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"One Man's Trash" by A. Rhea King
Rating: PG CHAPTER 1 Hoshi stepped into Archer’s ready room, smiling when he smiled. He had his arm strapped to him with a blue sling and the bruise on his head was still an ugly green color. He was using a single crutch to hobble back to his desk chair. “Sir... Aren’t you supposed to be sitting?” “I am sitting.” Archer eased himself into his chair. “See?” “I meant in your quarters. With your leg up. That was Doctor Phlox’s order, wasn’t it?” “I was bored, Ma Hoshi.” Archer smiled at her. “Needed to see my bridge and it’s a good thing I did too. Had some business that needed my attention here.” Hoshi shook her head. “You’re an awful patient, sir. It’s a wonder Doctor Phlox even let you out of Sickbay.” Archer grinned. “I ordered him.” “Uh-huh.” “I did!” “Right. You wanted to see me, sir?” Hoshi asked. Archer chuckled. “Can’t pull the wool over your eyes, can I Hoshi? Have a seat.” Archer motioned to the chair across from him, turning back to his monitor. Hoshi sat down on the edge of the chair, folding her hands in her lap. Archer finished what he was working on and then turned to her. “How are you doing this morning?” Archer asked her. “Well, sir. I think I ate too much for breakfast though.” Archer chuckled. “Chef’s blueberry crumb cake does that every time, doesn’t it? Think I’ll have to skip lunch today.” “So will I, sir.” Archer leaned forward, resting an arm on the edge of his desk. “Do you recall the Bitanag language?” “Yes. Kind of hard to forget it after all we went through.” “I remember you saying it sounded like whale songs. Do you remember that comment?” “Yes. It sounded exactly like whale songs, sir.” “Well, Starfleet contacted me yesterday afternoon and told me marine biologists have been able to understand whales and dolphins using the language. How about that?” Hoshi chuckled. “Wow!” “Wow is what they were saying too. The marine science community has been talking about it for weeks and it’s been all over the news. They said you and T’Pol translated a language that is several million years old.” “So what do whales and dolphins talk about, sir?” “I’ll have to ask next time I talk to Admiral Garner. I gave Admiral Garner a hard time, though. I told him that all those scientists just weren’t looking hard enough when they looked in your direction.” Hoshi’s eyes narrowed a little. “And you did, sir?” Archer laughed. “I always knew you were good, Hoshi, I just never realized how good. But after eight years of working with you, I’ve learned to pay a little closer attention to what goes on at that communications console.” Hoshi laughed. “You know the awards dinner is Friday, don’t you?” Archer asked her. “Yes. Elizabeth was so excited when she was told she is being promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade.” “She’s earned it. And so have you.” Hoshi’s smile wavered until it was gone. “What?” “You’re being promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade. Actually, you already have been. I just have to give you the collar pips to make it official.” “So...what...what does that mean?” “It means instead of me yelling, ‘Ensign, I wanna know what they’re saying now!’, I’ll be yelling, ‘Lieutenant, I wanna know what they’re saying now!’ I think it’ll do a good job of confusing you and Malcolm for the first few weeks.” Archer smiled. Hoshi didn’t return the smile. She looked down at the floor. “Is there something wrong, Hoshi?” “No...sir. I have a lot of work to do today. I’m just distracted.” Hoshi offered a weak smile. Archer’s companel beeped. He reached out and tapped it. “Archer here.” “Captain, you and Ensign Sato are needed on the bridge,” T’Pol said, “We’re picking up a distress signal.” “We’re on our way.” Archer got up and the two walked onto the bridge. T’Pol turned as she rose from the captain’s chair. “We have intercepted a distress signal 3.8 light years away.” Hoshi sat down at communications. “And it’s getting weaker, sir,” Hoshi said, “or further away. It’s fluxuating bad.” “We’ve altered course?” Archer asked T’Pol. “Yes.” “Proceed.” T’Pol returned to her station and Archer sat down, watching the view monitor. He saw the black hole before he saw the ship. Light from a nearby sun was being drawn into the black hole and it became intensely bright before disappearing into a black center. The sight of it instigated a fear reaction in Archer that, for a few seconds, he felt he’d nearly lose control of. He could see a ship slowly moving around the edge furthest from Enterprise. Archer swallowed hard, rising to his feet. “Travis, full halt,” Archer ordered, not hearing how dark his voice sounded, “Is that ship where the signal’s coming from, Hoshi?” “Yes, sir.” “It doesn’t appear much bigger than a shuttle pod,” Travis commented. “T’Pol, how’s the radiation look? Can we get near safely?” “Only for a ten minutes. The occupants of the ship may be dead already.” “Well, we need to find out for sure. Got any ideas?” T’Pol turned back to her viewer and began working out calculations. The lack of red hue hinted the ship wasn’t too far in to help, but he wasn’t about to risk Enterprise on a guess. “The ship is still far enough away from the event horizon that we may be able to use the grapple, but we we’ll need to move closer and wait for the ship to orbit around.” T’Pol turned her chair, looking up at Archer’s stern expression. “How long will the orbit take?” “Two hours.” “Hold your position until it’s near, Travis, then move in slow and keep your distance.” “I can make adjustments so the emergency release will activate before the ship can pull us in if the gravity pull is too strong, Captain.” “Go ahead.” Archer focused his mind on the rescue attempt but at the back of his mind, he was watching the black hole as if it might suddenly lunge out and swallow Enterprise. Archer slowly sat down to wait. “It’s coming around, Captain,” Travis said. “Keep us clear of the gravity pull, Travis. You’ve got nine minutes.” “Aye, sir.” Travis moved Enterprise closer and stopped. “Grapple away. And she’s a...” Travis held his breath a moment. “HIT! I got it!” “Seven minutes,” T’Pol informed Travis. “Easy her out, Travis. The gravitational pull could tear it apart,” Archer reminded him. “Aye, sir.” “When you get it clear, move us safely away from the black hole.” “Aye, sir.” It felt like hours instead of minutes had passed while Travis pulled the ship out and backed Enterprise away from the black hole. “We are clear. Pulling it into shuttle bay two.” Archer finally allowed himself to relax as he stood. He smiled, looking at T’Pol and Hoshi, “T’Pol, Hoshi, let’s go find out who we just rescued.” Archer walked to the lift. # Archer stepped into the launch bay, staring at the craft. It was a patchwork of metal pieces taken from a variety of sources. “Looks like a coat of many colors,” Hoshi observed. Archer smiled a little, his eyes following the two wings on either side made of a material he couldn’t identify. He had never seen a craft like it before. The hatch made a sound of air being released and Archer moved around, laying his hand on the phase pistol at his hip. The hatch wheel turned and the door slowly rolled back. Inside the craft there was little light and a dark form stepped into the door. “Hello,” Archer said, hoping they knew English. “Hello,” the being replied, “You pulled us from the black hole?” “Yes. We did.” “Thank you.” “You’re welcome. What is this?” Archer looked up at the wings. “It is a solar glider.” Archer looked down and his breath caught. He stared at the Suliban. The man was holding onto the edge of the hatch for support and blood ran from his nose, eyes and ears. “A solar glider?” Archer asked. “Yes. It travels on currents of solar wind.” “I see.” The Suliban glanced at Hoshi and T’Pol and then back at Archer. “I am grateful for your help but we should depart.” “We?” The Suliban nodded, looking down. Archer slowly approached him. “You don’t look well. Are you and the others on your ship sick?” The Suliban looked up at Archer. “The children...I put them in a safe place...from the radiation. I...” The Suliban collapsed. “Call Doctor Phlox,” Archer ordered. Hoshi ran to a companel to call for Doctor Phlox. Archer stepped into the glider. He looked around the small area, trying to figure out where the Suliban would have hidden children. “I’m not going to hurt you,” Archer said aloud, “but I need to know where you are so I can get you out. Your father is ill.” There was no sound. T’Pol stepped into the glider with a scanner in hand. She began scanning the glider. She pointed to a spot at the back of the ship. Archer walked to the back, looking at the wall for any sign of an opening or door. “I need a flashlight, T’Pol,” Archer said. “Here,” Trip said, stepping over the Suliban into the glider. Behind him, Doctor Phlox and another crewmen collected the Suliban and moved him away. Archer took the flashlight Trip handed him and shone it on the wall. “What are your looking for?” Trip asked. “A door or a cover. He said he put his children somewhere safe from the radiation and T’Pol’s scanner picked up something over here. It may not have been safe though; they didn’t answer me.” “Could be scared.” Trip left and returned with another flashlight, looking over the other side of the wall. “There,” T’Pol said. The men looked at her. She was pointing at the bottom of the wall. T’Pol pushed through them and crouched down. She sat her scanner down and carefully pulled off the cover. The men crouched down behind her as soon as she had the cover off. Two unconscious Suliban children lay inside and what appeared to be a half human, half Suliban child sat at the back. She was holding a black box with a flashing red LED to her chest and crying silently. She didn’t look much older than six or seven years. “Hi,” Archer said, smiling at her. She didn’t reply. “Do you understand me?” Archer asked her. She didn’t respond. “Why don’t you come out of there?” Trip asked. She looked down. Archer looked at Trip. “Any ideas?” T’Pol moved near the opening and extended her hand to the child. The girl looked up at T’Pol. T’Pol met her eyes. “Trust me, child,” T’Pol said. The girl reached out her hand and placed it into T’Pol’s. T’Pol gently closed her hand around the girl’s and helped her out of the compartment. The girl immediately threw her arms around T’Pol’s neck and held onto her, crying on her shoulder. T’Pol couldn’t hide her discomfort. “Why don’t you carry her to Sickbay,” Archer told T’Pol. “I should scan this vessel.” “I think you have a larger responsibility, T’Pol,” Archer told her. T’Pol stood, holding the child to her. She left the glider. Archer moved next to the compartment and carefully lifted one of the Suliban children out and handed it to Trip. He picked up the other and the two headed to Sickbay with the children. # The Suliban regained consciousness fast and started to sit up. A hand was laid on his chest and gently pushed him back. He looked up at Archer standing beside his bed. “You shouldn’t move too fast. You had a little more radiation than you should have,” Archer said. “Who are you?” “I’m Captain Jonathan Archer. We pulled you from the black hole.” “My grandchildren,” the Suliban said, starting to get up. “Easy,” Archer said, again pushing him back. “They’re fine. We found them. Your grandson was the sickest. The two girls seem to be more resilient, especially that half Suliban child.” The Suliban let out a soft sigh, closing his eyes. “My ship?” “It’s in our launch bay. It looks like it needs repairs, but I thought I’d let you recover before we bothered with that.” “Where are my grandchildren now?” Archer looked up, letting out a sigh. “If I know Navta and Eartik, they’re probably in a maintenance tunnels where they aren’t supposed to be.” The Suliban looked at Archer. “There are children on your vessel?” “Only two.” The Suliban smiled. “They will enjoy having playmates.” “I know that these last three days Navta and Eartik have.” “Three days? I’ve been here three days?” “Yes. You’d been exposed to the black hole radiation too long. Our doctors are concerned you may suffer consequences later on from it.” “Luck has not been my friend of late.” Archer smiled. “Yes it has. We picked up your distress signal and--” “There was no distress signal.” Archer picked up a small black box, holding it up. “It was this.” “Amy!” he sighed. “Amy?” “The half Suliban child is amazingly ingenious. If she had access to databases and the parts, she would have built a warp engine for the glider, I think. She loves to build things. I told her not to build a distress beacon.” “It’s a good thing she did. It saved your life.” “Yes. I guess it did.” “What are your other grandchildren’s names?” “The girl is Darta, the boy is Yer.” “And your name?” “Keva.” “Get some more rest, Keva.” Archer leaned a little closer. “And don’t argue with Doctor Phlox about leaving. He’s been known to sedate patients that refuse to stay when he orders them to.” Keva smiled. “I’ll bear that in mind. However, if my grandchildren are safe, I don’t imagine I will be refusing your doctor’s orders. “Good.” Archer turned and walked away. He spotted Doctor Phlox at a monitor. Doctor Phlox turned and followed Archer out into the hall. “He isn’t Kabal and neither are the two Suliban children,” Doctor Phlox told Archer, “and I just concluded tests on the half Suliban. Her Suliban appearance, the yellow eyes and the patches of skin, are all hereditary; her DNA has not been tampered with. Her other half is human.” Archer heard laughing and looked down the hall. Eartik, Navta, Porthos, Darta, and Amy ran across the hall. Archer smiled. “At least the girls will be alright,” Doctor Phlox said. “Yer isn’t recovering, is he?” Archer looked at Doctor Phlox. “The boy’s name I assume?” Archer nodded. “The Suliban’s name is Keva. The other Suliban child is Darta and the half Suliban is Amy.” “It’s going to be touch and go for another three or four days with Yer. While he’s responding to treatment, it is too early to say with certainty the outcome.” “I don’t understand how he could have been exposed to more radiation than the girls.” “My guess is Keva put Amy in first because he may have thought that her half human DNA wasn’t as resistant to radiation as the Suliban are. She had less exposure than either the Suliban. Next, he put Darta in and lastly Yer. But Yer had as much radiation poisoning as Keva, so it may not have been until he detected Enterprise.” “Maybe. Only he can tell us the reasoning. Tell me if Yer turns for the worst.” Doctor Phlox nodded. Archer walked away. # Hoshi had long ago lost track of time. She didn’t know how long she’d been sitting at the end of her bunk hugging a pillow and staring at the bedspread. She jumped when her doorbell beeped and looked at it. Hoshi looked away, hoping the person would go away. The doorbell beeped again. Hoshi closed her eyes a moment and then opened them. She looked down at the PADD beside her and picked it up. She’d at least make it look like she’d been reading rather than staring into space. “Come in,” Hoshi called. She looked up, watching Trip walk in. Judging from his appearance, he’d just come from the recreation room and a hard game of basketball. Trip stopped inside the door, drawing in a deep breath. “I dunno what you do in here, but I love how it always smells like the beach,” Trip commented. Hoshi smiled. “Everyone says that.” Trip walked over to a chair and sat down, smiling at her. “So what do you do?” “That’s a secret. Can’t tell.” “Now what’s with this secret stuff, Hosh? It’s me. Your friend, pal, compadre, senior officer you’re talking to. I am the know all, see all aboard this ship!” Hoshi laughed. She was glad Trip had stopped because he always made her laugh. “Know all, see all?” Trip nodded as she asked the question. “See, I’m the know all, see all, except when it comes to most everything, that is.” “Oh! I see. That would put quite a damper on that know all, see all bit, sir.” Trip laughed. He wiped his face with the towel around his neck, looking back at a shelf of pictures. One caught his eye. “Who’s the kid?” “My best friend’s son.” “That’s new.” “Yeah. I got it a couple weeks ago. She just had them taken.” “How old is he?” “Seven.” “My nephew’s age.” Trip looked at Hoshi. “Does he get into as much mischief?” Hoshi sat the PADD aside and turned to face Trip, laying the pillow in her lap. “I think he probably holds his own, but she doesn’t tell me any of the bad stuff.” “Wish I could say that about my nephew. I always get to hear about his mischief.” Hoshi nodded, looking down. The worry was starting to creep back into her mind and it was taking her humor with it. “So, I hear you’re a big celebrity back on Earth. My brother sent me a letter the other day and was talking about it. Might even get a library or school named after you.” “Oh great,” Hoshi said, forcing a smile, “Sato Elementary. I’m sorry, but that doesn’t sound right.” Trip watched her for a minute, without really saying much. Hoshi looked away, feeling suddenly uncomfortable in his presence and suspecting Archer had sent him to talk to her. “I wanna have kids,” Trip said. Hoshi looked up at him. “A whole slew of rug rats,” Trip continued with a smile. “Course...that’d require a wife, wouldn’t it?” “It generally works better that way, sir. Men having babies is a bit difficult.” They both laughed. “Difficult for most men. We must never forget I managed it once.” Hoshi laughed. “I was assuming you were talking about a human, or Vulcan, wife.” “Ahhhhh! The secret’s out. Can’t pull the wool over your eyes, can I?” “I know, but it’s still a secret when I hear it from someone else. Have you two talked about marriage and kids yet?” “Naw. Those are backburner issues.” Hoshi leaned back against the wall, looking around her quarters. She smiled a little. “I’m going to go back to teaching when I get back to Earth, find Mr. Right, have two kids, preferably a boy and a girl, and then settle down and rock my days away on the front porch facing the Pacific.” “Damn!” Trip laughed. “You have it all planned out, don’t you? You gonna teach at the Academy?” Hoshi’s smile slid away as she sat up. She looked down at the pillow. “You know,” Trip leaned forward, looking frustrated, “Hoshi, I dunno what I’m saying here, but it seems I’m saying a lot of wrong things tonight.” “The Captain sent you to talk to me, didn’t he?” Hoshi looked at Trip. “No, the Cap’n didn’t send me to talk to you. The only things I’ve talked to him about in the last three days are Suliban, a half human kid and how I can always beat him at basketball.” Hoshi closed her eyes when she felt the tears start to well up. One escaped and landed on her hand. She looked down at it. “Hoshi, come on, talk to me. What’s going on up there?” “I don’t want to be promoted, Trip.” “Why not?” “Because I’m not going to stay in Starfleet. When I get back, I’m going back to the University. I never want to be on another starship for the rest of my life.” “You don’t like being on Enterprise?” “No. I mean...” Hoshi looked at him. “I like Enterprise, and everyone on her is like family to me, but...I hate the battles, I hate the hostile aliens, I hate the unknown...” Hoshi sighed. “That pretty much sums it up right there, Trip. I hate the unknown. And we get a lot of that out here. I just want...simplicity and order and to know that when I wake up in the morning that I’m going to pretty much go through my daily routine without near death experiences. I’m just not the adventurer that everyone else is. I mean, I try...but...” Trip smiled. “You said that the first few months you were on Enterprise. You’ve faired pretty well.” “There’s a significant difference between fairing pretty well and actually enjoying it.” Trip let out a long breath, leaning back in the chair. “Yeah. There is.” Trip put his arms on the chair arms. “So tell the Cap’n. Tell him you don’t want the promotion.” “No,” Hoshi shook her head, “and then I have to explain to eighty-one other people why I didn’t accept the promotion they’ve all heard I’ve gotten. And...” Hoshi dropped her head to the side. “I don’t want to disappoint him. Not after all this time. You should have seen him when he told me. I’ve seen him tell other crew they were promoted, Trip, and only a few times was he genuinely been excited for the person. I saw that look and I can’t do that to him.” Trip smiled. “He respects you a lot, Hoshi. You’ve been there when he’s needed you and when he hasn’t. Hell, you took a bullet for him. Literally! I think he’s grown rather fond of you in a plutonic sense.” Hoshi smiled. “Well, at least that’s mutual.” “So if he’s your friend,” Trip leaned forward, “then tell him. I don’t think he’ll be disappointed and knowing the Cap’n like I know him, he’ll probably come up with some great plan or at least a really good answer. If you do respect him, tell him, Hoshi. Tell him the truth.” Hoshi looked at Trip. “I don’t want to disappoint him.” “You’d disappoint him by saying nothin’, Hoshi. If he ever got wind of this, after the fact, he’d be disappointed then. Probably think you didn’t trust him. Talk to him. See what he says. He’s not going to get upset and I know he won’t be disappointed. Give him the benefit of the doubt, Hoshi.” Hoshi frowned some, looking at her pillow. “Alright. I’ll talk to him.” “Good. So...who is Mr. Right?” Hoshi laughed, telling Trip about a man she hoped was single when she got back to Earth. # Archer turned the corner with Keva and Trip just as Navta bunny hopped around it and ran into him. Navta stepped back, smiling up at him. “Hi K’pan!” Navta flung her arms around his middle, hugging him. Archer looked up to find Darta, Yer and Amy standing in the hall with Eartik and Porthos. “Morning, Navta,” Archer said. “This is K’pan!” Navta said, grabbing Archer’s hand and hugging his arm. She looked back at the three children. “We’ve met, Navta,” Archer told her. Navta leaned close to Archer, whispering, “You’re supposed to pretend you’ve met them for the first time, K’pan. I’m Earth’s ambassador and I’m showing these other ambassadors around.” “Oh,” Archer whispered back with a smile. He looked at the four. “Welcome aboard Enterprise, ambassadors.” The children laughed. Navta grabbed Archer’s hand. “Can I eat with Amy, Darta and Yer? Likos told Eartik he could and we wanna get our own table and pretend we’re conducting a very important peace treaty. Chef said he’d even give us really nice stuff so we could. Can I? Please?” “Yes.” Navta hopped up and down excitedly. “THANK YOU!” Navta hugged him again and then turned. The five started down the hall at a run with Porthos barking as he followed. “NO RUNNING IN THE HALLS!” Archer yelled. The five slowed to a fast walk until they were around the corner and Archer heard them take off at a run. He smiled, knowing that if anyone could get information out of the children, Navta was the one to do it. “She’s your daughter?” Keva asked. “Not really.” “Did you know her parents?” “No. It’s a long story. Let’s go see what the hold up is.” Archer motioned Keva to continue walking down the hall. “The children have enjoyed having other children to play with. It is good that repairs are taking as long as they are.” Keva looked sidelong at Archer. “I’m glad that Yer has recovered.” Archer nodded. “For that it is good. They’ve had a lot of fun these last three days.” “T’Pol to Archer.” “Excuse me.” Archer walked over to a companel and tapped it. “Archer here.” “Report to the bridge, Captain. We have a situation.” “I’m on my way.” Archer looked back at Trip. “Trip?” “This way, Keva,” Trip said and the two walked away. Archer headed for the lift. When he stepped onto the bridge, he found T’Pol standing in front of the captain’s chair with a deep look of concern. On the view monitor was a ship he hadn’t seen before. “What is it?” Archer asked. “We are being hailed. I told them I would have to wait for you to come to the bridge,” T’Pol said. “You can handle it.” “They’re looking for a Suliban with two Suliban children and a half breed Suliban child.” T’Pol looked at Archer. “I felt it would be better that you handle this situation, Captain, in case fabrication of truth was required.” “Hoshi, on screen.” The view monitor changed. The alien on the screen had a mass of black hair that was pleated into braids and adorned with an array of metal pieces. He was dressed in several layers of loose robes. He had what looked like three slits on each cheek that rose and fell with each breath. “I am Captain Fosip. I am looking for a Suliban with three children.” “We haven’t seen any. What are they traveling in?” Archer asked. “We are not certain. Are you certain you haven’t seen them?” “We haven’t seen much in the last few days. A few gas planets and there was a black hole three days ago. We detected a distress signal from it but when we go there, there was no sign of anything.” “If you do detect them, alert us immediately. They must be returned to the detention center.” “Children in a detention center?” Archer asked. “That is none of your concern. Alert us if you find them.” “We will,” Archer said. The view monitor went back to the space view and he watched the ship in front of them jump to warp. “Hoshi, call Keva to my ready room.” Archer headed for his ready room to wait. |
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