring at his face. Were she human, she probably would have been crying, too. Archer walked over to them. “How is he?” “Sleeping. We must move?” “Yeah.” Archer crouched down, lightly shaking Trip’s shoulder to wake him. “We have to move, Trip.” Trip nodded. T’Pol and Archer helped him to the edge of the cement. T’Pol slid into the filthy water and supported him as he slid in beside her. Trip bit back his cry of pain when the water and sewage hit his wounds again. Archer and the soldiers surrounded them and they began moving. “Where are we going?” Archer asked S’Tah. “There is a water main that runs past the embassy. You’ll use that to get there.” “Won’t there be water in it?” “It was shut off because it leads to Vulcan homes.” “When are they turning it back on?” “We do not know.” “We could be in it when it’s turned on.” S’Tah looked back at Archer. “You could always surrender to the Sorh, Captain Archer.” Archer quit arguing. |
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