Takes place shortly after "Contagion".
Enterprise first noticed it shortly after her arrival on Starbase 12. An irritation in her airways making it difficult to breathe. She couldn't quite understand it and that bothered her. She had Galaxy check her out.
"Well you do have some inflammation in your main esophagus." Excelsior's chief apprentice reported.
"Well, it hurts." Enterprise rasped.
"Yes, I'm sure it does." Galaxy sighed. "Which is why I'm ordering you to spend 3 weeks berthrest here at Starbase 12 on a prescription painkiller. I can keep an eye on you that way."
Enterprise's growl was cut off as she felt something snap in her throat. The growl became a groan.
"Take it easy!" Galaxy admonished her. "You've been running yourself ragged all over the Federation nonstop for the past 7 months. You need a rest."
"So you're saying I shouldn't have raced around saving your sorry asses from the threats I encountered?" Enterprise snarled.
Galaxy frowned. "I didn't mean it like that and you know it." She said.
"No, I don't think I do." Enterprise growled, in no mood to deal with Galaxy's antics.
Galaxy didn't appreciate her tone. "If that's the case then you're more of a sorry excuse for a starship than I thought." She said. "Come on." She made to nudge Enterprise into her berth but the flagship shook her off.
"You're being unreasonable Galaxy. Though I should have known you'd come to hate me. You always did love Yamato more. Of course you would blame me for not saving her." She sneered.
Galaxy's eyes narrowed into fine slits and when she spoke her tone had taken on a dangerous undercurrent. "Berth, now." She growled.
But Enterprise wasn't finished. "You can't order me around." Enterprise hissed.
Galaxy closed her eyes, trying to control her rising temper. "I think you should go." She said.
"Why? Because you're too much of a coward to face the truth." Enterprise sneered. "Yamato was the only thing that mattered to you. You didn't care about anything else. You never cared!"
Enterprise's taunt was the last straw and with a roar Galaxy lunged at her sister. The two tossed about smashing and breaking things in their fight with each other. When they broke apart, Galaxy sported a bloody nose and Enterprise a dent on the side of her head.
"Go Enterprise." The elder ship hissed. "Go and don't come back!"
"Gladly." Enterprise answered and warped away, her backwash hitting Galaxy in the face.
Enterprise pushed past her tears and accelerated. All she cared about was getting as far away from Starbase 12 as she could. At maximum warp she covered that distance quickly until it all went wrong. Enterprise found she could no longer breathe from her atmosphere and automatically her oxygen starved systems began to shut down. She'd ran right into a Briar Patch. Powerless, she was caught in the gravity of an M-class planet. All she could do was put her shields to the maximum and pray they held through her entry. The clouds parted, revealing a lush open plain below. Enterprise cried out as she impacted. The starship rolled over 2 miles before coming to a stop in an open field. Enterprise recognized it as part of a small agricultural style community. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was a group of frightened but curious people running towards her. Then everything went black.