64Author's Notes: Another short story that wanted out. I will finish Meet Me at Siva-Llebpmac, no worries.
In the meantime, the characters are not mine and belong to etc...
xxx
"Captains log - Following a positive first contact with the Nossessini, we have arrived at Nossena to initiate talks about their joining the Federation. Due to the important planetary deposits of sphygarium we're taking a shuttle to the surface."
Archer paused, wondering if he should add something about sphygarium. You'd think everyone in Starfleet already knew about the unstable compound and its deleterious effects on anything having to do with measuring distances. On the other hand...
He pressed the intercom again, "Sphygarium's unique ability to prevent accurate measurements makes it a compound of great interest in the development of defensive capabilities." No need to say more. Then they'd have a fighting chance against the Romulans or the Klingons or anyone out there who decided to make their lunch out of Earth and the Human race.
"Commander T'Pol, Ensign Travis Mayweather and Specialist First Class Joe Pierre are with me. Commander Tucker will be the Acting Captain in my absence. Archer out."
xxx
"Remember to be on your best behavior, everyone," Archer called out to the landing party as they assembled in the shuttle bay. Not that he needed to say it but he couldn't help himself.
T'Pol had been on enough first contacts that there was nothing to worry about and Pierre was savvy enough to know to just shut up and watch. And Travis was aspiring to a captaincy of his own some day and he needed to learn about the intricacies of diplomacy. Archer knew of no better teacher for that than yours truly.
"No quadrupeds allowed," quipped Trip in response. Nobody'd forgotten Archer's ill-advised decision to take Porthos with them, early in the mission.
Archer shot him a dark look. The engineer was not yet Acting Captain and even then that didn't mean he fun of his captain "You're out of line, Commander," he warned. From the corner of his eye he saw T'Pol lower a raised eyebrow. He grew suspicious that she had something to do with Trip's comment. Perhaps she was the instigator.
"Don't you have a ship to take care of?" he pointedly added. There was no reason for Trip to be in the shuttle bay, other than a certain alien Commander standing next to him.
"Acting Captain Tucker is here to wish the landing party well," came the almost instantaneous reply.
Archer huffed. Trip was a quick wit. Fine. Let him have his fun, he had other things he needed to focus on. He mentally reviewed the notes that the Counsellor of Nossena, something similar to of an ambassador if he understood correctly, had sent him.
He was like a teenager on the eve of a prom, all nervous energy. Soon they would be landing on Nossena, seeing to one of his dreams, establishing diplomatic relationships with another species.
Archer smiled. He could hardly wait until they came back to Enterprise, a new planetary agreement in his back pocket.
xxx
The shuttle landed on the private pad of the High Chamber building, oriented so that the Federation party could come in and go without being seen. The visit was a closely guarded secret. If for any reason the talks didn't succeed, nobody would be the wiser, only selected researchers would find out about it in privileged material at some later point.
The Counsellor was waiting on the pad with a small retinue. Ssalutations were exchanged, everyone stiff in their dress uniform or ceremonial garb. Archer took in the features of the landing pad, the defensive border along its perimeter. This was definitely a highly technical civilization. They had warp capabilities as well or they would never have run into each other. Things were already looking good.
They were brought into an ornate meeting room devoid of all furniture except for beautifully carved chests along the walls. Protocol demanded that they wait for the Exalted Leader to join them before starting to talk in earnest. They proceeded with small talk and veiled allusions to a possible collaboration that pushed the protocol envelope but didn't break it.
The Exalted Leader showed up twenty minutes later with a handful of his most important dignitaries and the talks started in earnest, everyone standing so as to avoid any issues of hierarchy. They talked in broad terms and at length about the possibility of Nossena joining the Federation, about their respective expectations, about the level of readiness of the Nossesseni. These were still budding openings, each side careful not to reveal or promise too much, the Counsellor strategically located in the middle to facilitate the back and forth.
At some point there was nothing else that could be said without committing to a course of action and the mix of niceties and technical semi-revelations came to an end. Everything had gone swimmingly well, both sides were in unspoken agreement that there was a match, the technocrats in the Federation and on Nossena could start arguing the finer points of an entente.
Archer had a slight headache from the strain of volleying the soft balls that T'Pol lobbed at him when she answered the more technical questions. She didn't seem tired at all but Archer knew that didn't mean anything. He would have liked nothing better than to abscond back to the ship, debrief, write a report to Starfleet that included T'Pol's analysis and findings, and retreat to his quarters, not necessarily in that order.
But the Counsellor and his team had other ideas. They had a whole tour planned, wanting to show off the finer features of Nessona, especially the many architectural and aesthetic wonders of the capital, and the Enterprise party found itself shuttled from site to site, ooh-ing and aah-ing appreciatively as needed, except for T'Pol though her eyebrows were getting quite the workout.
Finally, the Counsellor turned to Archer, "Before you leave, we must go to the Holier of Hollies, to give praise and thanks to the Idol." Archer glanced at T'Pol questioningly, unsure the UT had accurately translated but she confirmed with the briefest nod that the UT was indeed working correctly. Archer surpressed a groan, mentally computing how many more minutes this would take.
xxx
The Holier of Hollies was dark and quiet, in marked contrast to the outside bustle and light. Archer noticed the four doors located at the center of each wall, showing as a bright rectangle of light with two figures inside. Guards. Two on the outside and two on the inside. And each with weapons drawn. The place was guarded like the jewels of the crowm.
He followed the Counsellor's lead, walking softly and silently deeeper inside the building with the greatest care. The silence was total. He could hardly see, in spite of the rectangles of light from the doors. The Counsellor was walking slowly, as if approaching something much ferocious and feared. His aides were following a few steps behind. Archer zeroed in on the lighter rectangle of the Counsellor's cape, trying to keep somewhat abreast. His team filtered in the back. He wondered how T'Pol was faring, Vulcans' night vision being terrible and all. But she was a seasoned veteran and she'd adapt.
The shadows grew even denser and it was a struggle to keep up with the Counsellor. They must be close to the center of the building. The Counsellor stepped through a doorway and Archer followed. Suddenly the floor gave way under his feet. He almost lost his balance, stepping down on the sunken ground with a resounding noise. He hadn't seen the step in the dark.
The Counsellor froze. The sound reverberated in the small room, echoing down the walls. When it stopped, the Counsellor started moving again. Archer's eyes were adjusting and he could make out the outline of what seemed to be a pole in the middle of the room. The Counsellor walked over to the pole and bent at the waist, talking under his breath. Archer waited silently behind him, hands behind his back, looking around. He could see more and more of the space. The Counsellor's aides filed into the room. The rest of the landing party would be next. He could only hope nobody missed the step like he did.
The Counsellor was folded in an impossible position, still talking to the Idol. In turn, his aides bent at the waist in silent supplication. T'Pol's stepped lightly in to the left of Archer. She must have known about the step from the noise, there was no way a Vulcan could see in that kind of dark. She kept walking in the direction of the pole and Archer worried she didn't see it. He was about to go over and stop her when she stopped within a couple of feet of the pole. Perhaps she'd heard her breath echo against it. Vulcan hearing was something else entirely.
Pierre stepped through next, also managing the step down without a hitch. Archer thought he hadn't seen Travis just as he heard the hurried step of the young man. He must have lagged behind, always curious to see everything.
Archer couldn't precisely see what happened next. There was a muffled curse and a commotion.
And then all hell broke loose.
xxx
Travis had taken the sweep position, allowing his eyes time to adjust and him time to take in everything around. The all-encompassing darkness finally yielded, letting him make out elaborate carvings runing the full length and width of the building. The scenes were alien, indescribable. He was awe-struck at the scale and beauty of the decorations, slack-jawed as he turned slowly around to catch it all.
He realized that he was the only one left and looked up just in time to see Pierre duck through a doorway in the darkest part of the room. He rushed to catch up, entering the room briskly on Pierre's tail.
He couldn't see anything in the even deeper darkness and missed the step-down. Hos imletus carried him forward and he would have gone sprawling but for something soft and yielding that stopped hos forward motion and allowed him to regain his balance.
The something soft and yielding was T'Pol. Travis was much taller than the Vulcan and she was abruptly shoved forward without warning, catching herself on the pole in the center of the room. Something on top wobbled but didn't fall.
xxx
All hell broke loose. Or from a Vulcan perspective, pandemonium erupted.
The Counsellor and his aides started shrieking, it was hard to tell which was letting out the shrillest calls. The aides were beating their chests, a couple of them crying, the rest wailing.
The sound of running steps preceded the guards into the close space, weapons drawn and aimed at the Enterprise party. T'Pol was separated from the group, her arms forcefully twisted behind her back until she bent to accommodate the pressure. Handcuffs appeared, were slapped on her, and she was carted out of the room by a squadron of armed guards.
The remaining guards herded the landing party out, roughly shoving them with the flat of their weapons, forming a line behind them that couldn't be breached. They found themselves back outside, blinking in the light. The guards lowered their weapons and went back to their posts at the entrances to the Holier of Hollies.
Archer decided to keep a tight grip on his temper. At least until they brought T'Pol back. He whirled on the Counsellor, "What in heavens was that?! I want my Commander back!"
The Counsellor was somber, his face closed. His aides were wiping their faces from any remaining tears, looking dejected. He shook his head, still pale from the incident. "It cannot be done, Captain." He was visibly making an effort to regain his composure, "Your officer is guilty of the highest crime under Nossenean law." Then realizing he needed to explain, "She laid a hand of the Idol."
"It was an accident!" Archer snapped back, "and she didn't touch the Idol, only the pole holding it!"
The Counsellor shook his head, "The integrity of the Idol was compromised. Her fault must be expiated." He took a tremulous breath, "Our laws are strict, but I know you are aliens and do not know our culture. And that it was not intentional." He took another deeper breath, "Nossena wants to join the Federation and we must expect there will be other instances where aliens will run afoul of our culture. I will talk to the Exalted Leader, but the High Chamber will have to make the decision."
"The decision? There's no decision to be made, she's got to be released. End of story!" Archer snapped.
The Counsellor eyed him with an expression akin to grief, "You do not understand, Captain. Under our laws her crime is punishable by death."
