Chapter Two

The Star Ship Vigilance.

A hard back handed slap landed across Jonathan Archer's face, again. He spat out more blood.

"Again I ask you alien, who are you?" the green haired, green eyed alien snarled at Jon. He was tied to a chair and had been interrogated for several hours. Jon had concluded that the aliens really didn't want to kill him, because even though he had been roughed up, he had suffered no broken bones nor any real torture. And from what he had seen earlier that day, he was certain that these aliens meant business, and if they wanted to kill him, he would certainly already be dead.

"I told you a hundred times already. I'm Commodore Jonathan Archer of the star ship Enterprise. We are an Earth vessel."

"What are you doing here?"

"W-we don't…even know where this is," Jon gasped.

"How did you get here?" the alien asked again for the umpteenth time.

"And I told you that already, too. We were thrown off course by a storm and we got too close to a nebula. We were drawn into it. We used a propulsion procedure to propel our way out of it and inadvertently entered a vortex that we didn't even know was there."

"Perhaps you and Visseral were working together," the alien snapped. "Perhaps you had a disagreement and that's why he turned and attacked you."

"I'd never met this Visseral in my life before today," Jon replied.

"Did he mention the name Simeon? Was he working for that serpent! Are you?!"

"Look, I told you I didn't know Visseral and I certainly don't know anyone named Simeon! Now I've answered all your questions. I just want to know where my ship and crew are and if they're safe. Where's Commander Reed?"

"I am the one asking the questions," Jon's captor said.

"I-I wanna see your leader," Jon replied. "I'm a ship's Captain, a Commodore actually, and that's a pretty high rank. I deserve to speak to someone in authority. I wanna talk to that Captain…Triad. He is your leader, right?'

The alien started laughing. "You cannot speak to Captain Triad," he snarled. "You are beneath him. He doesn't just talk to anybody."

"So what happens next? He comes in and renders judgment on me. He's judge, jury and executioner, right?"

"Captain Triad has so been empowered. And his judgement is always equitable and sound. No one questions it. He has great authority on our world and in this area of space. He is honorable and more than just."

"That's not what I saw," Jon spat out. "I saw him slaughter a man without an investigation or trial. Then I saw him slaughter, rather viciously I might add, several others. Seems to me that your leader, this Captain Triad, is little more than a bully and a killer!"

"He saved your worthless hide," the alien shouted. With that he raced over and grabbed Jon by his shirt and punched him hard in the face several times.

"Major Renald!" another alien with purple eyes, hair, freckles and finger nails, shouted as he raced into the room and pulled the interrogator off of Jon. "The Captain said to interrogate these men, he doesn't want them hurt or killed."

"Commander, he spoke lies about our Captain! And he knows something of that jackal Simeon, I'm certain of it!" the Green eyed alien shouted, his anger still visible. He looked to be about 32-33 years old, 1.83 meters tall and at least 180 lbs of muscle, but his features were soft and he was very handsome. On Earth he would have been considered a "pretty boy" by some.

"Renald, at last we heard Simeon was imprisoned on Cuevas IV, so this has nothing to do with him. You need to calm yourself," the Commander said. "There will be hell to pay if Captain Triad's orders are violated, this you already know!" With that the angry alien visibly calmed down a bit but did not budge. The other motioned for him to leave the room.

"I will not stand for anyone, this alien, nor anyone else to ever speak against our Captain! For that he deserves death," Renald shouted and pulled out his weapon. The Commander quickly got in between him and Archer.

"Renald! Think about what you are doing! You are out of control so I suggest you leave now before you do something that you will regret!" Renald looked at Jon with wild emerald eyes, his nostrils flaring. He then stepped back and replaced his weapon. He turned quickly and exited the room.

The purple haired alien waited a moment, then looked at Jon bleeding from the nose and mouth. He looked to be about 7-8 years older than his subordinate and taller, standing at least 1.93 meters. He would have been considered ruggedly handsome. He pulled up a chair and set it down in front of Jon, then straddled it.

"I am Commander Zyan," he said looking at Jon with dark purple eyes, his long hair pulled back into a pony tail. They all seemed to wear their hair that way. "I am the First Officer of this ship."

"Pleased to meet you," Jon said sarcastically. "Where is my officer?"

"He's just down the hall from here," Zyan replied.

"Receiving similar hospitality I'm sure." Zyan frowned at that.

"Look alien, you are lucky to be alive. Captain Triad was no doubt feeling quite benevolent today. He can be like that sometimes."

"Among other things."

"Have care what you say alien. Scandalizing our Captain's good name will likely get you maimed around here."

"So I'm told. What exactly do you want with us? I figured you didn't want us dead, if so, we'd be already. So what is it? We don't know anything…we don't even know where we are."

"What species are you?" Zyan asked.

"I told you, we're called humans and we're from planet Earth. It's apparently thousands of light years away from here."

"You… are different from other aliens we have encountered. I don't believe we've ever encountered your species before."

"That's what your doctor said when he examined us," Jon said with a hint of disgust.

"Sorry about that, but it's standard procedure when we meet new races."

"What a way to say welcome," Jon replied.

"So…according to our physician you have one heart vessel, no?"

"So what?"

"You have three internal organs responsible for filtering…and you bleed red blood, yes?"

"Wow! Give that doctor or yours a special commendation. He's pretty clever, huh?"

"I notice that you and your "First" have differing eye color and hair. Is this common on your planet?" Jon looked warily at the purple haired alien. Everything about these Collourians seemed very humanoid, except the obvious, the prominent eye color that matched the hair, nails and freckles. He wondered the reason for all the questions about their anatomy.

"It's very common," he finally answered.

"I understand that you two are the male of the species, no? At least that is what the doctor surmised. Do you have any other say…organs used for sexual activity or reproduction?"

"What?"

"How do you mate?"

"Now wait just a minute! What the hell does that have to do with anything? You claim to be a protector of innocent travelers, yet you detain us, tie us up, beat us and deprive us of food and water for hours! Then you ask me a bunch of personal questions. You're no better than those aliens you killed back on my ship! For all I know, even worse!"

"You speak very boldly for someone who has no idea what he has gotten himself into," Zyan said with a sneer.

"And just what have I gotten myself into?"

"Commodore…Archer, isn't it?" Jon just stared. "We are from the planet Colloure and we are known as the people of color. This is a dangerous area of space and there are seventeen other planets in our system. At least half of them are quite savage and war like. They would love nothing better than to invade Colloure and plunder it of its rich natural resources. Others simply hate us for who we are and our way of life. They too would love an opportunity to kill us all. This ship protects our realm and ensures that none of our enemies ever get that opportunity. We also seek to protect our allies and innocent travelers who enter the realm of our space unawares. Sometimes it is difficult to determine which is which."

"Look Zyan," Jon started. "We're lost, that's all it is to it. We knew nothing of Colloure, nor any thing about the species that seek to destroy you. All we want is to go home."

"What happens to you next is strictly up to our Captain," Zyan replied.

"But he's too good to see us, right," Jon snapped. Zyan lowered his head.

"Listen, Archer. I may be able to get you an audience with the Captain, but you've got to control that tongue. Sarcasm and defiance will get you nowhere," he said rising. "In the meantime, let's put you somewhere where you can think about it for a while. And if you survive the night, we'll see if Captain Triad is willing to lower himself to see you."

Back on Enterprise.

Lt. Commanders Mayweather and Anna Hess, Lts. Sato and Liz Cutler, along with Science Officer Andaru Cann and Vincent Britton, Malcolm's second, all gathered

in the command center. Mayweather was the ranking officer so he conducted the briefing.

"Has Phlox been able to identify any of those dead aliens in cargo bay two Lt. Cutler?" he asked.

"No Commander," she replied. "They were of a species he'd never encountered and there was nothing in our data banks to help."

"And none of the MACOs survived the attack," Britton added. "It was a blood bath …never seen anything like it."

"And we're still unable to access any video," Hoshi said. "The comm system is fluctuating in and out every time we have a power surge, but nothing has remained on line long enough for me to get anything."

"Shouldn't we be concentrating on finding out what happened to Commodore Archer and Commander Reed?" Cann interjected rather forcefully.

"Of course," Travis said, "but we have to prioritize. We've gotta get full power back on line. Anna, how long?"

"How long? The better question might be "if" we can get power back on line Sir," Hess replied in an exasperated tone.

"What do you mean if," Cann replied. "You mean we're sitting ducks? What if that ship that killed all those people comes back? What if the ship that took our people comes back! We gotta find a way to get our people back and get the hell out of here!"

"We all want that!" Hoshi snapped. "But like Travis said, we have to prioritize."

"I think we should take a shuttle pod and get down to the surface," Britton said. "The pods have weapons, limited as they might be, but I agree that we have to find our people first and foremost."

"I haven't even had a chance to check the pods," Anna shot back. "You're assuming they're undamaged, but I wouldn't want anyone taking one out without them being thoroughly checked over first!"

"I think our priority should be making sure the injured are taken care of," Cutler said. "There's a lot of people hurt and we've already had twelve fatalities. We need to make sure there are no others."

"Then there's the dead crew mates," Hoshi said. "Travis, what do we do with the bodies? I know this is probably not the right time to be thinking about a memorial…"

"A memorial!" Cann shouted. "A friggin funeral! Sato are you serious!"

"Commander Hess, how soon can you check out the pods!" Britton snapped. "We're wasting time standing around here!"

"Nobody's going anywhere!" Travis replied. "No one is to leave this ship!"

"I still think we need to decide where we're going to store the dead bodies," Hoshi said. "Travis there's bound to be more that we haven't discovered yet."

"Afraid of a couple of corpses Lieutenant?" Britton snarled.

"No Vince," Hoshi shot back. "I've seen hundreds over the last ten years while serving on this ship. How many have you seen?"

"Enough!"

"But were those the bodies of fallen friends and colleagues, people you saw every day, talked to, shared meals with? I just want to make sure we show respect and honor our people, and not treat them like a body we cut down and stepped over during a fire fight to get to the next one!"

"Medical freezers!" Travis jumped in. "Hoshi's right. We're not going to forget our fallen crew mates. So we'll store them in the medical freezers for now anyway. After things have settled down, we'll look into having the memorials for each of them. By then maybe Commodore Archer and Commander Reed will be back."

"I'll talk to Phlox," Cutler replied. "And I'll make sure the freezers can accommodate…you know."

"That's all very touching," Cann said. "So in the meantime, are we to just sit here and do nothing?"

"No, we follow orders!" Hess replied.

"What orders!" Cann said. "Our commanding officers have been taken!"

"That's why we need a plan to get them back," Britton snarled. "Hess, you need to get to those pods, now!"

"I don't take orders from you Lieutenant!" Anna said getting in Britton's face. Then everyone started arguing all at once. Travis held his hand to head, then leaned over the smart table.

"Hey! Hey, Hey! Everybody! Shut up!" he finally shouted. "Shut the hell up I said!" Everyone jumped to attention and stared at Mayweather.

"Commander…" Cann started.

"I said shut up!" Travis snapped. "Look! All of you, I know we've been through hell in the last 24 hours. We've gotten lost in space, sucked into a dangerous nebula and down a freaking rabbit hole! We've been attacked and people have been badly injured… People have died," he said more softly. "Our commanding officers have been taken and we're at a dead stop. People are scared…" Britton and Cann threw him a hard look. "Yes, scared," he repeated in a stern tone. "Nerves are frayed and everyone is on edge, I get that. But let's get one thing straight right here and right now! "I" am in command here, and it's my orders that you're gonna follow until this situation changes!" He looked around the room at each of the officers standing there. "Anybody got a problem with that?!"

"No Sir," Hess was the first to reply.

"No Sir," Hoshi said feeling a little smile trying to crack her face, but she maintained decorum. Right now she couldn't be more proud of her friend.

"No problem here Sir," Cutler said. Then they all looked over at Cann and Britton who had not spoken. Travis moved from the head of the table where he'd been standing and walked over to where they and stood and got between them.

"I didn't hear your response Lt. Cann," Travis demanded.

Cann looked around the room, then at her commanding officer. "No problem Sir," she finally said. Then Travis whipped around and faced Britton. The Tactical officer was much bigger than Travis and had never been very friendly. He seemed to always have a chip on his shoulder as well.

"Well, I'm waiting," Travis said, "and if I were you, I wouldn't make me wait too long. The brig is still functioning you know." Britton cleared his throat.

"No problem here…Sir. What are your orders?" The two men continued to stare at one another for a moment, then Travis finally walked away and resumed his place at the head of the table.

"Before Commodore Archer left the bridge," Travis began, "he said to be sure all of the injured were taken care of; that we may need to set up a make shift sick bay area to accommodate everyone. Cutler, get a med team together and cover every area of the ship. Someone may be trapped, unconscious, who knows? See what Phlox needs. The injured is the priority. And set up the medical freezers like we said."

"Aye Sir," Cutler replied.

"Hess, your priority are those engines. Figure out what we need to get us back on line, even if it's low impulse, get us moving. If there's nothing that can be done, start concentrating on the shuttle pods. Got that?"

"Aye Sir," Hess said.

"Lt. Cann, I need you to assemble a team to assist Lt. Cutler with identifying and moving the injured. I'll need an account of all personnel, living…and dead. You are to make sure that the dead are moved quickly to the freezers…with dignity and respect."

"At once Sir," Cann replied.

"Lt. Britton, I understand the armory took heavy damage. Get your people together and see what if anything can be salvaged. If our systems do come back on line, we're gonna need weapons. Also, get as many phase pistols and rifles as you can find and arm your people, alert the MACOs as well. I want every corner of this boat guarded just in case any of our old friends decide to return, or anyone else for that matter. We won't be taken by surprise again." Britton nodded his head in acknowledgement of the order.

"What do you need from me Commander?" Hoshi asked.

"You're with me," he said. "I have a very special assignment for you. We need to consult the Ambassador and it might be easier if you're there."

"Aye Sir," Hoshi said.

"Now everyone, I need you to be at your level best. We've got to work as a team or we're going to be worst trouble," Travis said looking around at the senior staff. "You guys are the best at what you do, that's why you're here. You're trained to deal with the worst possible scenarios; we've been in some of the worst possible scenarios, and we lived to tell about it. There's no reason why this time can't be any different." There were a few moments of silence as everyone reflected on their situation and the words of their commanding officer.

"You have your orders," he finally said, "dismissed!" With that they all turned and filed out of the command center. As soon as they were gone, Travis sat down and buried his face in his arms on top of the table. This wasn't going to be easy.

Back on Vigilance.

Jon was released from the chair and placed in shackles. He was led down a long corridor and down two decks then pushed into a cell.

"Commodore!" Reed shouted upon seeing his superior officer. His eye was black and he had a large bruise on his cheek.

"Malcolm, are you alright?!"

"Pretty much. Roughed up a little, but from what I've seen of these aliens, that's saying a lot. You Sir?"

"I'm okay, likewise just roughed up a little."

"Where the hell are we and where is the ship?"

"From what I was told we're in the air space of a planet called Colloure, one of 17 in this system. These guys apparently have a pretty rich planet and their neighbors' single goal in life is to invade them."

"They kept asking me about the one named Visseral and a Simeon."

"Me too," Jon said. "Told them I never met that Visseral until today and that was too soon. That I'd never even heard of this Simeon they seemed to be so concerned about."

"Visseral did mention that name Commodore. He said he was taking the ship in the name of Lord Simeon, didn't he?"

"Who the hell is Lord Simeon I wonder?"

"I have no idea. I repeatedly asked to see their Captain," Malcolm replied. "But apparently, he's so elite that he cannot be bothered with the likes of us."

"I think I may have gotten us in to see him. The First Officer came to see me. He was very curious about our…anatomy."

"Bloody hell!"

"No, no, it wasn't like that. He was curious about our species. But what he was really trying to figure out was which faction we were aligned with. I think I convinced him that we were not affiliated with anyone, that we were in fact innocent travelers. He said he'd try to get us in to see Triad, their Captain."

"Their Chief Executioner you mean, don't your Sir?"

"He does seem to be rather ruthless and merciless," Jon said as he lowered himself onto the concrete bunk. "Look it's been a long day to say the least and I'm really beat. Let's try to get some sleep. If we get to see their Captain... I want us to be about our wits."

"Aye sir," Malcolm said and walked over to the other bunk across the room. He stretched out and covered himself with the blanket on top of the bunk. They both tossed and turned for a while on the uncomfortable stone bed, but eventually drifted off to an unrestful sleep.

At some point over in the night, the cell door flung open and several guards entered. They snatched Jon and Malcolm up and covered their heads with hoods.

"What are you doing?" Jon said through the cloth as he and Malcolm struggled. "Zyan said we could speak with your Captain!"

"Where are you taking us," Malcolm demanded as he struggled with the two aliens that had hold of him.

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life alien," one of the guards snarled. Jon recognized his voice from earlier, it was Renald, the mean green haired alien. "The afterlife that is!" Then he laughed out loud as the other guards joined in. Malcolm and Jon struggled as they were dragged off.