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Distant Sun - Alternative Ending

By Drogna


Disclaimer: Enterprise doesn't belong to me, I wish it did. The only thing I get out of this is someplace for my imagination to run riot.
Rating: PG-13
Archive: yes, just ask first.

Spoilers: all four seasons

AN: When I wrote this I wanted it to be as much like an episode as possible. Enterprise is a family show and generally doesn't feature much in the way of blood and gore. I just couldn't imagine my original ending being filmed for the show so I changed it to a slightly more PG version. This ending is the 15 version.

****

Tucker knew he was in trouble. He’d known that as soon as they’d been thrown in a deep, dark cell in a medieval castle. However, the trouble quotient had just increased tenfold. He’d been taken to an ornate temple, whose walls were covered with sun murals of the binary star system. A round altar sat in the centre of the circular space and a large gold sphere sat in the middle of the altar, a smaller gold sphere attached to it by a gold chain.

This was the castle’s temple to Gan the sun god, the god of the giant star that the smaller star fed upon. The smaller star was Gan’s consort, Shas. He only knew this because Kelta had given them extensive lessons in this planet’s religion while they’d been passing the time locked up in a cell. Somewhere in the castle was a much smaller temple dedicated to Shas, but she didn’t demand sacrifices and her attributes were mercy and forgiveness in contrast to her husband’s concerns. Tucker wished he was in the other temple.

In front of the altar was a round indentation in the floor and two round rings set into the floor on opposite sides of the dip. A channel led out of the indentation and around the altar and Tucker had a horrible idea that he knew what that was for. Its rusty colouring proved his theory.

He was pushed into a kneeling position before the altar in the indentation and his hands were tied out to each side to a ring. The position wasn’t comfortable, but then he doubted they cared if the people that they sacrificed were comfortable. They pulled off his jump suit’s sleeves, using a knife when they wouldn’t detach easily. Then the alien who Tucker had assumed to be a priest came up to him with a much larger, bejewelled knife with a wickedly sharp blade. He said a few words that the UT, still hidden in his top pocket, couldn’t understand and cut deeply into Tucker’s upper arm. Tucker suppressed an exclamation of pain, deciding that swearing at his captors was a better use of his breath. More cuts followed down both arms, each cut deep and painful. The priest then doused the wounds with a liquid that stung and almost made Tucker feel like passing out, but he held on not wanting to give his captors the satisfaction of seeing him weak.

Warm blood dripped down his arms and onto the floor below him, flowing towards the channel that would eventually carry blood around the altar. Either the priest hadn’t known where to cut to hit major arteries or he wanted Tucker to bleed slowly. The blood didn’t seem to be clotting, however, and he guessed that the liquid that had been poured over the wounds was some sort of anticoagulant.

He was beginning to feel strange. Static filled his ears becoming louder as each moment passed. He felt his heart rate increase and tried to calm it but with little effect. His lungs felt as if they weren’t getting enough air although he knew it wasn’t his lungs that he needed to worry about. Finally his eyesight narrowed gradually to tunnel vision and he lost his balance, crumpling to the ground uncomfortably with his arms still stretched out to the sides. He closed his eyes, hoping it would help, and concentrated on breathing. He was starting to feel sick and hot and he just wanted this to end now. As it turned out, he thought, exsanguination was a pretty horrible way to execute people.

He had hoped the Reed would be able to escape and rescue him before it came to this, but it was too late now. He was going to die on an alien planet, thousands of miles away from Enterprise and his friends, because the local populace believed that technology was the work of the devil. At least he was the one to be sacrificed and he’d given Reed a chance to escape. He hoped that his friend was able to get away and didn’t suffer the same fate.

Suddenly it seemed as if there was a lot of commotion in the temple. Tucker peeled open an eye. People were running about and falling on the ground, hit by beams of light.

“Malcolm,” murmured Tucker, letting his eyes fall shut again. Someone was shaking him, trying to get him upright. They removed the manacles that held his arms out, attached to the floor rings.

“He’s lost a lot of blood,” said a familiar voice. “Quickly, we need to apply pressure to the wounds.”

There was rustling and pieces of cloth were pressed against the cuts on his arm. Someone else tied a tourniquet tightly around the top of each arm.

“Trip, can you hear me?”

Trip made one last effort and opened his eyes. “Captain?” he asked looking up.

“Yes, we met Malcolm in the great hall. We’ll have you home in no time,” said the Captain, cheerfully. His eyes told a different story however and were filled with worry for his friend. “Think you can walk? We need to get out of here.”

“Sure,” said Tucker. He tried very hard to get his legs under him, but they just refused to operate properly. After a couple of failed attempts he gave in and acknowledged that this wasn’t going to work. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don’t worry, Trip. We’ll carry you if we have to,” replied Archer.

“I’m detecting an unknown substance in his blood,” said T’Pol. “It appears to be preventing his blood from clotting. At his current rate of blood loss, he will not survive the trip back to Enterprise.”

“Can we use the transporter?”

T’Pol must have nodded because Archer took out his communicator and started to raise Enterprise. Tucker suddenly had a thought.

“T’Pol, stun me,” said Tucker, quietly, taking a deep breath.

“That would not be appropriate, Commander,” replied T’Pol.

“Lowers the heart rate, body goes into a hibernation state,” replied Tucker, trying to get his point across. He took another deep breath. “You have to. It’s the only way I’ll last until Phlox can get this stuff out of me.”

Archer had heard the end of the conversation. “Is he right?”

“Technically, however the effect of the stun setting on already injured subjects is not well documented,” said T’Pol.

“Just do it, T’Pol,” whispered Tucker.

T’Pol took out her weapon, set it to stun and fired it at Tucker, who went limp immediately.

“Archer to Enterprise, one to beam up, lock onto my communicator and have Phlox standing by at the transporter pad.” Archer placed the open communicator on Tucker’s chest.

“Aye, sir,” came Hoshi’s reply. A few seconds later, Tucker disappeared in a shimmering glow.

“Come on,” said Archer to T’Pol. “Malcolm, Kelta and Travis can’t hold off the guards forever and we’ve got a shuttle-pod to collect and another to destroy.”

T’Pol nodded once in agreement before the four Enterprise officers and one vagabond fled the castle.

****

Archer, T’Pol and Reed made their way to sickbay as soon as they were back on Enterprise. They had left Kelta in the forest. She had been grateful to Reed for helping her escape the castle, thanked him and then melted into the forest. They had then planted explosives to destroy Shuttle-pod One, and taken the second pod back to Enterprise.

The three officers entered sickbay to see Tucker lying asleep on one of the biobeds while Phlox checked readings on the medical monitor above his head. A container of blood hung from an IV stand beside his bed and the dark red fluid ran down a long tube and into a needle in Tucker’s arm.

“How is he?” asked Archer.

“He will be fine,” said Phlox. “I’m replacing the blood that he lost and I was able to purge the anticoagulant from his wounds. A couple of the deeper cuts needed stitches but none of them were severe. He does however have a fractured wrist, which I assume he sustained in the crash.”

“He said he thought it was sprained. What about his finger? It was dislocated,” said Reed.

“Someone did a good job of relocating the finger. I assume that was you, Mr Reed. It should heal on its own,” replied Phlox. “But you must also have sustained some injuries, so if you wouldn’t mind getting up on the bed…” The doctor picked up a scanner and Reed climbed onto the biobed reluctantly.

“Why did you and Trip leave the shuttle anyway?” asked Archer.

“We were shot down by some kind of missile. We detected the buildings with the new scanner modifications, but I think that triggered some kind of automated self-defence program. It seemed a shame not to go and investigate the buildings when we’d crashed so close to them. Trip didn’t want to but I talked him into it. This was all my fault, sir.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” said Archer. “What did you find at the buildings?”

“Not much. We know that it was a listening station, but it had no identifying marks of any kind. Trip thought that he recognised the technology but he couldn’t place it. In any case it was booby trapped, as soon as we left the building we set off a bomb of some kind which destroyed the whole building. We took scans and they’re stored in the scanner’s memory but I’m not sure how much help they’ll be.”

“I will download them onto the ship’s computer. I may be able to compare them to our database and gain more information,” said T’Pol.

“There’s something else. The explosion also destroyed part of the village. People must have been killed and it was our fault. If we hadn’t been investigating those buildings then they’d still be alive.”

“Malcolm, you didn’t plant the explosives. Whoever put them in that building are the ones to blame. You were just doing your job, exploring and gathering information that may be of use to us.”

Reed nodded but he didn’t seem convinced. It was going to take both him and Tucker a little time to put this adventure behind them.

Phlox snapped his scanner shut.

“What’s the verdict, Doctor?” asked Reed.

“You have two cracked ribs and numerous cuts and bruises,” said Phlox. “Nothing that a few days rest and some painkillers can’t deal with. All in all, you were very lucky.” Phlox took out a hypospray and injected the contents into Reed’s neck.

“So I can go?” asked Reed.

“I suppose so,” replied Phlox, “but you’re off duty for at least the next two days.”

Reed didn’t even protest at that, he was too tired. When he felt more awake he’d argue with Phlox about his return to duty. He got off the biobed and wandered towards the sickbay doors.

“Malcolm,” said Archer, just as Reed was leaving. “Not every first contact we make is going to be a smooth one and sometimes there’s nothing we can do about it. You saved Trip’s life, don’t forget that.”

Reed looked back at his Commanding Officer, understanding the statement he was making. He paused a second and gave Archer a curt nod, before the doors of sickbay swished shut behind him.

****

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