Fic: Containment (2/2)
Sep. 15th, 2008 08:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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tli_productionsPart I found here.
“This is Ensign Mayweather. I’m on the bridge -”
“- stuck in a freaking botany lab -”
“- there’s no gravity in this section -”
“- twelve of us cooped up like sardines in here -”
“- anyone? Anyone?”
Archer and Malcolm shared a quick, terse glance before Archer got off the couch, leaving Porthos sat on it, and strode over to the comm. panel. “Attention all hands – this is the Captain. Cut it out!”
There was silence.
“Now,” Archer continued, “I want a roll call of the senior staff. Go.”
“Ensign Sato,” Hoshi’s voice reported. “I’m in Engineering.”
“Ensign Mayweather. I’m on the bridge.”
“Doctor Phlox. I’m in the mess hall.”
“Commander Tucker. Down in the armoury.” Trip paused. “Where’s Malcolm?”
“He’s with me in my quarters,” Archer replied. “Sub-commander T’Pol?”
“Shuttlepod One with her science team,” Travis reported. “We got confirmation that they’d entered the launch bay just before the alarm went off.”
“Right.” Archer paused for a moment. He looked quickly at Malcolm before continuing. “Do we have any idea what caused this?”
“I might have an inklin’, Cap’n,” Trip said. “Crewman O’Malley caught the tail-end of a protocol number just before computer access cut out. I could do with confirmation from Lieutenant Reed before I go makin’ any announcements, though.”
“Okay.” Archer motioned Malcolm closer to the comm. panel. “What’s the protocol number?”
Trip rattled off a series of numbers and letters, and Malcolm frowned. He distinctly remembered that sequence, but for the life of him he –
Oh dear. Oh, no.
“Malcolm?”
Malcolm swallowed. He crossed his arms, and saw a worried look cross Archer’s face. “It’s the identifier for a bio-contamination procedure,” he told Trip. “I was... experimenting with the possibility during my recent... attempts to improve Enterprise’s security.”
“But...?” Damn, Trip knew him well by now.
Malcolm took a deep breath. “But – it’s incomplete, which could explain why computer access has been cut out.”
“But if it’s incomplete, why did it kick in now?” Hoshi asked reasonably, and there were murmurs of assent in the background.
Malcolm was about to reply when Travis cut in. “The sub-commander. She and her science team were bringing the last of the artefacts and stuff up from the outpost. Could it be something in the ‘pod that tripped the sensors?”
“It’s possible,” Malcolm replied. “And the only likely answer I can think of.”
“So we’ll work on that assumption,” Archer said, “that the contamination is something in the shuttlepod. Now, what needs to be done to restore computer access and bypass Lieutenant Reed’s protocol?”
Malcolm could see what the Captain was doing – using his own brand of patient logic from before to mobilise people as effectively, and as calmly, as possible.
“Ensign Rose got us the comm. system back online,” Trip said. “If I can liaise with my people in Engineerin’, we might be able to hack the main systems enough to get everythin’ done.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Archer said. “Who’s on duty in Main Engineering?”
“Lieutenant Hess, sir,” Hess’ voice reported. “I’ve got maybe three-quarters of the night shift down here with me. As well as Ensign Sato, of course.”
“Alright,” Trip said.
“There is just one thing, sir – sirs,” a new voice cut in. Malcolm realised it was Ensign Rose. “While the comm. lines are back up, because I can’t access any of the main terminals, I can’t fine tune the channels. We’ve got this one channel for the entire ship.”
“So all communication needs to be streamlined,” Archer theorised.
“Yessir,” Rose replied. “And since these things are pretty sensitive, anyone not directly working to restore computer access will need to keep quiet so as to let the others communicate.”
“We’re not going to be able to turn the comm. off?” someone else asked.
“I don’t know, and frankly I don’t want to risk crippling the system again,” Rose replied. “Until we get things fixed, I recommend everyone keeps the channel open.”
“I’ll concur with that,” Trip said.
“Me too,” Malcolm added.
“That’s settled then,” Archer decided. “Ensign Rose’s recommendation sticks. I know it’s going to be difficult, but if you’re not involved in restoring the ship’s systems, try and keep the noise down.”
“What about medical emergencies? Or any emergencies?” another new voice chipped in.
“Except for those,” Archer replied. “Common sense, people; we’re going to need it for the time being.”
“Has anyone tried contacting the Sub-commander?” Hoshi wondered.
“It wouldn’t work – the launch bay is sealed off from the rest of the ship under existing contamination procedures,” Malcolm replied. “And considering what this protocol’s managed to do so far, I doubt we’ll be able to contact her until it’s lifted.”
“You an’ me are gonna have to have words, Malcolm. That’s one hell of a protocol you’ve been buildin’,” Trip said. He sounded almost amused, and Malcolm didn’t bother to reply.
“So let’s get to work on overriding it,” Hess pointed out.
“Before you do, Commander, there’s one more thing.” Archer paused for a moment. “Who’s senior officer on the bridge?”
There was a moment’s hesitation before: “That would be me, sir.”
It was Travis.
“Okay.” Archer nodded, although the movement was wasted on everyone but Malcolm. “I’m hereby transferring effective command of the Enterprise to you, Ensign, until this is over. You’re best placed to oversee everything, especially once computer access has been restored.” He sounded very calm for someone who, from Malcolm’s first hand knowledge of the past year and a half, almost, that they’d been out here, liked to be in control of the situation, or at least be in a position to do something. Not unlike himself, he realised. But at the same time, Malcolm understood why the Captain was being so calm – at least on the surface. Having to listen to pretty much everyone else working to rectify a situation that both of them would prefer to be directly involved in instead of being sidelined... well.
“Understood, sir.” Even behind the faint static of the comm. system, Travis sounded a little nervous.
“Okay, then,” Trip said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
o o o o o
As Trip and Ensign Rose began to organise the crews of both Engineering and the armoury, Phlox looked around the mess hall. Hearing Captain Archer’s voice appeared to have eased most of the visible tensions, at least in here, though he highly suspected the same was true of the rest of Enterprise as well.
In respect of the Captain’s request, the crewmen who still persisted in holding conversations had begun to do so in much quieter tones, migrating further from the mess doors as they did so.
He himself went back to the table he’d found himself sitting at before the Captain had asked the senior staff to report in. Elizabeth was still sitting where he’d left her, and she looked up as he retook his seat.
“Well, I feel better now,” she said eventually, breaking the silence between them.
Phlox nodded. “I have no doubt Commander Tucker will be able to overcome the bio-contamination protocol.”
“That wasn’t quite what I meant.” Elizabeth smiled slightly. “At least I think it wasn’t. At least... we know the ship isn’t in any dangers, so I guess that’s something.”
“Indeed.”
There was another small silence before Elizabeth spoke again. “How are you doing?”
“Hmm?” Phlox looked up, caught off guard by the question. “I’m doing as well as I can be, I suppose. The mess hall is hardly the best place to be trapped during this kind of situation, but -”
“- it’s better than being somewhere more confining – or alone,” Elizabeth finished. “Yeah.”
“Excuse me – Doctor?”
Phlox looked over to see someone hovering nearby. “Yes... Ensign?”
“Could you come over here for a moment? Crewman Capaldi’s cut himself, and -”
“I quite understand,” Phlox said, rising to his feet. “I’ll see what I can do, hmm?”
The young man nodded. “He’s just over here,” he said, indicating the far corner of the mess.
Phlox followed him, grateful for even this small opportunity to feel helpful.
o o o o o
Malcolm kept half an ear on Trip’s progress as he and the armoury and engineering teams continued to try and cajole Enterprise into giving up computer access. It seemed a lot like baby steps to begin with, with the commander making sure that everyone was working in tandem with almost arbitrarily picked team members. So far he had surmised that the plan consisted of hacking the computer from as many sides as possible in order to override the bio-contamination protocol – his bio-contamination protocol.
Somehow Malcolm doubted he’d ever be able to live this down. At least as far as Trip was concerned.
“Get Eddie to disconnect the couplin’s from the auxiliary systems and reconnect them in the -”
“- all well and good, but we risk a cascade reaction in the impulse relays -”
“- unless you find someone small enough to get down underneath -”
“- Ferris! Get over here; you’re going digging.”
After a while Malcolm finally allowed himself to relax, leaning against the wall behind him, bringing his hands out from behind him to rest loosely on his thighs. Archer had long since moved back to the couch, talking to a disinterested and increasingly sleepy Porthos, who had curled up around a cushion next to the Captain. Idly Malcolm wondered if this was what it was like elsewhere on Enterprise, with everyone not in Engineering or the Armoury, or on the bridge, stopping whatever they had been doing completely, as if it let the people who needed it to work any more effectively.
Or maybe it was just the waiting, and the faint frustration of having to listen while other people worked. Malcolm hardly doubted that he and the Captain were the only ones experiencing that kind of anxiety.
“I need Ensign Sato on the line!”
“...Yes?”
“Comm. frequencies are part of the bio-contamination codes. I’m going to rattle off some numbers; tell me if I’ve got them right or not...”
“They seem to be doing fine without us,” Archer commented quietly, so quietly Malcolm almost couldn’t hear him over the buzz of Hoshi and Crewman Zabel comparing frequency codes. There was a tone in Archer’s voice that Malcolm couldn’t quite identify, almost a cross between wistfulness and impatience. For lack of anything else, he nodded.
Then a response occurred to him, and he crossed the room to stand beside the couch; Archer looked up, surprise evident on his face. “I don’t know whether that says less about us as commanders or more about the people we’ve trained,” Malcolm said, equally quietly as Archer’s tone just now.
The Captain smiled. “Bit of both,” he said, almost fondly. He opened his mouth to say something else when Malcolm held up a hand.
“Please, sir, if I may ask...” Archer inclined his head. “No speeches,” Malcolm said.
At that Archer openly grinned. “Deal,” he replied. He motioned towards the bed again. “Are you sure you won’t sit down?”
Malcolm shook his head slightly. “I’d rather stand, sir,” he said, allowing a half-smile.
He stayed where he was though, both he and Archer looking over at the comm. and listening to their people fixing Enterprise.
“Travis, tell me you’ve got a science officer up there.”
“Yup, got one of those, Commander.”
“Great. Tell ‘em to stand by, we’re ready to have a shot at this, an’ we’re gonna need them to secure remote access as soon as we start.”
“Acknowledged. I’ll have Crewman Kopleck on tactical do the same.”
“Even better.”
“You know,” Archer said eventually, “once this is over and dealt with, I’d like to take a closer look at those protocols you’ve been designing.”
Well, that was unexpected. “Sir?”
Archer regarded Malcolm for a moment. “You may have overshot the mark a little on this one, Malcolm, but that doesn’t mean that all the new protocols you’ve designed will need to be purged altogether.”
“At least not without some fine tuning,” Malcolm said.
“Travis?”
“We’re ready up here.”
“On my mark, everyone.”
Archer nodded. “Exactly.”
“So...” Malcolm frowned. “There won’t be any... repercussions for this?”
“Acknowledged.”
“Aye, Commander.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You didn’t know something would trigger the protocols prematurely,” Archer pointed out. “And I think it’s safe to say that in the long run something like this bio-contamination protocol will prove invaluable to Enterprise’s security.”
“Three... two...”
Malcolm nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“One.”
A flurry of noises – mechanical and people talking – erupted from the comm., drawing both men’s attention once again. Everyone was reporting their progress as it happened, and Malcolm had to concentrate hard just to make out that progress was actually being made.
Then, after a few tense minutes.
“This is Ensign Mayweather. We’ve got remote access to all systems from science and tactical bridge terminals.”
Malcolm let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding at the same time as a few cheers erupted over the comm.
Archer strode over to the comm. panel. “Tell me the situation, Travis.”
“Aye sir. Kopleck’s got the bio-contamination protocol on her screen. As far as well can tell the lockdown’s still in place on communications and doors, same as before. The only difference is we now have internal and external sensors.” There was a small pause. “Report no threats on long range sensors, sir. We’re still alone out here.”
And thank goodness for that.
“How easy is it going to be to override the protocol?” Archer asked nobody in particular.
“Now we’ve secured remote access, shouldn’t be a problem, Cap’n,” Trip replied confidently.
I’ll second that,” Kopleck chipped in from the bridge. “Ensign Anders and I should be able to take this thing between us now that we know what we’re dealing with, sirs.”
“Acknowledged,” Archer said, his tone visibly lighter.
“Have at it, Clara,” Rose added.
“Will do, sir.”
Archer smiled, and left the comm. panel to return to his seat on the couch.
“That went fairly quickly, considering,” Malcolm observed.
Archer smiled. “Once we knew what we were up against,” he replied. It was a decent enough explanation, Malcolm supposed. “And not bad for something a singularity compelled you to do,” the Captain added quietly.
Malcolm blinked. Damn, the Captain was onto him as well. “Yes, sir.” He paused for a moment. “It’s not as bad as some of the things the rest of the crew felt compelled to undertake, though.”
“Such as?” Archer asked.
Malcolm shrugged a shoulder. “There was the engineering team who tried to fit out an escape pod with impulse engines.”
Archer chuckled. “I heard about that one,” he said. “They really are the best and brightest, aren’t they?”
“Yes, sir.”
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
While all the other department heads and team leaders dashed off to their respective domains once the lockdown had been lifted, Hoshi found herself going to the launch bay where Shuttlepod One had been incarcerated all this time. She nodded to the ensign almost frantically going through the logs and system cores checking for anything out of the ordinary, despite the fact that he barely noticed her.
In the bay itself, the hatch to Shuttlepod One was open, and Hoshi could hear voices carrying. She turned the final corner and came face to face with the Away Team exiting the small decon chamber adjacent to the bay’s rear access. “Sub-commander.”
“Ensign,” T’Pol nodded. “I trust there was a reason for our delay upon arrival.”
Hoshi nodded. “There was a, uh, ship-wide situation. I’m sure Captain Archer will fill you in once you find him.” She pasued for a moment, taking in the sight in front of her. Crewman Walters, who she’d worked with before, was blushing furiously while the two female officers whose names Hoshi couldn’t quite remember kept their distance from him. “How were the last few hours for you, Sub-commander?”
“Trying,” was T’Pol’s only response as she beat a quick march to the nearest door and out of sight.
Hoshi nodded to her retreating back.
“What has been going on?” one of the women asked.
Hoshi turned around and smiled slightly. “This could take a while,” she said.
“This is Ensign Mayweather. I’m on the bridge -”
“- stuck in a freaking botany lab -”
“- there’s no gravity in this section -”
“- twelve of us cooped up like sardines in here -”
“- anyone? Anyone?”
Archer and Malcolm shared a quick, terse glance before Archer got off the couch, leaving Porthos sat on it, and strode over to the comm. panel. “Attention all hands – this is the Captain. Cut it out!”
There was silence.
“Now,” Archer continued, “I want a roll call of the senior staff. Go.”
“Ensign Sato,” Hoshi’s voice reported. “I’m in Engineering.”
“Ensign Mayweather. I’m on the bridge.”
“Doctor Phlox. I’m in the mess hall.”
“Commander Tucker. Down in the armoury.” Trip paused. “Where’s Malcolm?”
“He’s with me in my quarters,” Archer replied. “Sub-commander T’Pol?”
“Shuttlepod One with her science team,” Travis reported. “We got confirmation that they’d entered the launch bay just before the alarm went off.”
“Right.” Archer paused for a moment. He looked quickly at Malcolm before continuing. “Do we have any idea what caused this?”
“I might have an inklin’, Cap’n,” Trip said. “Crewman O’Malley caught the tail-end of a protocol number just before computer access cut out. I could do with confirmation from Lieutenant Reed before I go makin’ any announcements, though.”
“Okay.” Archer motioned Malcolm closer to the comm. panel. “What’s the protocol number?”
Trip rattled off a series of numbers and letters, and Malcolm frowned. He distinctly remembered that sequence, but for the life of him he –
Oh dear. Oh, no.
“Malcolm?”
Malcolm swallowed. He crossed his arms, and saw a worried look cross Archer’s face. “It’s the identifier for a bio-contamination procedure,” he told Trip. “I was... experimenting with the possibility during my recent... attempts to improve Enterprise’s security.”
“But...?” Damn, Trip knew him well by now.
Malcolm took a deep breath. “But – it’s incomplete, which could explain why computer access has been cut out.”
“But if it’s incomplete, why did it kick in now?” Hoshi asked reasonably, and there were murmurs of assent in the background.
Malcolm was about to reply when Travis cut in. “The sub-commander. She and her science team were bringing the last of the artefacts and stuff up from the outpost. Could it be something in the ‘pod that tripped the sensors?”
“It’s possible,” Malcolm replied. “And the only likely answer I can think of.”
“So we’ll work on that assumption,” Archer said, “that the contamination is something in the shuttlepod. Now, what needs to be done to restore computer access and bypass Lieutenant Reed’s protocol?”
Malcolm could see what the Captain was doing – using his own brand of patient logic from before to mobilise people as effectively, and as calmly, as possible.
“Ensign Rose got us the comm. system back online,” Trip said. “If I can liaise with my people in Engineerin’, we might be able to hack the main systems enough to get everythin’ done.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Archer said. “Who’s on duty in Main Engineering?”
“Lieutenant Hess, sir,” Hess’ voice reported. “I’ve got maybe three-quarters of the night shift down here with me. As well as Ensign Sato, of course.”
“Alright,” Trip said.
“There is just one thing, sir – sirs,” a new voice cut in. Malcolm realised it was Ensign Rose. “While the comm. lines are back up, because I can’t access any of the main terminals, I can’t fine tune the channels. We’ve got this one channel for the entire ship.”
“So all communication needs to be streamlined,” Archer theorised.
“Yessir,” Rose replied. “And since these things are pretty sensitive, anyone not directly working to restore computer access will need to keep quiet so as to let the others communicate.”
“We’re not going to be able to turn the comm. off?” someone else asked.
“I don’t know, and frankly I don’t want to risk crippling the system again,” Rose replied. “Until we get things fixed, I recommend everyone keeps the channel open.”
“I’ll concur with that,” Trip said.
“Me too,” Malcolm added.
“That’s settled then,” Archer decided. “Ensign Rose’s recommendation sticks. I know it’s going to be difficult, but if you’re not involved in restoring the ship’s systems, try and keep the noise down.”
“What about medical emergencies? Or any emergencies?” another new voice chipped in.
“Except for those,” Archer replied. “Common sense, people; we’re going to need it for the time being.”
“Has anyone tried contacting the Sub-commander?” Hoshi wondered.
“It wouldn’t work – the launch bay is sealed off from the rest of the ship under existing contamination procedures,” Malcolm replied. “And considering what this protocol’s managed to do so far, I doubt we’ll be able to contact her until it’s lifted.”
“You an’ me are gonna have to have words, Malcolm. That’s one hell of a protocol you’ve been buildin’,” Trip said. He sounded almost amused, and Malcolm didn’t bother to reply.
“So let’s get to work on overriding it,” Hess pointed out.
“Before you do, Commander, there’s one more thing.” Archer paused for a moment. “Who’s senior officer on the bridge?”
There was a moment’s hesitation before: “That would be me, sir.”
It was Travis.
“Okay.” Archer nodded, although the movement was wasted on everyone but Malcolm. “I’m hereby transferring effective command of the Enterprise to you, Ensign, until this is over. You’re best placed to oversee everything, especially once computer access has been restored.” He sounded very calm for someone who, from Malcolm’s first hand knowledge of the past year and a half, almost, that they’d been out here, liked to be in control of the situation, or at least be in a position to do something. Not unlike himself, he realised. But at the same time, Malcolm understood why the Captain was being so calm – at least on the surface. Having to listen to pretty much everyone else working to rectify a situation that both of them would prefer to be directly involved in instead of being sidelined... well.
“Understood, sir.” Even behind the faint static of the comm. system, Travis sounded a little nervous.
“Okay, then,” Trip said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
As Trip and Ensign Rose began to organise the crews of both Engineering and the armoury, Phlox looked around the mess hall. Hearing Captain Archer’s voice appeared to have eased most of the visible tensions, at least in here, though he highly suspected the same was true of the rest of Enterprise as well.
In respect of the Captain’s request, the crewmen who still persisted in holding conversations had begun to do so in much quieter tones, migrating further from the mess doors as they did so.
He himself went back to the table he’d found himself sitting at before the Captain had asked the senior staff to report in. Elizabeth was still sitting where he’d left her, and she looked up as he retook his seat.
“Well, I feel better now,” she said eventually, breaking the silence between them.
Phlox nodded. “I have no doubt Commander Tucker will be able to overcome the bio-contamination protocol.”
“That wasn’t quite what I meant.” Elizabeth smiled slightly. “At least I think it wasn’t. At least... we know the ship isn’t in any dangers, so I guess that’s something.”
“Indeed.”
There was another small silence before Elizabeth spoke again. “How are you doing?”
“Hmm?” Phlox looked up, caught off guard by the question. “I’m doing as well as I can be, I suppose. The mess hall is hardly the best place to be trapped during this kind of situation, but -”
“- it’s better than being somewhere more confining – or alone,” Elizabeth finished. “Yeah.”
“Excuse me – Doctor?”
Phlox looked over to see someone hovering nearby. “Yes... Ensign?”
“Could you come over here for a moment? Crewman Capaldi’s cut himself, and -”
“I quite understand,” Phlox said, rising to his feet. “I’ll see what I can do, hmm?”
The young man nodded. “He’s just over here,” he said, indicating the far corner of the mess.
Phlox followed him, grateful for even this small opportunity to feel helpful.
Malcolm kept half an ear on Trip’s progress as he and the armoury and engineering teams continued to try and cajole Enterprise into giving up computer access. It seemed a lot like baby steps to begin with, with the commander making sure that everyone was working in tandem with almost arbitrarily picked team members. So far he had surmised that the plan consisted of hacking the computer from as many sides as possible in order to override the bio-contamination protocol – his bio-contamination protocol.
Somehow Malcolm doubted he’d ever be able to live this down. At least as far as Trip was concerned.
“Get Eddie to disconnect the couplin’s from the auxiliary systems and reconnect them in the -”
“- all well and good, but we risk a cascade reaction in the impulse relays -”
“- unless you find someone small enough to get down underneath -”
“- Ferris! Get over here; you’re going digging.”
After a while Malcolm finally allowed himself to relax, leaning against the wall behind him, bringing his hands out from behind him to rest loosely on his thighs. Archer had long since moved back to the couch, talking to a disinterested and increasingly sleepy Porthos, who had curled up around a cushion next to the Captain. Idly Malcolm wondered if this was what it was like elsewhere on Enterprise, with everyone not in Engineering or the Armoury, or on the bridge, stopping whatever they had been doing completely, as if it let the people who needed it to work any more effectively.
Or maybe it was just the waiting, and the faint frustration of having to listen while other people worked. Malcolm hardly doubted that he and the Captain were the only ones experiencing that kind of anxiety.
“I need Ensign Sato on the line!”
“...Yes?”
“Comm. frequencies are part of the bio-contamination codes. I’m going to rattle off some numbers; tell me if I’ve got them right or not...”
“They seem to be doing fine without us,” Archer commented quietly, so quietly Malcolm almost couldn’t hear him over the buzz of Hoshi and Crewman Zabel comparing frequency codes. There was a tone in Archer’s voice that Malcolm couldn’t quite identify, almost a cross between wistfulness and impatience. For lack of anything else, he nodded.
Then a response occurred to him, and he crossed the room to stand beside the couch; Archer looked up, surprise evident on his face. “I don’t know whether that says less about us as commanders or more about the people we’ve trained,” Malcolm said, equally quietly as Archer’s tone just now.
The Captain smiled. “Bit of both,” he said, almost fondly. He opened his mouth to say something else when Malcolm held up a hand.
“Please, sir, if I may ask...” Archer inclined his head. “No speeches,” Malcolm said.
At that Archer openly grinned. “Deal,” he replied. He motioned towards the bed again. “Are you sure you won’t sit down?”
Malcolm shook his head slightly. “I’d rather stand, sir,” he said, allowing a half-smile.
He stayed where he was though, both he and Archer looking over at the comm. and listening to their people fixing Enterprise.
“Travis, tell me you’ve got a science officer up there.”
“Yup, got one of those, Commander.”
“Great. Tell ‘em to stand by, we’re ready to have a shot at this, an’ we’re gonna need them to secure remote access as soon as we start.”
“Acknowledged. I’ll have Crewman Kopleck on tactical do the same.”
“Even better.”
“You know,” Archer said eventually, “once this is over and dealt with, I’d like to take a closer look at those protocols you’ve been designing.”
Well, that was unexpected. “Sir?”
Archer regarded Malcolm for a moment. “You may have overshot the mark a little on this one, Malcolm, but that doesn’t mean that all the new protocols you’ve designed will need to be purged altogether.”
“At least not without some fine tuning,” Malcolm said.
“Travis?”
“We’re ready up here.”
“On my mark, everyone.”
Archer nodded. “Exactly.”
“So...” Malcolm frowned. “There won’t be any... repercussions for this?”
“Acknowledged.”
“Aye, Commander.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You didn’t know something would trigger the protocols prematurely,” Archer pointed out. “And I think it’s safe to say that in the long run something like this bio-contamination protocol will prove invaluable to Enterprise’s security.”
“Three... two...”
Malcolm nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“One.”
A flurry of noises – mechanical and people talking – erupted from the comm., drawing both men’s attention once again. Everyone was reporting their progress as it happened, and Malcolm had to concentrate hard just to make out that progress was actually being made.
Then, after a few tense minutes.
“This is Ensign Mayweather. We’ve got remote access to all systems from science and tactical bridge terminals.”
Malcolm let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding at the same time as a few cheers erupted over the comm.
Archer strode over to the comm. panel. “Tell me the situation, Travis.”
“Aye sir. Kopleck’s got the bio-contamination protocol on her screen. As far as well can tell the lockdown’s still in place on communications and doors, same as before. The only difference is we now have internal and external sensors.” There was a small pause. “Report no threats on long range sensors, sir. We’re still alone out here.”
And thank goodness for that.
“How easy is it going to be to override the protocol?” Archer asked nobody in particular.
“Now we’ve secured remote access, shouldn’t be a problem, Cap’n,” Trip replied confidently.
I’ll second that,” Kopleck chipped in from the bridge. “Ensign Anders and I should be able to take this thing between us now that we know what we’re dealing with, sirs.”
“Acknowledged,” Archer said, his tone visibly lighter.
“Have at it, Clara,” Rose added.
“Will do, sir.”
Archer smiled, and left the comm. panel to return to his seat on the couch.
“That went fairly quickly, considering,” Malcolm observed.
Archer smiled. “Once we knew what we were up against,” he replied. It was a decent enough explanation, Malcolm supposed. “And not bad for something a singularity compelled you to do,” the Captain added quietly.
Malcolm blinked. Damn, the Captain was onto him as well. “Yes, sir.” He paused for a moment. “It’s not as bad as some of the things the rest of the crew felt compelled to undertake, though.”
“Such as?” Archer asked.
Malcolm shrugged a shoulder. “There was the engineering team who tried to fit out an escape pod with impulse engines.”
Archer chuckled. “I heard about that one,” he said. “They really are the best and brightest, aren’t they?”
“Yes, sir.”
While all the other department heads and team leaders dashed off to their respective domains once the lockdown had been lifted, Hoshi found herself going to the launch bay where Shuttlepod One had been incarcerated all this time. She nodded to the ensign almost frantically going through the logs and system cores checking for anything out of the ordinary, despite the fact that he barely noticed her.
In the bay itself, the hatch to Shuttlepod One was open, and Hoshi could hear voices carrying. She turned the final corner and came face to face with the Away Team exiting the small decon chamber adjacent to the bay’s rear access. “Sub-commander.”
“Ensign,” T’Pol nodded. “I trust there was a reason for our delay upon arrival.”
Hoshi nodded. “There was a, uh, ship-wide situation. I’m sure Captain Archer will fill you in once you find him.” She pasued for a moment, taking in the sight in front of her. Crewman Walters, who she’d worked with before, was blushing furiously while the two female officers whose names Hoshi couldn’t quite remember kept their distance from him. “How were the last few hours for you, Sub-commander?”
“Trying,” was T’Pol’s only response as she beat a quick march to the nearest door and out of sight.
Hoshi nodded to her retreating back.
“What has been going on?” one of the women asked.
Hoshi turned around and smiled slightly. “This could take a while,” she said.
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Date: 2008-09-15 10:01 pm (UTC)And it was nice meeting Ensign Rose again! I missed him :).
Thanks for sharing!
Sita
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Date: 2008-09-16 09:33 pm (UTC)Thanks for the feedback :)
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Date: 2008-09-29 10:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-30 09:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-08 03:30 pm (UTC)and I loved the last touch with T'Pol coming out of decon. poor Vulcan! :-P
good job! :-)
no subject
Date: 2008-11-08 03:54 pm (UTC)Thank you for the feedback :)