Ok, this is incredibly random, but it was dancing around in my head for ages so I had no option but to write and post it. Mainly light-hearted stuff with some romance and a lot of cuteness (yes I know, how am I writing this, me the angst queen, yes, yes, but I am!) Hope everyone enjoys it!

Chapter 1

Archer shifted where he stood, watching his target and watching the creature that wanted to take it away from him. The creature prowled through the trees, swift and silent, eyes wide in concentration. Archer debated his options as the creature got closer. He was slower than his opponent, but maybe the element of surprise would be on his side, it was obvious his opponent was more focused on the target than on who was around him.

As Archer's eyes followed the creatures movements, he decided he'd gotten too close and made the choice.

"Ha!" With a cry of victory he burst from the foliage and shoved his opponent out of the way as he ran for the target. The opponent yelped and then gave chase.

"Stupid pink-skin!" snarled the opponent. Neck and neck they ran towards the target. Just as they were about to reach it, Archer's foot suddenly sank beneath the ground and he grabbed his opponent to catch his balance. Unfortunately his opponent had also lost his balance as the entire ground under their feet collapsed and they both tumbled down into darkness

Archer found himself doing somersaults through rock, rubble and bashing into a certain Andorian who was swearing so bad he'd have made T'Pol blush. With a grunt he landed on something softer than he'd been expecting and lay there, trying to catch his breath and waiting for his head to stop spinning. Near his ear he could hear harsh breathing and guessed Shran, his opponent, had landed beside him.

"Pink-skin?" grunted Shran.

"Yeah Shran?"

"Unless you plan on making this worth my while GET OFF ME!!"

With a start Archer realised he'd landed on Shran and the Andorian was glaring at him. Archer was off him like a shot. Shran sat up with a grunt of pain and slapped away Archer's offered hand. After a moment he got to his feet and shot Archer another nasty look.

"Sorry." Archer shrugged, looking embarrassed. Shran rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Forget it."

Archer looked up to see a tunnel with an ending that was way too far for comfort.

"Trip! Trip!" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his shouts. Shran stepped closer to him, looking up as well. Heaving a sigh he shouted,

"Tholos! Get your ass over here now!"

"Cap'n! You alright?" Trip's head was silhouetted against the sunlight filtering through the hole.

"Yeah, we're fine."

"No thanks to you." grunted Shran. "Where's Tholos Commander?"

"He's uh, he's getting the final item of the hunt."

"Good. At least something good comes from this." muttered Shran.

"Commander Shran!" Another head, with antennas, appeared, "We got it sir."

"Good. Now, any idea how we're supposed to get out of here?"

"Sorry sir, we can't until the game ends, which isn't for two days, when we'll be able to get ropes and such to pull you out."

"Can't we use the transporter?"

"The minerals in the rock render all technology useless, we wouldn't be able to pick up their bio-signs."

Archer had to admire Andorian efficiency in a crisis.

"Tholos throw me down my pack, at least we should have some food and water if we're going to be stuck down here."

"Throw me mine Trip."

"Yes sir."

Aye cap'n." Both heads vanished and Shran sighed again.

"Stuck in a cave with you for two days, this must be a punishment for something I don't remember doing."

"You think I'm any happier about it?"

"Where's your usual eagerness for adventure pink-skin?"

"I think I left it on the surface."

"Heads up!" called Trip as he dropped Archer's pack. Archer caught it and quickly dug out his torch. Shran did the same when he got his own pack. The light showed them that they were in a fairly small cave as far as caves went and it was full of rather… phsycadelic rock formations. The stalagmites were vivid orange, yellow, purple and all sorts of other colours that made Archer rather dizzy. Shran quickly surveyed the area and then shouted up to Tholos and Trip,

"We're going to take a look around, see if there's a water source and maybe a way out, we'll be back within six hours, this place looks like it's a mass of caves."

"Understood Commander."

"And Tholos?"

"Yessir?"

"Keep Thon away from the trees please."

"Yessir." there was laughter in Tholos' voice as he disappeared.

"Shall we?" asked Shran, pointing at one archway out of the cave.

"Why that way?" asked Archer, frowning.

"Well which way would you go?"

"I think this way looks good, the floor's darker, maybe there's a water source that way."

"I'd rather we try to find a way out first, we've got water for now."

"Yeah, but how long will it last."

"We're only going to be down here three days at the most."

"Three?"

"The game doesn't end for two, and then it can take a while to sort out everything before they can come and get us. Still it won't take more than half a day. We'll be out of here by the end of the third day."

"Then why risk getting lost by wandering off? Why not just stay here?"

"Because if there's a chance we can get out of here quicker then I'm going to go for it."

"Well I think we should look for water, in case something goes wrong!"

"Well fine! You go look for water and I'll go look for a way out. We'll see who's better off."

"Fine!"

"Fine!" Shran slung his pack over his shoulder and strode off in one direction while Archer went another way. Both were grousing over the other's stubbornness.

"Stubborn Andorian, why can't he be reasonable for once in his life?" Archer was still grumbling three hours later as he plodded through the caves. It was beginning to become clear that he wasn't going to find any water source in the direction he was going. Heaving a sigh of defeat he sat down on a low mound of rock.

Archer pulled out a power bar and chewed on a bite, trying to figure out his next move. He could either keep going until he was hopelessly lost or he could go back. Neither was appealing because if he met up with Shran again the Andorian was sure to taunt him.

Just as he was about to admit defeat and head back, a hand landed on his shoulder. Archer leapt to his feet and swung for his attacker. The attacker ducked and grabbed his arm, twisting it to the side and using the other hand to shove Archer into the wall.

"Damnit pink-skin! What the hell do you think you're doing?" snarled Shran as he pinned Archer to make him stop.

"What the hell were you doing sneaking up on me like that?" retorted Archer, shoving Shran away from him.

"I wasn't sneaking up on anyone. You just don't pay attention!"

"Yeah right. You probably snuck up behind me to have a right laugh at me by scaring me half to death."

"I have better things to do with my time, thank you. Like finding a way out of here."

"What you haven't found one yet?" Archer sneered, glaring at the shorter man. Shran's eyes lit up with fury.

"Have you found your supposed water supply?" Archer didn't answer, he just walked away and grabbed his pack. Shran snorted, "I thought so."

"So why'd you double back after me?"

"I didn't. The caves seem to work around and connect together at some point. We've probably been walking in circles for hours."

"Great, well at least we got some exercise." Archer sat down again, too tired to stay standing. "This stupid game of yours."

"My stupid game? As I recall you were all for the game, I seem to recall you bragging about how your team would beat mine even though this hunt was our game. If you had been more careful with where you put your big feet then we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Oh so this is my fault? I'm not the one who designed the scavenger hunt."

"Neither am I! It's the Imperial Guard who designs them, and it was your Starfleet that agreed to you playing against us!"

"So you're blaming Starfleet now?"

"You're blaming the Imperial Guard. What's that you say? An eye for an eye?"

"Starfleet didn't design the game, they didn't put the clues and other things out."

"It's not the Imperial Guards fault the ground was weak!"

"Well they should have checked."

"If this hunt was supposed to be easy we'd have five year olds playing it, not fully grown soldiers! The hunt is about training us to be alert and smart. Two things which you clearly don't have an atom of!"

Archer leapt to his feet and pushed his face into Shran's, glaring at him. Shran glared back, daring him to try something. The Andorian may have been smaller, but he was stronger and quicker, with a lifetime of training behind him. After a minute of glaring at each other, Archer said,

"This is getting us nowhere. We should be working together to get out of here or survive or whatever."

Shran was quick to cut him off, "If you start one of your sanctimonious speeches again I swear pink-skin I will knock you on your ass!"

Archer huffed in annoyance, but Shran wasn't done, "What is it with your species and mind-numbing speeches where a few sentences would do? Do you feel the need to grind your ideals into every who doesn't conform to them?"

"Of course not! We respect all species ideals!"

"Sure you do."

"We do!" Archer grabbed Shran's arm and nearly shook him in frustration. Only Shran could work him up into such a temper so fast. Shran jerked his arm free and said,

"Then you don't think Andorians would be better if we didn't resort to things like Ushaan to resolve issues?"

Archer opened his mouth but his words got caught on the way out. Shran smirked, "Didn't think so."

"That's just my opinion!"

"Based on human ideals which does not allow you to consider our perspective! You don't think like an Andorian so how can you pass judgement on our traditions, which we hold so high."

"Look, are we going to work together or are we going to argue some more because if we are I'm going to sit down."

Shran narrowed his eyes, his antennas rearing back. Then finally he snorted and shook his head,

"Whatever."

And that was the matter closed for the moment.

The two men stood in silence, regarding each other, before Shran broke the silence by saying, "We should head back, check in with Tholos and Commander Tucker."

"Yeah… good idea." Shran turned and led the way, back through the caves. Archer said nothing as he followed, knowing Shran wouldn't try to get them lost, no matter how mad he was.

It was several hours later and Archer and Shran were trying to sleep on either side of the cave. Unfortunately for Archer, it was bitterly cold and he was shivering. Unfortunately for Shran, Archer wasn't suffering in silence.

"Pink-skin would you shut up!"

"I'm sorry but I'm not used to sleeping in these kinds of temperatures. I didn't grow up on an icy, desolate waste of a planet."

"Andoria may be icy, Archer, but it is not a desolate waste!"

"Oh? I don't remember there being many animals around besides your precious ice bores."

Shran sat up, his teeth clenched in fury. Archer glared at him, still blaming the Andorian for the situation they were in.

"Well you didn't look! I saw plenty when we were there and I swear to the spirit's pink-skin, if you don't shut up I will make you by whatever method is required."

"I'd like to see you try!" Archer was on his feet, standing in a defensive position. Shran jumped to his own feet, his eyes flashing. They stared at each other, waiting for the other to back down, but neither did.

There was a sudden tapping near them and they both looked around.

"What's that?"

"Oh like I'd know!"

Still angry, they began to look around, as the tapping seemed to get a little louder and more frantic.

"Over here." Shran called, searching among some rocks. Archer joined him and they pushed aside some of the rocks, making a hole. Archer stuck his hand down the hole and his fingers closed around something warm and round. Withdrawing his arm he held up… an egg?

Just a little bigger than a chicken egg, it was pale blue and it was the source of the tapping.

As the two men stared at the egg, with Shran shining his torch on it, it began to rock back and forth in Archer's hand. At last a beak punched through and after a few more minutes the top of the egg split open from the rest of it and they could make out something moving inside it.

Archer wasn't sure what to do so he began to lower his hand, to put the egg on the ground.

"Don't!" Shran grabbed his hand and held it up. "You'll scare it."

Archer raised an eyebrow in a very Vulcan-esque way. Shran seemed to flush, but he said in a stubborn tone, "You don't want to make its birth any harder than it already is, do you?"

"You don't even know what it could be! For all we know it could be poisonous."

"If it looks dangerous when it comes out of the egg you can kill it, but give it a fighting chance first."

Archer narrowed his eyes, then gave in, turning his attention to the egg again. For some reason he was very aware of Shran's hand holding his.

The creature inside the egg struggled slowly, pushing and relaxing in Archer's hand. After a few minutes it popped out of the shell and collapsed in Archer's palm. Archer and Shran stared at it carefully. To Archer it looked rather like a newborn chick, wet, scrawny and not dangerous at all, rather it looked very frail. Shran's was frowning in confusion, as if he didn't know what to make of it.

After a few more moments the little animal, barely bigger than the egg it had been folded in, opened its eyes, which were beady and black. It stared up at the two men, whose heads were close together as they stared. It blinked once and then opened its beak.

"Cheep!"

Hope you're all enjoying this! More soon

Night's Darkness