Chapter 2
It had been two weeks since the crash landing. Each day was the same as the last. Waking up, filling the canteens, and washing up in a nearby stream, eating rations, exploring different paths, taking scans, returning to the shuttle by dark. For Trip, the only highlight of the day was his little rabaroo friend hopping by for a visit.
This particular day turned out to be different for Trip. He had walked for a little over an hour when he stopped dead in his tracks. "You gotta be fucking kidding me." The trees had cleared and he was overlooking a lush green field that ended at the edge of a beach. Beyond the beach was an ocean. "This whole time we've had an ocean in our backyard and didn't even know it? Well ain't that a kick in the pants!"
He looked back towards the direction of the shuttle thinking he should somehow get Jon and T'Pol to let them know what he found. He thought again. "Fuck it! I'm going fish'n"
It was evening as Jon and T'Pol had already reunited at the shuttle and were waiting for Trip. They heard a noise in the bushes and Trip calling. "Start a fire! I have dinner." Trip emerged from the bushes grinning as he held up a string with three large fish, already skinned and gutted.
"Where the hell did you get that from?" Jon asked both amazed and shocked.
"Ocean."
"What?"
"Yeah. There's an ocean out that way." Trip pointed in the direction of the ocean. "And a huge green field. I brought back some of the stuff that grows there. There's flowers and some other stuff...I think it's some kind of grain, like wheat or something."
T'Pol took the foliage from him and scanned it. "You're assessment is correct, it is a type of grain that is equivalent to wheat. The flowers, however, serve no purpose."
"Sure it does." Jon said as he sniffed at them. "We can use them as a sort of deodorant. No offense Trip, but you stink."
"Yeah? Well you don't smell so great yourself ya know."
T'Pol put a hand up that they both knew meant for them to be silent. "None of us smell pleasant at the moment. The Captain is correct. We can use the flowers as a type of fragrance for our unsavory body odors."
After they ate, T'Pol watched as Trip whispered something in Jon's ear. Jon nodded at him. Without a word, Trip took T'Pol by the hand and led her away. He walked her through the green field, picking more of the flowers as they went. Neither one spoke as they walked, they didn't need to speak. When they got to the ocean, they both stripped off their clothes and entered the water, flowers in hand. Trip rubbed the flowers on T'Pol's body and she did so in kind to him. In the water under the night sky, they made love.
Jon had went the opposite way to the stream to clean up and use the flowers to fragrant his body. He had returned and was fast asleep before Trip and T'Pol returned.
It was morning and Jon was still half asleep when he rolled over. His arm went across a body. He didn't know whose body and he was still too much asleep to care. It wasn't until he felt a tugging on his arm when he opened his eyes.
Trip was still asleep when he reached up and pulled Jon's hand to his chest. Somewhere in his sleep he sensed something wasn't quite right. He opened his eyes and saw that T'Pol was cuddled up in front of him and in his haze, he began to wonder whose arm was across him from behind and whose hand was on his chest. He turned his head to look over his shoulder to find Jon looking at him. "Uh...Cap'n? Hello?"
"Hey, I just rolled over. You did the rest."
Trip got a silly grin and rolled over to look at Jon. "Well. If I knew you felt this way about me..."
Jon shoved at Trip. "Get off of me!"
"Me? It was your arm on me."
"Shut up."
"Aw c'mon Cap'n. Don't ya love me no more?" Trip said pretending to be heartbroken.
"Trip. I swear I'm going to deck you." Jon pointed over at T'Pol whose back was to them both and they could see her body was shaking.
"T'Pol? Are...are you...laughing?" Trip asked not sure if he was believing what he was asking.
T'Pol took a few seconds before rolling over, looking her emotionless self. "Vulcans do not laugh. I believe you are aware of this by now and therefore your question is completely preposterous."
"Uh-huh. Ok T'Pol. If you say so." Trip said with a note of sarcasm.
They ate their meals of rations, which were getting low. Jon had to force himself to eat as he was getting tired of the ration diet. "I don't know about you two, but I'm getting sick of these damned rations, besides we're going to run out soon. I think now would be a good time to consider foraging for food. T'Pol, as the resident vegan, you can find some edible plants and fruits...Trip and I will hunt game."
They returned to the shuttle, Jon and Trip both full of pride at the game they bagged. It was a small creature, about the size of a two week old piglet. It had a snout like a pig and tusks like a warthog but a long bushy tail and long hairs. They hoped it at least tasted like pig.
They had spotted larger game but didn't want to kill anything that couldn't be consumed before spoiling, as Trip explained to Jon, to allow even a single bite go wasted would be disrespectful to the animal.
They were happy to discover that it did taste like pork, a little salty, but still good. T'Pol had found some fruit, some sweet, some acidic and one that was just down-right disgusting. That one was filed under the 'don't ever pick that again' category. She had also found a variety of leafy greens that served as a salad.
Satisfied with their meal, Jon and Trip sat outside under the night sky while T'Pol went off for her nightly meditation. "It's been two weeks Cap'n, do you think Enterprise gave up on us?" Trip wondered.
"We can't start thinking like that. I'm sure they're up there looking for us. It's just going to take time, that's all."
"We could travel by shuttle across the nebula, taking time for scans and charting, in three days. As far as we could tell, this is the only planet inside the nebula. Shouldn't they have been here by now?"
Jon had the same concerns but kept them to himself, he had to keep morale up, keep hope alive. "Maybe they started at the edges, circling their way inward. Don't worry Trip, they'll find us soon enough."
Unexpectedly, Trip scooted closer and laid his head on Jon's shoulder. "Two weeks. Too long."
