THE BITTER By A. Rhea King Rating: PG Disclaimer: Don't own them, CBS/Paramount does. Summary: Trip visits an alien's ship to help repair their warp engine, but he quickly finds their chief engineer has no intention of making his job easy. CHAPTER 1 Archer followed behind Trip, watching him do another check of his equipment. “I know I forgot something,” Trip muttered to himself, “Probably something stupid like a wrench or screwdriver. Be just the luck.” Archer smiled. “A PADD. Damn!” Trip spun around and ran into Archer. Archer fell back a step, laughing. Trip blushed. “I’ve been following you since engineering. You worry too much.” “Don’t laugh. Them Xyrillians think I did such a great job, they sent these Arestak to get help. I gotta make this look good.” Archer shook his head. “They didn’t ask for a miracle, Trip. They just need to find out why their warp drive keeps going off line.” “And there could be a million reasons,” Trip stepped around Archer. “And I need the right tool.” Archer held up his hand, looking Trip in the eye. “Trip, they’ve been waiting for you for twenty minutes. I have to go meet the Ylla and you’re holding up the show.” “But—” “They have tools on their ship, Trip. Turn around and walk.” “But—” Archer started chuckling. “Walk! Go! Get off my ship!” Trip frowned, but obeyed. Archer fell into stride, his chuckles dying off. “Why are you taking this so serious?” “I’m not.” “You are.” Trip stopped, looking at Archer. “At the end of the request, Ah’len told me my daughter’s real sick. I’m just worried.” Archer stopped in front of Trip, staring at him. “You’re… I never…” Archer’s mouth continued working but the only word that came out was, “Wow.” “What?” “I never knew you thought of that baby as your daughter. You never talk about her.” “Ya never ask.” Trip walked around Archer. Archer turned, following alongside. “Do you even know her name?” Trip smiled. “Al’ra. They placed her with a real nice family. They send me a letter and pictures every month or so. It surprised me that they even wanted to keep me in the loop, but I’m glad they have.” “I’m glad to hear you’re comfortable with this.” “I was only uncomfortable when she was in me.” Trip glanced at Archer. They came to the airlock and there was no one waiting for them. They boarded the Arestak ship and turned left. The walls were lined with a chromed, acoustic metal that muted all sounds and they couldn’t hear their footsteps. The metal chink of Trip’s cases was barely audible. “Mind your manners, Trip.” “Don’t I always!” “Should I really answer that?” Trip shrugged. “Guess not.” Archer stopped outside of the decompression chamber at the end of the hall, saying, “Good luck with their engine, Trip.” Trip stopped in the center of the room, looking around the small, circular area. There was a padded bench meant for sitting and sleeping on and a couple of monitors. The Arestak had told them that most visiting aliens spent anywhere from twelve hours to a full day in the chamber. Trip sighed, turning. Archer offered him a sympathetic smile. “At least there aren’t any Klingons with you this time,” Archer said. “At least. See ya in a week, Cap’n.” “Seven days. Not an hour less.” Trip smiled, nodding once. Archer pressed the panel outside the decompression chamber and the door slowly slid shut. Trip took another look around the room. He looked back at Archer, watching him disappear behind the door. Trip sat his equipment and duffel bag on the floor as he sank down onto the bench. He heard the soft whooshing sound of the locks engaging. Trip leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest. He heard the impulse engine whine and then silence. Trip laid down on the bench, lacing his hands behind his head and letting his mind drift. “Commander Tucker.” Trip woke slowly up, immediately noticing how heavy his body felt in the heavier gravity of the Arestak ship. He was aware of how each breath was a labor for his lungs to pull in with the gravity weighing down on his chest. He tried to wet his mouth, but there was hardly any saliva in his mouth. Trip felt sweat trickle down his forehead and became conscious of the how hot it was aboard the Arestak ship. While getting inoculated before departing, Doctor Phlox had mentioned the Arestak were very cold blooded aliens and that they lived in an environment that was arid and with a temperature of thirty-nine degrees Celsius or higher. It was a fact that had almost made Trip refuse to help them had Archer not shot him a warning look before he even opened his mouth. He opened his eyes, looking up at the three blurry aliens standing by the bench. Trip closed his eyes. “Give him a couple minutes, Captain,” one of the aliens said. Trip opened his eyes again and sat up. He looked back up at the aliens. They were dressed in loose uniforms with no real definition of a waist in them. The uniforms were two colors, with the tops black and the pants a single color. The outside seams of the pants were solid black. Metal strips of gold, pewter or silver were fastened to the seam along the right thigh, signifying the wearer’s rank. They had parched skin that looked like it would crumble if touched, yet it stretched and moved easily over their dense bones and bulging muscles. Their hair was cut short and neat, and their eyes had translucent pupils of browns, greens, blues and gray. They all had fine boned hands with narrow hands and long fingers. “How long have I been in here?” Trip asked. “A day and a half,” the alien in the center said. “Took me that long to adjust?” “No. It was only twelve hours, however, according to the Xyrillians, you were quite disoriented when you went through decompression on their ship. They also mentioned you refused to rest until your captain ordered you to. Since your ship was well out of communication range, I decided it was best that you sleep to avoid such a dispute.” ‘Great. They act like parents.’ Trip thought as he tried again to wet his mouth. ‘Polite and professional, Trip. Polite and professional or Jon’ll nail my hide to the wall.’ “Thank you,” Trip told the Arestak. “I am Captain Pah’pr.” The alien placed his hand on his stomach. Trip extended his hand to Pah’pr and immediately withdrew it. “Sorry. Forgot you don’t touch others of the same sex.” “That is correct. Doctor Ghu’jh needs to examine you.” Pah’pr motioned to the female Arestak on his right. Trip nodded. Doctor Ghu’jh sat down beside Trip and began scanning him. “Our martur was able to replicate many of the menu items sent to us,” Pah’pr said, “and we were able to replicate the water compund quite easily.” Trip nodded. Doctor Ghu’jh lowered her instruments. “Our environment not only has heavier gravity than you’re used to, but it is also drier and warmer. You need to be careful to intake plenty of liquid sustenance. Your doctor told me you are highly susceptible to dehydration. Is that correct?” “Yeah. Real easy for me.” “Did you bring lighter clothing?” “Yeah. Exactly what you recommended.” Doctor Ghu’jh looked up at Pah’pr. “He should be scheduled for frequent breaks, Captain.” Trip closed his eyes. ‘Scheduled for frequent breaks? Damn. I should have sent an ensign.’ “Are you feeling ill, Commander?” Doctor Ghu’jh asked. Trip looked at her, smiling, “No. Feeling fine.” “Alert me immediately if you began to feel ill.” Trip nodded. Doctor Ghu’jh stood, facing Pah’pr. “He really should refrain from heavy work today, Captain. In addition, he should eat and intake liquid. And change out of his uniform.” Pah’pr nodded. Doctor Ghu’jh turned back to Trip, holding out her hand. Trip took it and she tilted her head to the side. “It was a pleasure to meet with you, Commander Tucker. Good leave.” “Good leave,” Trip repeated. She turned and left the chamber. “I will show you your resting hex. We do not dine together as your kind does. You will take all meals within your resting hex.” Trip nodded. “This way.” Pah’pr waved his hands to his chest as he turned and led the way out of the chamber. Trip gathered his equipment and duffel bag. They passed a younger Arestak standing next to the door. The Arestak held Trip’s gaze with a dark, hateful glare. Trip chose to ignore him. Pah’pr led Trip into engineering and Trip’s eyes immediately found the warp drive in the center of the room. Trip guessed this explained why their ship had a spike in the center, for the warp drive rose vertically three and a half decks. Along the sides, there were tinted view sections that allowed the engineers to monitor the plasma flow. Normally a blue glow illuminated the view sections, but the view sections were dark since the warp drive was off-line. The outside of the warp drive was chrome metal, like the rest of the ship. To Trip it gave the ship an uncomfortable, institutionalized, hospital-like feeling. The metal also muted sounds, that it unnerved Trip because he knew the sounds were there, only by memory. Trip looked down at the alien controls, walking up to a panel fixed onto the waist high rail around the warp drive. He was conscious that Captain Pah’pr had stepped up beside him, but was intent on starting to work on the warp drive problem. “If you will wait here a moment, I will go fetch our senior engineer,” Pah’pr said. “Okay,” Trip answered, looking up at the warp drive. Trip looked down, immediately noticing his bare arms. He wasn’t used to wearing short sleeves on duty, but Doctor Phlox had insisted he dress cool while serving aboard the Arestak ship. He had suggested Trip wear the lightest pants he had while on duty and shorts off duty and short or sleeveless shirts where permissible. Trip was conscious that during the short walk from his resting hex to engineering his shirt already had large sweat spots. Trip turned back to the controls. Trip heard voices rise above the muffled silence and turned. He looked up, seeing Pah’pr speaking to the young Arestak that had been outside the decompression chamber when Trip left it. Trip turned back to the controls. He heard his name mentioned and looked up. Pah’pr had the younger one by the back of his neck and had pulled him within centimeters of his face. The younger Arestak was trying to pull away, but Pah’pr was apparently much stronger and held him. Pah’pr finally pushed the Arestak away, continuing to talk. He fell silent and the two glared at one another. The younger Arestak turned and disappeared out of Trip’s sight. Pah’pr followed. Trip turned back to the controls. “Commander Tucker,” Pah’pr said. Trip looked toward the voice and dread began to set in. The younger Arestak that Pah’pr had just been yelling at was following Pah’pr toward Trip, glaring hatefully at Trip. Trip turned around, thinking to himself, ‘Jon and I are having a looooong talk about aiding unknown aliens if this guy’s helping me.’ The two stopped and Pah’pr nodded once to the younger Arestak. Trip wasn’t sure what the movement meant. Pah’pr turned his head, looking at the younger Arestak. The young Arestak glanced at Pah’pr and looked back at Trip. He stepped forward and bowed his head slightly. “Senior engineer, Jahk’pr,” he said. ‘A really, really long talk.’ Trip forced a smile. “Pleased ta meet you.” Jahk’pr looked past Trip. “This is Assistant Aws’tp. She will aid you while you are working on our warp engine.” Trip looked back. A female Arestak walked up to them, holding her hand out to Trip. Trip gratefully shook it. “Pleased ta meet ya, ma’am,” Trip told her. She nodded her head to the side once. “And you, Commander Tucker.” “I must return to my command post,” Pah’pr informed them. Trip looked back at Pah’pr. ‘You’re leaving me with this asshole? Oh Lord!’ “If you need anything,” Pah’pr began, “or you find difficulties with anything or anyone, alert me. I will remedy the problem immediately.” ‘Got an attitude adjustment for junior here?’ Trip nodded, smiling. “Thank you.” Pah’pr turned so he could face Jahk’pr before he left. He gave the young Arestak a long, stern look as he departed. The silence that followed his departure was tense and heavy. “GET BACK TO WORK!” Jahk’pr yelled at the engineering crew. The crew jumped to obey. Jahk’pr turned a hateful glare to Trip. He stepped close to him, pointing a long index finger into Trip’s chest. Clearly he didn’t care about touching someone of the same sex. “I do not need you here, know that, however, Captain Pah’pr has it in his mind we need help from aliens we know nothing about. Therefore, I have to obey and since that is the case, I suggest three things occur. One, you had better fix that warp drive. Two, do not tell me what you cannot do because if I fix it, I will send you back to the rendezvous location in an escape sphere. And stay out of my way or I will break every frail bone in your alien body. Are we clear, Commander Tucker?” “Crystal.” “What?” “That means yes,” Trip growled. He added, as a thought, ‘Dick munch.’ Jahk’pr snarled as he turned to leave. Trip watched him leave engineering and looked at Aws’tp. She was looking at the floor. “He’s not really a people person, is he?” She looked at Trip. “Excuse me?” “Jahk’pr doesn’t really get along well with others, does he? How’d he get to be senior engineer?” “He is Captain Pah’pr’s son; he is here because he had disciplinary infractions while serving aboard other ships due to his temper. It is a trait from his mother’s blood lines.” Trip laughed. “What did I say that was amusing?” Aws’tp asked. “It’s from his mother. Among my kind, it’s almost a customary joke to blame a child’s bad behavior on a parent that’s not present.” Aws’tp smiled. “I read all the information your science officer provided us on humans and I did not read about this custom.” “It’s an almost custom and our science officer is a Vulcan. They only think they know everything about humans.” “I see I have much more to learn about humans. I will have much more to tell my husbands.” “Husbands? You have more than one?” “Yes. Three.” “They married to other women?” Aws’tp smiled. “I know that it is a custom of your species to mate with a single mate, however, our unions are very different. A woman may have multiple husbands and a man may have multiple wives, but once we decide to have more than one, all those that enter the union may not take other mates. They may only if they separate from the union circle for five years or by unanimous decision of the other spouses.” “Sounds complicated.” Trip looked at the door. “How many wives does Jahk’pr have?” “Jahk’pr cannot marry. He is under legal restriction.” “What’s that mean?” “The law deciders have determined that his violent behavior would cause an unstable union and cause undue strife and abuse toward his union spouses.” Trip turned to the controls behind him, thinking, ‘No wonder he’s in such a bad mood.’ He pointed to a symbol on the control panel. “What’s this say?” “One moment.” Aws’tp jogged across the room and retrieved a device from a compartment. She returned and held her hand out to Trip. “May I see your translating device?” Trip handed her his communicator. She looked it over and finally connected it to the device. She separated the two and handed both to Trip. “Place the device in the upper right corner.” She pointed to a marked spot on the controls. Trip obeyed. “Now, push the green button on the top.” Trip did. A holograph appeared over the controls and at first it was translucent and unreadable. Items on the image rearranged and became solid in color, covering the controls. It moved down so it was right on top of the controls. Everything that had been in an alien language was now in English. “This device works on any display and control panel on the ship, except view monitors,” Aws’tp explained, “but they have built in translators. To remove it, press the green button again, wait for the image to completely disappear and then remove the device.” “Your culture uses a lot of holographs, doesn’t it?” Trip looked at her. “Yes. They have become quite useful to us. Just recently, four months to be exact, we began using them for entertainment. Our ship was the first of five equipped with a room that projects an interactive holograph in the entire room.” “Perhaps I’ll finish early and you can show it to me. Now how do I pull up the diagnostic and maintenance reports for the last thirty days and the last two cycles?” Aws’tp leaned in to teach Trip how to use the ship’s computer. Continue to Chapter 2

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