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"Trepidation" by A. Rhea King
Rating: PG CHAPTER 2 The shuttle pod was silent while the three worked. T’Pol was writing a report of the events that transpired for Archer. Doctor Phlox had obtained some medical information by some means he didn’t care to discuss with T’Pol and was going over it at the other station. Travis sat at helm, watching space as he guided the shuttle pod back to Enterprise. Malcolm was stretched out on a bench at the back in deep sleep. He made a noise and T’Pol glanced back at him. “I would not have thought such a race would have been so exhausting,” T’Pol commented. “He experienced a sharp increase in adrenaline during the race. The sudden decrease afterwards left him exhausted. Add to that the drug we gave him to reverse the effects of the chemical that blurred his vision and I wouldn’t be surprised if he slept right there on that bench until the day after tomorrow.” T’Pol’s eyebrows shrugged in response. Travis looked at a monitor to his left when he caught sight of a blip. He reached out, tapping a control. “Sub-Commander, are you seeing this approaching ship?” T’Pol changed screens. She tapped several controls and suddenly a reading appeared on the left of the screen. “It’s a war vessel, heavily armed and approaching at warp three. Hail them and tell them we have been granted permission to be in Preqitar space by Czar’L.” Travis tapped the companel and relayed the message. “They aren’t responding.” “They’re still closing in. Alert Enterprise.” Travis opened a channel. “Shuttle pod one to Enterprise. Respond.” Hoshi’s staticky voice replied, “Enterprise.” “We’re being pursued by a Preqitar war vessel and they aren’t responding to our hails,” Travis told her. “We need assistance.” Travis waited for a response. He tapped the companel again. “T’Pol...I think we’re being jammed.” T’Pol changed screens again. “We are. Doctor, wake Lieutenant Reed. I need him to man weapons.” Phlox got up and walked back to Malcolm. “Are there any Menshara planets in the vicinity?” “A few. The closest is mostly water.” “Prepare the shuttle for a water landing on impact.” Phlox leaned over Malcolm, shaking his shoulder. “Lieutenant Reed.” “Hm?” Malcolm muttered. “Lieutenant, wake up.” “What?” Malcolm muttered, but his eyes didn’t open. “Lieutenant, I believe we’re about to be under attack and you need--” Malcolm jumped up and in three steps was in the chair with weapon readouts on the monitor. “I have them in sight and...my Lord! They’re armed to the teeth!” “It is a Preqitar war vessel,” T’Pol told him. “A decommissioned one according to the Preqitar database.” Malcolm began making preparations to defend the shuttle pod. “I bet it’s that other racer. Edel or whatever his name was,” Travis commented. “They’re firing two torpedoes. Travis, evasive maneuvers,” Malcolm ordered. Travis banked the shuttle pod out of the torpedoes path. “Miss. They’re firing again. And firing port cannons.” Travis moved to miss the torpedoes again but couldn’t maneuver out of the way of both phase streams. One hit the side of the engine and a fire ignited at the back. Phlox threw open a bench, grabbed a fire extinguisher and put it out, just as another phase hit the engine dead on. “The engine is beginning to fail,” T’Pol ordered. “Land, Ensign.” Travis veered toward the nearby planet. He entered the atmosphere and began preparations to land. “The vessel is following us into the atmosphere,” Travis reported. “It’s too large to withstand the pressure of the planet,” T’Pol informed him. “I think they’re more interested in revenge, Sub-Commander, or they’d have realized that by now.” A strike from the ships phase cannon struck the side of the shuttle pod. “I’ve lost two thrusters. I have to make an emergency landing on the ocean.” Malcolm slowly looked up at Travis. “O...Ocean?” “They’re within firing range. Disable their engines, Lieutenant Reed,” T’Pol said. Malcolm didn’t hear her. “Travis, we have to land on land. Get us to land.” “Lieutenant,” T’Pol said. “I can’t, sir. Land’s too far away and we’re losing altitude.” “Make it happen, Travis! We cannot land on the ocean. We’ll sink.” “These pods are designed to stay afloat for forty-eight hours, sir.” “Lieutenant,” T’Pol said. “The war vessel is coming about for another attack. Disable their engines or landing on water will be the least of our concerns.” “We have to land on land, Ensign, do you hear me?” “Sir, I can’t. We’re too far away.” “Lieutenant, fire on the vessel!” T’Pol snapped. Malcolm yanked his attention back to his controls and fired without looking. The shot hit the Preqitar war vessel. Explosions lit up the ship across it hull and it began to break up as it plummeted into the ocean. The shuttle pod crashed into the water and started to sink. Large air bladders burst from its sides and filled with air, throwing the shuttle pod upright on the water. # Malcolm woke suddenly, sitting up. He stared at the three millimeters of water that covered the shuttle pod floor until it hit him that he was sitting in it. Malcolm sprung to his feet, stumbled over something and fell against the hull of the shuttle pod. The shuttle pod dipped the direction he fell, gently rolled the other way and bobbed like driftwood on water. “Lieutenant, do not make sudden movements,” he heard T’Pol order. “There’s water in here. Why is there water in here?” Malcolm demanded, staring at the water like it was an animal about to attack him. “Lieutenant it is only water.” “WHY IS IT IN HERE!?” T’Pol was sitting in the navigation seat while Phlox tended to the cut on her forehead. Travis sat in the opposite chair. All three looked at Malcolm. “Lieutenant, we were shot down,” T’Pol calmly told him. “Do you recall what happened?” Malcolm didn’t answer. Phlox moved toward Malcolm, taking slow, light steps. The shuttle pod rocked slightly with each step. “It feels like we’re on water.” Malcolm looked out the window at the bright blue sky. “Where are we?” “Lieutenant, calm down,” Phlox said in a quiet, monotone voice. Malcolm looked at him, then T’Pol and Travis. He closed his eyes tight. “Oh God! Oh God! We did land on the ocean, didn’t we?” Malcolm whimpered, starting to physically shake. “SOD IT!” “Doctor, what is wrong with him?” T’Pol asked. Phlox gently gripped Malcolm’s shoulders and pushed him down onto a bench as he sat down next to him. “Lieutenant Reed has aquaphobia,” Phlox told them, “Lieutenant, calm down. Why don’t you try to recall what events have transpired up until now and take deep breaths while you recollect.” T’Pol slowly rose to her feet. She turned, looking out at the endless stretch of water that the shuttle pod was drifting on and slowly sinking into. “We were shot down,” Malcolm said, sounding a bit calmer as he recalled the events. “The champion...Edel. He shot us down.” “We presume it was him, but we aren’t certain,” Phlox said. “It had to have been him,” Malcolm said. “Does our communication array work?” “No,” T’Pol said. “We can only hope Enterprise heard most of my first message before we were jammed,” Travis said. “Is our beacon functioning?” “Yes, but it’s under water,” T’Pol said. “The signal will be distorted and difficult for Enterprise to locate.” “What about the emergency beacon in the kit?” T’Pol motioned to the floor. “As soon as water got into the lower circuitry we lost all but emergency power. The compartments are electrical and the kit is in one of the floor compartments.” Malcolm looked down at the water at his feet. It had risen six millimeters in the last twenty minutes. “I don’t think we have forty-eight hours,” he said. “The safety measures were designed to--” T’Pol started. “I’m well aware of the safety measures, Sub-Commander--especially these--but water should not start seeping into the shuttle pod until after the first twelve. It hasn’t been twelve hours since we landed, that I’m sure of, and we’re taking on water faster than we should be.” The other three looked down at the water at their feet. # Archer was anxiously watching the view screen, sitting on the edge of the captain’s chair. Hoshi turned her chair and he looked at her. “Sir, they aren’t responding to hails,” Hoshi said. “Hail them again.” “Sir, I don’t thi--” “HAIL THEM AGAIN!” Archer ordered her. Hoshi turned back to her controls and continued hailing the shuttle pod. “Cap’n, I have an estimate of where the message came from,” Trip said. Archer walked over and leaned on the console beside him. “That’s well within Preqitar space. Why would any Preqitar be firing on them?” “The Preqitar freighter carrying our parts is coming out of warp, sir,” the helmsman told Archer. “The captain’s requesting permission to dock and unload supplies.” “Order a security team to the hatch on C deck and hold them until I get there,” Archer ordered. “Trip.” The two walked to the lift. # When Trip and Archer came around the corner, they found the Preqitar freighter crew surrounded by Major Hayes and his team and the Preqitar captain looked cross. “What is the meaning of this?” the Preqitar captain demanded. “We brought supplies that you bought. Why are you holding us hostage?” “I received a message from my four crewmen, one of which won your race, and they said they were being pursued by a Preqitar war vessel. We've estimated that the coordinates are within Preqitar space. Why were they being pursued?” The Preqitar looked surprised. “Is this the vessel the rider for Czar’L came from?” “Yes.” “Well, no one would be firing on him from the Preqitar worlds. He is a champion and the first to ever win under the Czar’s sponsorship. He would be protected by penalty of death.” “Then what war vessel would have been firing on them?” “I don’t know.” Archer looked at Trip. Trip shrugged. “Maybe it wasn’t Preqitar,” Trip suggested. “Maybe they just assumed it was a Preqitar vessel.” “Or maybe it was...” Archer turned back to the Preqitar captain. “Malcolm told me there was a rider who was suspected of being involved with the murder of the Czar’s other rider. Who would that have been?” “I don’t know. There have been so many riders under investigation for questionable activities for as long as I’ve been alive.” “He said he was the reigning champion.” “Oh...that would be Edel. There have been rumors he’s been involved with questionable acts involving the races, but there has never been any proof.” “Is he Preqitar?” “He lives on Taful five, but he’s Zwagh. They aren’t native to our system.” “Who is his sponsor?” “I’m not sure. Czar’L would know that.” “I apologize for the armed guards. Go ahead and unload. Please hurry, we need to leave.” Archer turned and hurried back down the hallway. # Malcolm stood shaking in thigh high water. Phlox was leaning against the top hatch ladder, T’Pol stood on a bench and Travis was sitting on top of the navigation console. “Why don’t we go up top?” Malcolm suggested, looking up at the top hatch. T’Pol looked at Malcolm. “We do not know what creatures live in the water here. It could be dangerous. Besides, if you don’t know how to swim and you should slip, you would drown.” “I know how to swim, I can’t float. I sink like a rock.” “What if we dropped the engine?” Travis said, suddenly brightening. “It’s the heaviest part of the shuttle pod. If we dropped it that would make us a little more buoyant.” Travis moved to step down to do his suggestion. “The engine is sealed off to the main area of the shuttle pod. It also has part of the raft attached to it. If we detach it, water will enter quicker and we may tear the raft keeping us afloat.” “What about a raft?” Phlox asked her. “Isn’t there a raft kept in the shuttle pods?” “The one in this shuttle pod was taken out for repairs a week ago. The Captain didn’t feel we’d need a raft any time soon.” “That was dodgy foresight!” Malcolm spat. “He had no idea we’d be in this situation when he sent us to barter for parts, Lieutenant.” Malcolm closed his eyes. It was obvious to the three that he was fighting to keep his wits about him. “There is one positive outlook on our situation,” T’Pol said. “What’s that?” Malcolm asked. He didn’t open his eyes. “The water is warm, so we are apparently in a Mediterranean climate. Therefore, we won’t develop hypothermia.” Malcolm looked at her, smiling. “Are you attempting to cheer me up?” “I was simply stating a fact.” Malcolm laughed a couple times and then closed his eyes. They were silent for several minutes. “Couldn’t we at least open the top hatch to let in some fresh air and light?” Malcolm pleaded. T’Pol waded to the ladder and climbed up. She entered the unlock code and there they heard the hollow click of the lock releasing. She grabbed the handle and pushed, but the hatch wouldn’t open. She used both hands and pushed, but it still wouldn’t open. Malcolm waded over to the ladder and helped, but the hatch would not budge. “It apparently was damaged during the attack,” T’Pol said as she climbed back onto the bench. “No. NO!” Malcolm started beating on the hatch with his hands. “Lieutenant!” T’Pol barked. All three men looked at her, surprised by her sharp tone. She reached up and laid a hand on Malcolm’s arm as she stepped off the bench into the water. Gently pulling on it, she coaxed him off the ladder and back into the water beside her. “When they come, they will have tools to open it. It will be alright.” “If. If they come.” “Have faith in our captain and crew, Lieutenant. They have never failed any of us before.” “But the hatch--” “The hatch is irrelevant. Why don’t you sit down on the other console for now and get out of the water?” Malcolm didn’t move. He looked away, starting to shake again. T’Pol slid her arm around his, moving close. Malcolm looked into her eyes. “Then use my strength to reinforce yours. We will get out of this alive, Lieutenant Reed.” Malcolm only nodded. Phlox waded over to him and slid his arm around Malcolm’s. Travis climbed off the console and joined them. The four stood in a circle, arms linked. With his friends close, Malcolm calmed down and stopped shaking. |
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