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"Deadly Negotiations"
Rating: PG-13 Slight Spoiler for "Shuttlepod One" R/S pairing Ten Most shuttlepods, whether it was Starfleet, Orion or Boomer issue, had a maximum speed of Warp 2, if they had warp at all. The Orions managed to squeeze more out of their engines, pushing it to Warp 2.3 if needed. Of course, it wasn’t recommended unless it was a dire emergency. The Orion shuttlepod had been red-lining at Warp 2.8 for nearly two and a half hours. “Approaching the outer system boundary,” announced Travis. He shivered violently, for they’d cut back on the environmental systems to give extra power to the engines. Now he knew how Malcolm and Trip must have felt when they’d been stuck on Shuttlepod One and nearly died. Travis would’ve had nightmares after the incident; he wondered how Malcolm and Trip had coped with it. “Go ahead and bump up the temperature, Travis,” Forrest ordered. His breath fogged up into mist as he talked. “And get a scan of the system. Stuart, can you monitor communications? We need to get in touch with Archer.” “Help me up, then,” Reed snapped. He huddled under a couple of blankets. “I’ll not be talking to Archer with my arse on the floor.” Travis chuckled as Forrest hauled Reed to his feet and deposited him at one of the consoles. Reed sighed in relief as the temperature in the cabin began to rise. Travis flexed his frozen fingers and wiped yet another layer of frost off the console. He heard Reed hide a cough and his worry about Stuart grew as the Englishman wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. I can see where Malcolm gets his stubbornness from, Travis reflected. And it’s a miracle he and his dad are still around, as much as they try to avoid Sickbay. He knew better than to ask Reed if he was feeling all right. The admiral was already testy after several similar questions from Forrest. Forrest had used almost every available hypospray in the medkit to keep Reed awake and alert. Forrest himself manned the science station. The system scan appeared on a secondary screen. Several ships were in orbit around Alpha Centauri, as well as MedLab One. Travis swallowed hard as he understood how many people were at Philippe’s investiture. “Enterprise to unknown shuttle. Identify yourself or you will be fired upon.” Travis’s heart lightened at the sound of Trip Tucker’s voice, but immediately plummeted at the exhaustion in the chief engineer’s voice. The steel was there and Travis had no doubt Trip would blow them out of the sky if he thought the Orion shuttle was a threat. Stuart Reed slammed his hand on the comm panel and roared, “Hold your fire, Commander Tucker! We’re returning Lieutenant Mayweather to Centauri and I’m sure your captain wouldn’t want our atoms spread all over space. Am I correct?” There was a heavy pause, then Trip asked, “Admiral Reed? They told us you were kidnapped—“ “Commander, I need you to do me a favor,” Travis interrupted. “Anything, Travis. We’ve got some cranky consortium reps down there and I’m not sure how much longer Philippe and the Cap’n can stall ‘em.” “Here’s what I want you to do...” Travis slowed his speed as he entered Centauri’s atmosphere and brought the shuttlepod around in a wide arc. “Admiral, we’re on approach to Cochrane Commons landing strip.” “They have us on scanners?” “Scanners, cameras and every recording device,” Reed replied with a self-satisfied smirk. He hid a cough and carefully sat up straighter in his chair. “Every eye’s on us, gentlemen.” The comm channel came to life. “Shuttlepod Raven, you are cleared to land on Pad Five. Welcome to Centauri, Admirals, and welcome back, Lieutenant.” At Forrest’s nod, Reed opened their end of the channel. “Thank you for the warm welcome, Control,” Forrest replied. “We’ll be there momentarily.” Travis landed the shuttle without a bump. He sighed and patted the console. The smell of electrical burning made him sigh again. The engines would need a complete overhaul after this little escapade. Maybe I can convince ‘em to let me keep this... “All right, let’s get this over with,” Forrest said. “Stuart, you’re sure you’re up to this?” “I’ll be fine.” “Where does that sound familiar?” Travis mumbled under his breath. He winced and hoped Reed hadn’t heard that remark. Unfortunately, he had no such luck. “What was that, Lieutenant?” “Nothing, sir. Just reminding myself not to trip on the red carpet.” “That would be embarrassing, wouldn’t it. Make sure you don’t.” “Yes, sir.” Travis squared his shoulders and approached the hatch. “After you, Admirals.” Forrest shook his head. “After you, Lieutenant. You’re the negotiator. Admiral Reed?” “Sir.” Reed took up position behind and to the left of Travis, while Forrest positioned himself behind and to the right. Travis couldn’t retreat and the only way to go was forward. He stifled a groan as he cycled the hatch open and stepped out. To his credit, Guillem Montclaire had assembled an amazing reception at such short notice. A brass band played Starfleet’s “To the Stars” and “Rule Britannia” in rapid succession as Travis led the way. Midway, they were met by Philippe, Captain Archer, Lieutenant Sato, Lieutenant Commander Malcolm Reed and Guillem Montclaire. To Travis’s relief, both Nate Kemper and Fiona McKenzie were in the welcome party. Fiona’s face was set in a hard expression, but her eyes betrayed her relief at Travis’s safe return. He read determination in the MACO’s eyes, as well as a fierce promise not to abandon Travis in the face of danger again. He wanted to tell her that it hadn’t been her fault, but he doubted Fiona would see it that way. Guillem’s face was set in a hard mask, though the blue eyes were as cold as ice. It took all of Travis’s self-control not to react as Guillem spouted words of welcome. He noticed that Malcolm stood between Guillem and Philippe, while Hoshi stood between Guillem and Archer. None of them looked at Guillem. “Admiral Forrest, Admiral Reed,” Captain Archer said with a sharp salute. “Welcome to Alpha Centauri, sirs.” “We heard that you’ve been quite busy, Captain, assisting with the negotiations,” Forrest said mildly. “Now that Lieutenant Mayweather has returned, I’m sure the consortium representatives will be relieved that the installation will go as planned.” “Yes,” Archer agreed with a sage nod. “Welcome back, Lieutenant. I’m glad you’re safe and sound.” “Thank you, Captain.” He smiled at Archer, then turned his attention to Philippe. Philippe didn’t bother to hide his relief as he extended a hand to Travis, who shook it. Applause broke out over the airstrip at the gesture of goodwill and friendship. Over his shoulder, Travis spotted Admiral Reed exchanging quiet words with Malcolm. The younger Reed held himself stiffly in his father’s presence. To Travis’s utter shock, Stuart took Hoshi’s offered hand and bowed his head over it, like a proper gentleman. Hoshi didn’t seem intimidated by the admiral’s presence. Quickly, the landing party crossed the tarmac and into a hovercar. Travis gestured for the driver to move out of the pilot’s seat. A look of surprise crossed the man’s face, but he did as Travis asked. Travis himself took the wheel, with Philippe next to him and the MACO and Armory guards close behind. “Travis, are you all right?” Philippe burst out as soon as they were on their way. “Yeah, I’m exhausted, but in one piece,” Travis admitted. “Giuseppe Vernet—“ “He was the rook,” Philippe confirmed, his voice harsh and angry. “Vernet had his cane modified to hide a laser gun. The MACOs were as surprised as we were, but McKenzie nailed Vernet just after the Orions swept you away in a transporter beam. Vernet’s heart couldn’t take the strain; he was gone before we could question him.” “He sacrificed himself,” Travis muttered. “Tanaka’s the queen, but we have no proof. We’ll have to get it some other way, and we still have to find that knight.” “Malcolm and I narrowed it down to someone in the security force.” “That’s still a lot of people, Philippe.” “Not as many as you think. There were only five who had the opportunity. The Centaurian Security Force detained them for questioning. That doesn’t mean we’re safe, by any means.” Philippe rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. “My uncle wants to have the installation as soon as possible.” “What’s he planning to do after the installation?” “He mentioned something about taking a vacation. Malcolm’s got it arranged so that he won’t escape.” Philippe sighed and shook his head. “My uncle is responsible for my parents’ deaths, but until I’m installed, he’s still the head of EdML.” “So they’ll try to prevent your installation any way they can. Admiral Forrest, Admiral Reed and I have a plan—“ “I understand Admiral Reed is actually Malcolm’s father?” “Yeah, that’s right, and both he and Admiral Forrest are more wily than we expect.” Travis grinned and added, “Now, here’s what we’re gonna do...” The Gardens was the only place on the grounds with enough space to accommodate all the representatives, Starfleet personnel and security teams. This time, the perimeter was ringed with Centauri Security Force patrolmen, MACOs and Malcolm’s Armory personnel. More plainclothes CSF men and women mingled with the guests. Travis and Philippe circulated around the representatives, being careful not to be separated from each other. Travis accepted the accolades from the consortium leaders, but kept an eagle eye. He was more exhausted than he realized. At one point, he’d asked Hoshi to fetch a hypospray from Phlox. The Denobulan warned him about becoming dependent on stimulants, but Travis reassured him that he wasn’t planning on making it a habit. Even now, Phlox was at Admiral Reed’s side as the admirals sat nearby at a long table. “You must come to Aldeberan,” said Ravi Nandjani. “My consortium is willing to open trade negotiations with your new Starfleet Trading Authority. Perhaps we can ship a few cases of Andorian ale as a gesture of goodwill.” Travis laughed at the hopeful look on Nandjani’s face and replied, “I had no idea that Andorian ale has become such a hot commodity. I’m sure the Andorians are pleased that their alcohol has had a good reception—“ “Unlike some consortiums, I believe that non-human commodities have as much potential in the trading circles.” Nandjani said with a grin. “I look forward to your visit, Lieutenant.” “Likewise.” As Nandjani wandered off, Travis reached for a champagne glass to wash the bad taste out of his mouth. He saw the Philippe had the same idea; the young man was already on his third glass. “Easy on the liquor, Philippe.” “I’m not planning on getting myself drunk, Travis,” Philippe assured him. Movement caught Travis’s eye. He saw Captain Sandosh nearby and the Tellarite gave him a nod. The Boomers formed a protective ring around Travis, Philippe, and the admirals. Sandosh inclined his head to his left. Travis followed the Boomer captain’s gaze and froze at the sight of the man standing about fifty meters away from the admirals’ table. Paul. Paul’s here. What’s he doing here? Travis noticed that Paul Mayweather wasn’t looking in his direction; instead, his brother was talking with Malcolm and Hoshi. The Armory Officer had a concerned look on his face and Hoshi reached over to put a hand on Paul’s shoulder. A set of chimes rang over the audience. Philippe pressed his lips together and said, “We have to take our places, Travis. It’s time.” |
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