Three Days Too Die
Disclaimer: I do not own Startrek: Enterprise or any of their characters.
A/N: Hi, I have made several revisions to this chapter, but the plot line is still the same. I like this version much more than the last one and I hope y'all do as well! Reviews are appreciated!
Readers:
lizard971, thank you for the advise, I hadn't thought of that.
And thank you Guest and Turner69 for your comments.
Lastly, I apologize for any misspelled words or grammatical errors. Now, enjoy!
"C'mon Trip!" Archer shouted, holding his injured arm tightly against his side as they rushed through the thick underbrush back to the shuttle pod. "I would be going faster…but somebody… has to carry…T'Pol, and what with…your arm and all, I'm...the only one…who can!" Trip shouted between breaths, doing all that he could to maintain his pace without dropping T'Pol or running into a tree.
"We're almost there! Just a little farther Trip!" Archer again shouted, his own energy depleting as rapidly as the blood that flowed from his arm. Trip grunted in response, not willing to waste much-needed energy on formulating an actual verbal response.
As he flew past trees and underbrush he dodged several low hanging limbs and almost dropped T'Pol's unconscious form several times. Just as he ran around another tree with low limbs, trying to keep up with Archer, his foot hit a root and he and T'Pol went flying.
The whole world, foreign as it may be, spun upside down until Trip landed hard on his back, T'Pol still clutched tightly to his chest and seeming to be relatively unhurt. Trip groaned as every muscle screamed in agony, and before he could get back to his feet he was surrounded by the natives of this planet.
The hostile natives that is, which may or may not have been his fault. Trip looked around hastily, despite the angry protests of his muscles, but he couldn't see Archer anywhere. Berating himself for stumbling, he hoped that Archer had managed to reach the shuttle and a fresh power cell for his phasor.
Pulling himself from his wistful thinking he noticed that the native who appeared to be in charge of this hunting party was getting closer, and he did not look happy. Trip did a quick assessment of his situation, wishing that T'Pol would wake up, but knowing that if she did, she probably wouldn't be much help, what with a concussion and all.
It was relatively clear behind him to his left, all the natives were approaching from in front and to the right of him. Trip noted with resignation that his escape route was covered in sharp, mean looking bushes, but he knew that he didn't have any other choice and he could only hope that he didn't end up injuring T'Pol further.
Slowly the angry leader approached Trip with a curious look, seeming to note the somewhat helpless way that Trip laid sprawled out on the forest floor and the fierceness with which he clung to T'Pol. "Arame tyfo lactona" The leader said and it took Trip's translator, which had been adapted by Hoshi, a moment to give a rough translation of what was said, "Must be his mate."
Upon hearing this, Trip looked at T'Pol and noted the way he had her clutched protectively to his chest. He quickly pushed those thoughts away, he was only holding her this close to protect her from the fall, right?
The leader again spoke, indignation and confusion evident in his voice even though Trip couldn't understand the language. "If so, then why take an interested in my sister? Only to throw our traditions back in her face? Grab her." The translator repeated the leader's next words as two natives moved forward to take T'Pol from Trip's arms.
"Over my dead body!" Trip shouted as he clutched T'Pol tighter, if that was possible, and rolled to his left, away from the natives, and into the sharp bushes before managing to use the momentum to get to his feet, groaning as his body protested his movements.
At first, the natives were surprised by his move, but they quickly recovered and advanced as a group. Before he could get ten feet, he was suddenly completely surrounded, somehow they had managed to trap him in a circle of densely packed trees.
Turning, he put his back to one of the trees and painfully knelt down in order to gently place T'Pol on the ground until he had only an arm around her shoulders to support her. Glancing down at T'Pol's unconscious form, he ignored protesting ribs and managed to grab his phase pistol from the holster at his side, he raised it as quickly as he could and aimed for the closest native.
Obviously, the natives remembered its power from when Archer, T'Pol and Trip had first been attacked by them as they paused in their advance. Unfortunately, the power cell in the phasor was too depleted to do any good, but Trip hoped that it would take them a little while to add up that it wasn't working. "Stay back or you'll regret it." Trip said in as menacing a tone as he could manage, still kneeling down protectively beside T'Pol.
The tense moment stretched for what seemed like an eternity, neither side willing to back down nor able to advance. Eventually one brave native took a step forward, testing Trip. Silently Trip was looking for other options, but he couldn't see any that ended well for him and T'Pol.
The brave native shared a look with the leader and the whole group took a step forward, they were a very coordinated group, Trip noted resentfully. Despite its uselessness Trip continued to point the phasor at the natives, shifting his aim between those closest. Trip watched as understanding crossed the leader's face and he prepared himself to defend against the coming attack.
He watched as the leader seemed to send silent commands to the others and just as the leader took a step forward, Trip and all of the other natives were shocked to see a bolt of light strike the leader in the chest, knocking him to the ground unconscious. Trip was the first to recover from the shock and was already picking T'Pol up and getting to his feet when the second native went down.
Looking around he spotted Archer engaging another native, but the encounter was over before the native had a chance to do any damage. Archer caught sight of Trip and T'Pol out of the corner of his eye and took off in their direction.
"Come on, the shuttle's this way!" He shouted as he passed them, only taking a second to really assess their physical wellbeing. "Took you long enough!" Trip shouted back jokingly as he began running behind Archer.
"Ah, you had it handled!" Archer tossed back over his shoulder, relieved that Trip still had the energy to joke. Trip just shook his head as he gave it all he had to keep up with the Captain. Keeping up was much harder this time because every movement jarred his ribs and holding T'Pol tightly put a lot of pressure on his chest which caused him to take shallow breaths and limited the amount of oxygen that his muscles could get.
When they had been running towards the shuttle the first time, his adrenaline had been pumping, but now he could feel with acute awareness the lack of adrenaline being pumped through his system. Taking that fall and the standoff with the natives had really taken its toll on his adrenaline storage and he knew that now he was only running off of will power and determination.
Thankfully the shuttle came into view after only a few more minutes of running. Archer reached it first and got the hatch open. Trip entered and carefully secured T'Pol to a chair. He then went to the controls and nodded breathlessly at Archer when he came in and closed the hatch. "Let's get out of here," Archer said, his hand again going to his injured arm before he took a seat beside T'Pol.
"Hold on Capt'n, it's gonna get a little bumpy." Trip said as the shuttle took off from the planet. The turbulence was strong and Trip fought to maintain control of the shuttle. When they finally cleared the atmosphere Trip glanced back to see Archer assessing T'Pol's condition.
"How is she?" He asked, worried that he had done more damage during their escape. "As far as I can tell she's okay, the swelling on the back of her head isn't too bad, Phlox will be able to tell us more," Archer responded and Trip could hear the relief in his voice.
"Good, she had me worried there for a little bit." Trip said before returning his full attention to flying the shuttle. "I can't believe you insulted those natives, I'd thought that you were more diplomatic than that." Archer said, dramatically sighing in exasperation.
Trip looked back at him and smiled, "Well, don't worry Captain, I'll never thank another woman again. Especially an alien woman with a custom that considers 'thank you' a marriage proposal and a challenge to her current marriage proposal. From this point onward I'll be an ungrateful jerk." Trip said as he and Archer began laughing, the pressure of the world seeming to lift from their shoulders.
"Shuttle Pod One to Enterprise, we've taken some damage. T'Pol is unconscious from a hard hit to the head and Capt'n Archer has a cut on his upper right arm that is still bleedin'." Trip said as he prepared to dock in Shuttle Bay One. "Copy that, there will be a medical team waiting to transport them to Sickbay." Lieutenant Malcolm Reed responded quickly, already sending the orders to the medical team.
"What happened down there, Commander?" Malcolm asked, managing to hide the worry and guilt he felt for not sending more protection. "The natives didn't take too kindly to what we meant by our gratitude." Trip responded and Malcolm noted that he sounded tired.
"Sounds like a story I'll have to hear one of these days" He replied, "I'll see you in Sickbay Commander." Upon receiving confirmation from Trip, he turned to Mayweather, "You have the Bridge." Mayweather nodded and he responded, "Yes Sir." Malcolm then began making his way to Sickbay.
Reaching Sickbay Malcolm saw Phlox turning from T'Pol to Captain Archer, who was sitting on a bio-bed holding the wrist of his injured arm. With precise movements, Phlox began to cut away the fabric above the injury. Quickly and efficiently he cleaned, stitched and bandaged the wound.
"It is not a deep cut, but it did bleed rather extensively. I suggest that you rest for today and don't lift anything with that arm for the next week, Captain." Phlox said as he tied the bandage off, then he turned back to T'Pol in order to see if her scan was complete.
As Phlox checked the scan, Archer slowly got off the bio-bed and made his way to Malcolm who had positioned himself out of the way by the door. Noting that Captain Archer had moved, Phlox spoke louder in order to convey T'Pol's condition.
"It seems that Sub-commander T'Pol only received moderate damage, she should regain consciousness in a few hours. Until then I will start her on anti-swelling medication." Phlox said before finally turning to Trip. As he looked him over, he also scanned for any internal injuries.
"Commander Tucker, it appears that you have severally bruised your ribs and have several minor scratches, however, they don't look to be infected right now, but it may be a little early to detect anything," Pausing, Phlox turned to one of the many cabinets in Sickbay, "I do have some cream that will help to prevent infection, and I want you to apply it every two hours. Also, your vitals appear to be in the normal range for someone who has just gone through an ordeal similar to yours." He said as he handed Trip the cream.
Taking the cream from Phlox, Trip opened the lid, winching discretely when the force he had to use to open the lid disturbed his bruised ribs. While Trip rubbed the cream onto his decidedly scratched skin, Phlox again turned away to grab something from the cabinets. When he turned back, Trip was just finishing rubbing the cream over his arm.
"Lift up your shirt Commander. I am going to wrap your ribs with this bandage, it should help the bruising to heal faster." Phlox told Trip, who then preceded to carefully lift up his shirt. As Phlox tightened the bandage around his chest a small groan escaped Trip's lips. "I'm sorry Commander. The discomfort should fade in a day or two."
As Phlox stepped away Trip lowered his shirt and carefully got down from the bio-bed. "I recommend that you rest and take it easy with your ribs," Phlox said as he began putting away his medical instruments. "Sure thing, thank's Doc." Trip replied before he walked over to Captain Archer who was talking quietly with Malcolm.
"I'm gonna catch some shut-eye, then I may check in at Engineering Cap'n." Trip stated, being on that planet for only five hours had really worn him out. "That's fine Trip. Take it easy and I'll see you for dinner in the Captain's mess." Archer replied, still holding his arm close to his side. "Yes Sir. See ya then." Trip said before leaving Sickbay.
When he finally made it to his quarters, he collapsed onto his bed, beyond exhausted, forgetting to set an alarm for the reapplying of the cream that Phlox had given him. When he woke four hours later he was shivering violently, despite being fully clothed and under the covers.
His head was pounding and when he tried to sit up his vision grayed and dots began swimming in front of his eyes. Groaning he faintly wondered what was wrong with him. When he tried to stand and go to the comm, his knees suddenly buckled and he collapsed back onto the bed, barely missing the floor. A groan was forced through his lips when his ribs protested the jerky movements and he slowly succumbed to a fevered sleep.