"The Road to Cardion" by A. Rhea King Rating: PG Disclaimer: Don't own them, CBS/Paramount does. Summary: T'Pol and Reed become trapped in the midst of a civil war. -- and yeah, it's almost identical story as the SG1 version cuz it worked in both series quite nicely... CHAPTER 2 T’Pol’s eyes drifted open and she listened. Something had awoken her and she lay listening for it. She looked at the door separating her room from Reed’s. She resolved that it was nothing and closed her eyes. A brilliant crimson light lit up the room and in a split second the wall and window facing the city blew into the room. The force of the explosion threw T’Pol from her bed and slammed her against the wall. She landed under the bed as a piece of wood from some nearby building crashed down on it, breaking the frame, but sheltering her. Ash and flaming shrapnel showered into the room and flammable objects ignited. “T’POL!” she heard Reed yell. T’Pol opened her mouth to yell, drawing in a breath. She cried out when pain raked across her side. She laid a hand on her side, grimacing at the pain her touch caused. T’Pol drew in a breath of smoke and managed to yell ‘Lieutenant’ before she began coughing. “Keep talking. I can’t see you.” “I’m under the bed.” T’Pol heard things crash and looked out into the room. All she saw was smoke and flame. Feet appeared in her sight. “I see you,” T’Pol said. Reed dropped to the floor and held his hand out to her. “Can you pull yourself out?” T’Pol reached out and latched onto his wrist. He closed his hand around hers and with him pulling, managed to pull herself from under the broken bed. Reed put his arm around her, laying his hand on her side. T’Pol whimpered, trying to move away. Reed moved his hand to her hip. T’Pol let him lead her out, trying to block out the pain. They reached the stairs as a couch fell through the floor onto it. Reed pulled her back, staring at it. “We have to get out, Lieutenant,” T’Pol said, looking back into the burning house. “We have to look for another way out.” “There is no other way. Run.” Before T’Pol could protest he pulled her into a run down the stairs. They leapt onto the couch and ran across it. Flames leapt up on either side of them, singing hair and flash burning skin. They leapt off the end. T’Pol lost her footing and stumbled down the last five. She let out a cry when Reed caught her, his hand pressing in on her broken ribs. He quickly let them go and moved his hand, steadying her as he slid an arm around his neck. “Almost to the door. Almost.” T’Pol looked up at the white door ahead. Reed grabbed the door handle and ripped it open. T’Pol suddenly tripped him, sending them two of them down the three wide steps in front of it. Flames hungry for fresh oxygen flared out the door over their heads, forcing them and anyone nearby to the street. The flames disappeared back into the house as fast as they’d erupted. Reed climbed to his feet and pulled her up by the arm. They made it outside into a street of chaos. All around them Jakisau were running in panic. Dozens lay dead in the street or were wandering around stunned and dazed. T’Pol gasped from pain that jolted across her side when Reed yanked her to the ground. She looked up, seeing armed Jakisau running toward them, firing on Jakisau. Cries of pain and agony turned to screams as Jakisau were shot. Two Jakisau stopped at the two, staring at them. One lifted his phase rifle, fired past them and then ran after two escaping Jakisau. T’Pol looked back. Their host’s wife and their young children lay dead in the doorway. “We must get to the shuttle pod,” T’Pol said. Reed got to his feet and helped T’Pol back to hers. They came to an intersection and found Jakisau fighting at both ends. Reed yanked T’Pol back into a doorway before they were hit by the crossfire. T’Pol closed her eyes when the pain made her dizzy. “T’Pol?” she heard Reed say. “Charles--” T’Pol passed out. # Trip paced, a habit that was very unlike him. He watched the view screen with a hard glare. The view screen showed a destroyed city in the growing daylight with large fires in many areas. “Hoshi, I want to know what’s going on down there. Now.” “I’m trying, sir. I’m not getting a response from anyone.” Trip stopped. “Can you detect their biosigns?” “I’m scanning the coordinates of the house they were staying” Trip waited. “Sir, I’m not picking up anything.” “Scan the area around the house.” “This covers a twenty kilometer radius, sir. If I’m not picking them up, they are either not in the area or they’re dea--” “You’re out of line, Lieutenant!’ Trip snarled at her. Hoshi didn’t look at him, just stopped talking. Trip resumed pacing. The bridge was silent, no one risking speaking to Trip. Hoshi pressed her earpiece in her ear and worked the controls. “Sir,” Hoshi said. “What?” Trip snapped. “I’m picking up some chatter from the surface. It’s a military force. They’re reporting to someone, telling him that...” Hoshi closed her eyes, putting a hand on her abdomen. “Telling him what?” Trip walked up to the railing. Hoshi looked at him. “He says that Ambassador Havet and his family are dead. The other Jakisau is asking for confirmation. He saying they’re going to have to wait until the fire burns down to confirm.” “Get one of them on.” Hoshi worked the controls. “This is Enterprise. We’re trying to locate two of our crewmen that were guests of Ambassador Havet. Please respond.” Hoshi waited for a moment. She opened her mouth to repeat the request and stopped. “Sir... Sir, wait! Please. Lieutenant-Commander Tucker is in charge of our ship and he has requested any information you have about our crewman.” “Put him on the bridge COM,” Trip ordered. Hoshi tapped a control. “--and you will discontinue use,” a voice said. “Who am I talking to?” Trip asked. “That is no concern of yours. This conversation is over.” “I DEMAND AN ANSWER!” Trip bellowed. There was a pause. “What do you wish to know?” the voice bit back “Our crewmen were staying at Guidance Officer Regia’s house. We were able to get a visual of the house and scans don’t detect them in the rubble.” “Then they’re dead.” “Don’t you dare tell me that!” “Everyone in that house was shot before it was bombed. My first officer saw to it himself. So they’re dead. If you know what’s best, you would leave this system and not come back.” “I want their bodies if they’re dead.” “Wrong answer!” “Sir,” the crewman at the weapons station started, “I’m detecting a detonation on the surface. Scans are reading two land to space missiles have been fired. Trajectory indicates they’re aimed at our engines. Impact in two minutes.” “Move us!” Trip ordered. Travis yanked the yoke. The missiles appeared on the screen as Travis piloted away. One nicked the side of Enterprise as she pulled away, shaking the ship and blowing a hole twice the size of the missile. “SEAL OFF THE DECKS!” Trip yelled at the crewman at the engineering station. Travis brought Enterprise to a stop. Hoshi worked her controls for several minutes before yanking her earpiece out. “Hoshi, get him back.” “I can’t, sir. They’re jamming our scans and all frequencies. I can only get readings sixty kilometers above the surface.” Trip glared at the view monitor. # “T’Pol, wake up,” Reed’s voice said. “Come on, T’Pol. You’ve got to wake up.” T’Pol opened her eyes. Reed was crouched next to her, but he was watching the street beyond the doorway they were in. The ruined city was quiet. Not even birds were singing. “Did I lose consciousness?” “Yes. You have a goose egg on your head and your right side is bruised and gives under light pressure. I’m certain you’ve broken ribs.” “How close are we to the landing pads?” “I’ve no idea. I don’t even know where they’re at. Everything looks different blown to smithereens.” T’Pol slowly sat up, holding her side. She looked up and down the street. Reed was right about it looking different. It was like the proud city had never existed. “We must try to find it.” “We can’t go anywhere yet.” “Why?” “There’s a sniper somewhere over there.” Reed pointed at a broken two-story house. “I’ve seen him or her kill seven Jakisau so far.” T’Pol leaned back, closing her eyes. Reed looked back at her. “Can you breath alright?” “It hurts to breath.” “You must have broken ribs then.” T’Pol adjusted herself, closing her eyes. “Trip must be out of his mind.” “Why do you say that?” “Our communicators appear to be jammed and surely they can see the cities been destroyed by now.” “They’d scan for biosigns.” “Hoshi would, I suppose. But we’re pretty far from where we were staying. I think.” They heard phaser fire. Reed looked around the corner, watching the sniper kill two more Jakisau. He frowned, turning back to T’Pol. T’Pol eased herself into a more upright sitting position, grimacing. She looked up and froze. Reed looked up. A Jakisau in his mid-twenties stood before them, aiming his phase rifle at Reed. He wore camouflage clothing and a red symbol of a cross over a triangle was sewn onto his sleeves. Along the bottom of the triangle was the word ‘DASEX.’ And he stunned both of them before they could speak. He looked down the street when he heard a noise. The sniper killed another Jakisau that ran into the street. He stepped over the two and forced open the door behind them. He pulled them into the house and crouched down at a window, watching the street. He pushed up his sleeve and tapped a device strapped to his wrist. “Point to LC. Respond.” “LC,” a female answered. “Report.” “I’ve come across two aliens, sir. They’re neutralized and one may be wounded. Orders, sir?” “Is your position secure until we reach it?” “There is one bird nearby, but otherwise it is secure, sir.” “Bird will be taken out once we near your position. Hold it until we get there. “Compliance, sir.” Dasex sat down by a window so he could keep an eye on the street and his two captives. # Reed woke fighting. Hands quickly held him down which Reed quickly assessed belonged to five Jakisau. “Easy! Easy! We won’t harm you! Lie still,” someone said. Reed looked up, seeing a Jakisau coming at him with a hypospray. He tried to dodge it but the Jakisau managed to get the hypospray to his neck and inject him. Reed half expected he would fall asleep or something worse. “How does your arm feel now?” Reed stopped struggling, looking up at the Jakisau. “My arm?” “It was fractured. You didn’t feel it?” “I was ignoring it.” “And how does it feel now? Did that help?” Reed turned his attention to his arm. Seeing T’Pol injured he had decided against letting on that his arm was actually killing him. It hadn’t been rendered unusable so he’d concluded it wasn’t a bad injury. “It aches some.” “Relax then. If you break it before it mends, I’ll have to render you unconscious.” “Who are you?” “Keal.” He motioned the other Jakisau away. “We’ll be fine for now. Attend to your duties.” Reed sat up, finding himself in a large cave that had been converted into an infirmary. He looked around him for T’Pol. “You’re looking for the female you were with?” “Yes.” Reed turned back to Keal. “She had to be sedated so we could heal her injury. She’s in recovery right now.” Reed started to get off the bed. Keal stopped him. “Sit for a little bit longer.” Reed submitted to Keal’s gentle persuasion. Reed watched the activity in the cave. Jakisau dressed in combat fatigues and bearing a patch like he’d seen on the one that had shot him were tending wounded and dying Jakisau. “What does that symbol on their shirts mean?” “The symbol of the Gartian.” “The whom?” Keal looked at Reed. “You’ve never heard of the Gartian rebels?” “Should I have?” “I assumed you were a guest of Ambassador Havet.” “I am, or was, but he never mentioned rebels, Gartian or otherwise. Nor that the city might be bombed.” “I’m sure he suspected an attack was highly probable, but he most likely believed Ambassador Doshal wouldn’t defeat Ambassador Lariz, or wouldn’t do so as quickly as he did.” “There’s more than one ambassador on this planet?” “There are eight. Correction, there’s now only six. But I’m sure someone will be appointed any day now to replace Lariz and Havet. The individual governments don’t seem to mind placing Jakisau up as targets.” “How long has this been going on?” “As far as I know, since we’ve existed. My great-grandfather and his father died in a war. My father and eldest brother were injured in the war and I’ve lost two other brothers to wars before this one.” A female Jakisau walked up to them. “Excuse me, Doctor.” Keal turned to her. “The woman is asking to see her companion. Her doctor has taken her to the common room.” “Arrange bunks for both of them.” Keal turned back to Reed. “How is the arm now?” Reed flexed his arm, surprised to find there was no pain. “There isn’t any pain. It doesn’t feel fractured at all.” Keal looked at him, smiling. “We have fast medicine on Ardi Prime. The only real benefit of constant warring. It was good to meet you. Good life.” “This way,” the female said, motioning him a direction. Reed stood up and followed her. They passed into a narrow passage that had wide steps cut into the floor. They descended and came into a smaller cave. There were several couches and chairs here and many Jakisau were waiting. He spotted T’Pol sitting near a pool, watching something in the water. “I’ll come back once I have bunks arranged,” the woman told him and left. Reed walked down the gentle slope toward T’Pol, dodging Jakisau as he went. “T’Pol,” Reed said when he was in hearing range. She turned, watching him walk up. He noticed her arm was bandaged against her side, preventing it from moving. “How are you?” he asked. “The pain is less. My injuries appear to be healing at an abnormal rate.” T’Pol looked back in the water. Reed turned his attention to it. Along the bottom were snake creatures that released a phosphorous gel of florescent colors. They moved at a snails pace, feeding off the tiny fish and plants along the bottom of the ponds and lakes of the caverns. “What are they?” “The Jakisau that brought me here called them Ulitar serpents, but from his description they sound more like worms. He said that they collect the phosphorous gel that gives off the light and use to expedite healing.” Reed looked back at her. “Do you know where we are?” T’Pol sat back in the chair, looking at him. She shook her head. Reed sat down in a chair across from her, looking at the Jakisau around him. “They call themselves the Gartian rebels,” Reed continued. “The doctor I spoke with was surprised that Ambassador Havet hadn’t mentioned them to us. He also said that the fighting we were in has been going on for generations. Funny that was never mentioned.” Reed looked at T’Pol when she didn’t answer. She was staring at the Ulitar serpents again. “Are you alright?” “I worry for Charles. He has no idea what has happened to us and in his current state, it concerns me how he will react.” “You think he might start a war? I don’t think this race would notice.” T’Pol looked at Reed. “I’m concerned he may send crewmen to find them, unnecessarily risking their lives.” Reed leaned forward, laying his hand on hers. “You never use the word fight in any tense, T’Pol, so I know you’re very concerned, but don’t be. He may be upset, but it hasn’t affected his common sense. Surely he’ll know not to send anyone. I’d be more concerned that he’d leave with out us, personally.” “For that I could forgive him.” Reed sat back in his chair, holding T’Pol’s gaze. Back to Chapter 1 Continue to Chapter 3

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