|
THE BITTER By A. Rhea King
Rating: PG CHAPTER 4 Trip opened his eyes, staring up at the night sky. Overhead a gas giant planet loomed, reflecting light from the sun onto the sand, casting dim golden light across the land. Trip turned his head and saw Jahk’pr’s dark form in the darkness. He was sitting up, hugging his knees and appeared to be staring at the sand. Trip could hear the Arestak muttering but Trip couldn’t make out what he was saying. “Cursing my name?” Trip asked. “I have never lost a fight,” Jahk’pr answered. “Surprise. You lost one.” “I did not cause your head injury, did I?” “No. Something metal came loose from the ceiling. I take it whoever was attacking us went away.” “The ship did not feel as if it were under attack when I came to. That does not mean we have not been boarded.” “You’re optimism is amazing, Jahk’pr.” Trip slowly sat up. He closed his eyes when a wave of dizziness washed over him. “Are you okay?” Jahk’pr asked. “I will be. We disgusting humans mend.” Jahk’pr sighed. “That was uncalled for. Both times. I apologize for saying it.” Trip shrugged. “I’d be pissed if someone was brought in to do my job too. Course, I was kinda hoping we could work out the problem together.” Jahk’pr cleared his throat. “I... You won so I suppose I should... tell you the truth.” “Truth about what?” “The warp drive sensors and readouts.” Trip’s stomach knotted with tension. He looked at Jahk’pr. “What about them, Jahk’pr?” “I rerouted them to another terminal in engineering. When we were running tests I was watching them.” “Were they going into critical?” “When we went to warp three they began to climb to critical.” “JAHK’PR!” Trip stood. “Did you change them back before we came in here?” “No.” “WHAT!?” “No. I did not.” “Jahk’pr...if no one knows that, we could all be killed.” “I left one safety measure in place. The warp drive will shut down before it breaches.” “By then the engine could have irreparable damage, Jahk’pr. And that’s the best that could happen!” “I am sorry. I wanted you to look bad.” “By killing your crew?” “I told you--” Trip knelt down in front of Jahk’pr. “Having an engine shut down before it breaches isn’t a safety protocol that’s effective, Jahk’pr. There are hundred things that could cause that fail-safe not to go into effect and blow this ship to smithereens. You never should have done that. You should have just...” Trip sat down in the sand, smiling. “You shoulda just challenged me to a fist fight. We’d’a duked it out and called it good. Could’a done it without anyone even knowing.” Jahk’pr smiled. “You do fight amazingly well, Commander Tucker.” “I’ve had a lot of practice. I have a wicked temper.” Jahk’pr chuckled. “You do. There were a couple times I thought for certain you were going to strike me.” “Captain Archer has, sort of, made me curb it. Sometimes it gets the best of me still. Guess you saw that.” Jahk’pr sighed. “Mine does too. I yell and become verbally abusive.” “I’ve seen that.” “Captain Pah’pr... you know he is my father?” “Yes.” “He wanted me here. He wanted me to follow in the family profession.” “What did you wanna do?” “Me?” “Yeah. It sounds like this wasn’t your career of choice.” Jahk’pr leaned forward on his legs. “I wanted to be a marine biologist and join our oceanic research team on Fugh’ep. They have some amazing research happening now.” “Why don’t you tell your dad that’s what you want to do?” “He would not listen.” “Then I’ll tell him.” “Why would you tell him? Especially after what I have done.” Trip moved around to sit next to Jahk’pr. “I may have a really bad temper, but I can forgive anyone of almost anything. No one told me your attitude problem had to do with your father, but I have a friend on Enterprise that has almost the same story. I can see how being controlled like that would make you angry.” “His father is not Captain Archer, is he?” Trip laughed. “No.” Trip brushed his knees off. “No, his father is back on Earth. Don’t really know if he was ever a captain, I know my friend never served under him, but if you get him started, he’ll vent for hours about how his father wanted him to join the Royal Navy. So, to avoid it, he joined Starfleet instead.” “What is the Royal Navy?” “An ocean fleet back home.” “Oh. Perhaps he and I should trade fathers,” Jahk’pr joked. Trip laughed. “See how when you’re nice to people they like you and don’t want to kick your butt?” Jahk’pr chuckled. “I just needed to fight. That has made me feel better.” Trip nodded. “Strange how a good old fist fight does that when you’re mad at someone.” “I will probably get reprimanded for it, however.” “How’s that?” “Fighting with fellow officers carries a strict punishment, and with my other infractions, it will most likely mean my dismissal from the fleet.” Trip shrugged, frowning a little. “He’d havta know about it to reprimand you, Jahk’pr.” Jahk’pr looked at Trip. “You do not intend to tell him?” “Naw. You’ll havta tell him if you want him to know.” “How do we explain these injuries?” “Safeties are off. Some big beast attacked us.” Jahk’pr laughed. “Do you lie well as well as you stink?” Trip laughed. “Yes. As a matter of fact, I do.” Trip sat his hands behind him and leaned on them. “So, who do you think keeps attacking us?” “It is hard to say. There appears to be more hostile aliens out here than not.” “Ain’t that the truth.” Trip sighed. “OW!” Trip sat up, yanking his hand around. He looked down and saw blood. “What?” “Something bit me.” The two stopped talking. They could hear something crawling on the sand. Trip got to his feet, holding his injured hand. Jahk’pr moved to a crouch, looking around him. He suddenly snatched up something and stood. Trip heard a squeaking and could see something fighting Jahk’pr’s hold. “What is it?” Jahk’pr held it closer to him. Trip heard a crunch and the squeaking stopped. “P’var. They are scavenging rodents.” “I can hear more.” “Let us walk to the top of the dune.” “They’ll follow, won’t they?” “Not necessarily.” Trip followed Jahk’pr to the top of the dune and was relieved to feel a cool breeze blowing across the top of it. The two sat down again. “That is curious,” Jahk’pr mused. “What is?” “P’var. They are not desert rodents. Strange that the computer would generate them.” “They weren’t common on Arestak?” “No. They are from Ede’thif, but they appear to be fond of living in space. They have a problem with them on the Ede’thif space dock and most ships have to go through an eradication cycle before leaving port.” “Is there any place the rodents don’t live?” “I think not. They seem a highly adaptable species.” Trip nodded. The two were silent for a while. Trip looked down at the bite on his hand, touching the wound. ‘These P’var sound just like rats or mice.’ Trip smiled, his thoughts continuing, “I remember stories of old ships having rat infestations and they took cats... to... Whoa! Whoa! Hold everything! What if... Oh my God! That’s it! That is it!’ Trip sat up straight suddenly, as his epiphany idea took fast form in his mind. “Jahk’pr, you said those rodents aren’t desert creatures, right?” “Correct.” Trip looked down the sand dune. “If the computer didn’t program them in, then where would they have come from?” “Just a glitch.” Trip looked at Jahk’pr. “But what if it’s not a glitch.” “It has to be. That’s the only way they would have been in here.” “Jahk’pr, what if those things are real.” “That’s impossible. We eradicated the ship of them.” “When was that?” “Several months ago. We were two days out of dock and discovered we had an infestation. We returned, eradicated them, and headed out again.” “You sure all of them were killed?” “The computer indicated they had been.” “Was there any place that didn’t have sensors when they were eradicated?” Jahk’pr thought. “There are two places. Inside the incinerator and the emergency life spheres.” “Back on Ede’thif, did these P’var ever cause problems in machinery?” “All the time. Why?” “Your warp drive initially went off line because a conductor coil went out. It was off line for a week while you waited for a replacement part and then installed it, following which the drive continued to go off line for no apparent reason. All the maintenance and diagnostic reports I read proved that. But what if the problem was only happening when the drive was off line? What if the P’var are nesting in the vents?” “We would have noticed the engine wasn’t venting properly.” “Not if the nests were incinerated as soon as the drive was initiated. Here’s the scenario as I see it. First time the drive went off line, areas of the drive were left open during maintenance while waiting for the coil. The P’var get into the engine and find themselves homes in the buffer zones like the cooling manifold and the vents. The engine comes on line and is initiated. Super heated plasma vents through the vents and incinerates nests and P’var, maybe even lighting the plasma for a brief moment. But that moment is all it would take to set off every safety protocol on that engine that would take it off line. You and the others take a couple days to check out the engine and reports, find nothing. Meanwhile, our furry pests take up residence in the vents again. You fire up the engine, and BAM! It happens all over again. And if those P’var are anything like our rats and mice, they breed like there’s no tomorrow. You could have hundreds of those things running around in the manifold, crawl spaces in the catwalks... And I know our rats and mice can withstand some pretty high temperatures and in those spaces, they’re meant to buffer the heat from the engine. They would be able to survive in there.” “Would not the impulse engine do the same?” “Your impulse drive is self contained and vents through different ducts.” Jahk’pr nodded. “Yes. That would make sense.” Both squinted, looking up when the door opened. Aws’tp stepped in. “Computer,” Aws’tp said, “end program.” The lights came on and the two found themselves sitting on the floor. Jahk’pr looked down, picking up the P’var he’d killed by its short stubby tail. “Commander, I am suspecting your theory may be correct.” Jahk’pr looked at Trip. “Our misfortune with this holograph may have just solved our warp drive difficulties.” Trip stood up. “Let’s go find out.” Jahk’pr and Trip left the room, talking about how to go about finding any nests in the warp drive. Aws’tp watched them leave, smiling. She looked back into the room. “I should apply for ship counselor!” Aws’tp turned and walked away. # Captain Pah’pr and Captain Archer walked side by side down the hall. Jahk’pr and Trip followed behind them, listening to the two talk. Both Arestak were wearing respirators to help them breath in the climate of Enterprise. “Thank you for accommodating us while the rodents were exterminated. I hope none managed to escape aboard your vessel,” Pah’pr told Archer. “We’re going to continue running scans for them just in case. I’m just glad you were able to find out what was causing the problem.” Pah’pr glanced back at Trip and Jahk’pr, smiling. “It took a computer glitch to find it.” Archer smiled, nodding. The two turned into the docking tunnel and stopped at the hatch. Pah’pr extended his hand to Archer, surprising him. Archer took it and Pah’pr shook it. “I am grateful the Xyrillians suggested to seek your assistance on this matter.” “Let us know if we can help any further.” “We will.” Pah’pr turned to Trip. “Thank you for your assistance, Commander Tucker, and I will consider what we discussed. I appreciate you bringing it to my attention.” Trip smiled. “No problem. Have a safe trip.” Pah’pr turned and boarded his ship. Jahk’pr looked up at Trip. “You told him?” “Told him what?” “What I really want to do.” “I merely suggested he should perhaps inquire about it. He may find you have skills better suited for another line of work.” Jahk’pr smiled. “Thank you, Commander. Good leave.” “Good leave.” Jahk’pr boarded the Arestak ship and the hatch closed between the two. “You never suggest anything, Trip,” Archer said. “I suggested,” Trip smiled, looking at Archer, “and then I told him his son was really unhappy as an engineer but he was either too ashamed or too angry to say anything so if he wanted his crew to continue running smoothly, he’d better ship him off to that research colony on Fugh’ep.” Archer laughed. “How did you two really get split lips and black eyes? That whole creature attacking you bit I’m not buying. I know you better than that.” “All you need to know is that me and Jahk’pr came to an understanding.” “Which was?” “I’m not after his job. And... I don’t stink. Either.” “Well, whatever really happened over there, I’m glad you managed to maintain relations.” Trip grinned, walking back down the hall. Archer followed along side him. “Can I work in shorts and sandals on duty?” Trip asked. “Not a chance in hell.” “Shorts and sneakers?” “No.” “Shorts and--” “Trip.” “Yeah?” Trip looked back at Archer. “It’s good to have you back.” Trip smiled. “And I ain’t lying when I say I’m happy to be back in our nice, humid, twenty-three point nine Celsius environment.” The two laughed as they turned a corner. |
Like it? Hate it? Just want to point out a typo? Join the discussion now.
Disclaimer: Star Trek in all its various forms and its characters are the property of CBS/Paramount. No copyright infringement is intended by the authors of this site, which is solely for the purpose of entertainment and is not for profit. This site is owned by CX and was opened to the public in February 2008.