Unknown Planet September 26th, 2157

Rhiannon groaned inwardly when she saw Commander T'Pol heading down the ramp. She didn't like the woman or should she say female Vulcan. Rhiannon always felt like shoving her out an airlock whenever she got all 'know-it-all' on them. She was just about to resign her fate when the Commander was called away, and a few minutes later returned with the Captain. It turned out he decided he wanted to lead the rookies on the little camping trip to the Amazon-like planet they were in orbit over.

He asked T'Pol to stay on the ship. She looked like she did not like the idea but she held her tongue.

The reason he replaced T'Pol was because he wanted to talk to Rhiannon in a relaxed setting, and camping was as relaxed as it could get. But she had totally taken control and told him it was nothing special. Surely he should be relieved that she had not gone on a hysterical fit and taken actions against him. She sat talking with the rest if the landing team as they made the descent. They landed, picked out their gear and made camp a few yards away from the shuttle pod.

They walked through the jungle in silence, securing the perimeter. She scanned the area. Something came up but it disappeared as soon as it appeared and she felt like they were being watched.

Jon saw her frown and asked, "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know, something came up on the scanner but it disappeared before I could ascertain what it was."

After a moment of silence, Jon turned to her and said, "So how is space travel treating you?."

"Okay so far, sir."

"Is there anything you want to talk to me about that, you haven't found time to do so?."

"No, sir. I think we should return to camp."

That evening she sat across him reading a book and talking to everyone but him. Crewmen Jones and Tyler we trying to out do each other in comical stories. That night she went to bed early. He took first watch.

Rhiannon could not sleep. She could feel there was something out there. She checked her watch; it was late in the late night/early morning part of the day. She got up to take her turn watching. She came out of her tent but could not find the captain at the camp site, so she did a mind scan for him. He was east of her, securing the perimeter, so she headed that way.

Jon saw her approached and braced himself for another encounter with his mysterious chief engineer.

"Captain, you should get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us."

"Yeah,"

She stopped mid-stride, something was there watching them.

"What is it?" Archer asked

She felt it coming towards them. She reached for the captain but what ever it was lunged at the captain the two forms rolled in the dirt. Suddenly the ground gave way underneath the two wrestling bodies. She heard the captain's grunt of pain along with the beast's growl. Rhiannon ran to the hole.

"Are you alright?"

"I think so."

"The beast?"

Jon looked at the thing beside him; it was impaled by a stalagmite. In the dark he saw the outline of the animal; it was large and hairy, and it had a humped back.

He was incredibly lucky. "It's dead. They don't seem the take falling to well." He said lightly.

"Are you hurt? Can you feel your legs? Are you dizzy?"

Jon frowned. Before she asked that he had not thought about it, but his side hurt and he could not feel his legs.

Rhiannon frowned, he did not reply. She was worried, she took out her communicator and tried to call the others but there was no answer, "Captain, sit tight I'm going to get help."

She raced to back to the camp and woke everyone briefed them on the situation and got them packing.

She went to the shuttle-pod and got ropes and canvas, she returned to the camp to check on the other crewmen before she went for the Captain. Two crewmen Tyler and Johnson went along with her to rescue the Captain.

She was lowered into the crevice while they watched out for the beasts. Jon was barely conscious. He felt someone move him, and then he was being wrapped in a body bag. He heard the snap of the clips attached to the hooks being closed and the hooks attached. Then he felt warmth in his back. It made his body pulsate and he began to feel drowsy. He tried to stay awake to try to reach the top and help protect the young crewmen, but his eyes closed and he went into a dreamless sleep.

Rhiannon breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes did not open when she was healing him. They ran back to the shuttle amidst a fire fight with the attacking beasts. When they reached the shuttle pod, Rhiannon sensed something was wrong, some one was mission.

"Did you see, Marilee out there?" Davison asked

Marilee was the youngest in their group. A young black girl who was wide eyed and up for anything,

"No. Why?" Rhiannon asked as sense of foreboding creeping on her

"She said she dropped her PADD and adamantly wanted to get it." Davidson said

"And you let her go alone. Have you gone mad?"

"I'm sorry, Commander. I wasn't thinking-

Rhiannon sighed heavily, "I hope you were at least smart enough to call the ship for back up and to apprise them of the situation."

He fell quiet.

Then Tyler spoke up "Look, Marilee is still out there. We need to get her back."

"I'll go." She said as she grabbed a pistol, "Try to hail the ship, and apprise them of our situation."

She ran out of the pod into the forest. She became a blur, and she headed to where she sensed the highest concentration of the beasts and Marilee. She was upon them before they knew it. She climbed up a tree and leapt into their gathering. It was the first time she got a good look at the beasts; they were tall and large. They had humped backs which made their head tuck into their shoulders. Their body was a mixture of hair and scale. Their arms were long and they had bear-like claws except their claws were longer. The pistol hit everything it was aimed at. She landed on her feet and found Marilee lying on the ground bruised and battered her clothes torn. Rhiannon picked her up and carried her on her back and broke in to a run. She raced into the forest back to the pod, but the beasts followed blocking her path to the shuttle pod. So she put Marilee, down and took off her uniform and gave it to the shivering girl.

"Put it on. Close your eyes and lie still. Once I call out run north-east. You'll find the shuttle pod," she whispered. Marilee nodded her understanding. Rhiannon stood upright, and she plucked a knife from her thigh holster. She held the knife out and it transformed into a sword. Then she went in for the attack. She drew them to her like a moth to a flame. They converged around her and dove in for the kill. She jumped into the air with her sword pointing downward. She made her first kill as her sword went through the skull one of the beasts. She used the falling body to propel her self upward. She called Marilee to run. As Marilee shot off one of the beast saw and took after her. But Rhiannon was quicker; her sword broke into pieces attached to an elastic chain and went after it. The chain link sword looped around it's neck, and she pulled taking it's head off. One off the beasts clawed at her back, taking a chunk of skin off. She cried out in pain. Her teary eyes turned to he assailant. Her gritted teeth bared, she leapt into the air and sliced it in half. Her breathing was ragged and her body was feeling the strain but she wasn't done yet. She summoned the energy she knew was inside. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. It was a long time since she felt like this.


When T'Pol got the news that the Captain had been hurt her heart nearly burst out of her chest, she had told him it was unwise but after five years and counting of working together, she'd known when to stop arguing with him; when he'd made his mind up. Somehow she could not help thinking if his going along with the new crew was about the Commander.

"Lieutenant Commander Reed…

"I'm on my way, ma'am."

Reed leapt out of the shuttle-pod before it landed and ran to the other shuttle pod.

"What happened? Where's the Captain?"

"He's here but the Lt. Commander and Crewman Jones are still missing, Commander Worth went in search of Marilee but has not returned." Ensign Tyler

Just then, Marilee appeared. She was half running half staggering. She was followed by one of the beasts Rhiannon did not see leave. They set their phase pistols to kill and shot at it. It did not go down but they kept at it but it raced back into the forest, when it was gone they rushed to Marilee.

"Where's the lieutenant commander?"

She could do no more than point in the direction which she came from and faint.

"Take her and the Captain back to the ship. We'll find Worth."

Reed motioned to the rest of the security team that came with him. They followed.

Rhiannon leaned on her sword trying to calm herself. The beasts lay dead around her in various states of dismemberment. There was blood all over her, her blood, their blood. The smell made her nauseous. She stood upright intent on heading to the shuttle pod in hope they were still safe. She keeled over. She saw the world tilt in front of her and everything went black.

When Malcolm and his team found her, she was lying in a pool of blood and mud.

"Wow whatever happened here must have been something." One of the security team said

"And they seemed to have got the worst of it," Malcolm said referring to the beasts as he scanned her body, "she's still alive. let's get her to Phlox."


Phlox was shocked when they wheeled Rhiannon in.

"What happened?"

"They same things that got the Captain got to her but they weren't as lucky." Malcolm explained

"I see. Put her on the examination table."

Phlox stood at the monitor a frown on usually jovial face. Something was off, he could tell but what? He looked at his patient, who are you, Rhiannon Worth? He turned to his other two patients. They were stable and healing well.

"Doc…?" he heard the captain call

"Captain, how are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by an eighteen wheeler, is everyone okay?"

"All of the away team survived. You, Crewman Jones, and Lieutenant Commander where the only ones who were wounded."

"Wounded but Worth was fine when I fell."

"Crewman Jones went missing and she went after her."

"I couldn't feel my-" he stopped and frowned but it was replaced by intense relief. He could feel his legs and everything else.

"What captain?"

"When I fell, I couldn't feel anything. I thought I was paralysed."

"That was the first thing I checked when I was told you had a fall. Your spine was good as new."

"Well, it's time to go to my bed." He said as he sat up.

"Captain, please lie down. You are not fully healed, and before you say, Hoshi's taking care of Porthos."

He turned looked at Rhiannon on the bed next to him, her skin was pale and the wounds were not healing.

"How did she get that way?"

"Reed said she tackled a couple of the beasts that attacked you."

"How is she?"

"Her healing is slow. She was only exhausted when she was brought in. nothing serious other than the wound from the claws. She's been asleep since."

"So everybody else is okay?"

"Yes Captain."

He sighed with relief. At least nobody died this time, he thought to himself. He frowned. It was a little hot in the sickbay,

"Doc, could you decrease the room temperature. It's hot in here."


Gymnopedie No. 1 played on the sound system of the observation lounge. She laid stomach down reading a book. She heard the doors slide open. She sat up to find out who it was. It was the Captain and his dog. Jon met Rhiannon's gaze.

"Good Evening, Lieutenant Commander, I didn't expect to see you here."

"I was catching up on some reading."

She hadn't expected to see him anytime soon either. She had only been let out of sickbay today by a very confused Phlox. She could have been out of there sooner, but she did not want Phlox to probe deeper than he had. So she'd suppressed her healing powers. She got up preparing to leave.

"You don't have to leave on my account." Jon said

"It's time for me to go to bed." She said. She only needed short bursts of sleep except when she was healing. She stopped and knelt down and said hello to Porthos who lavished the attention. She smiled at the dog's antics and she rose,

"Good night, Captain." She said, and she left.

"Um, before you go, I wanted to thank you for saving my life and those of the crewmen with us on that planet. Malcolm told me you took some of the beasts out with a commando knife."

"I don't like guns, too slow."

Jon frowned, pistols are too slow? "I see. But you do know you shouldn't have that with you. I think you should give it to Malcolm to keep."

"I will." She said. She definitely was not giving her 'to-zan' away.

Jon got a cup of cocoa and went to the sofa and began to read the overdue reports, this music playing is nice, he thought to himself as he settled down. Rhiannon stood outside the lounge and contemplated. Okay, so he and everybody else compared her to Trip. He'd apologized, so it didn't matter anymore, she sighed, sometimes she was such a baby, and she blamed it on her human side of the gene pool. She re-entered the lounge. Jon heard the door open and saw Rhiannon at the doors. She walked towards him, and leapt over the sofa and landed seated beside him,

"I apologize for being such a nutter and a ninny. I'd love it if we are friends. You'll realise I'm not as block-headed as I make out to be. Though on one condition."

"And what's that?"

"I can ask you any question, no matter how personal."

Jon frowned. He looked at her shiny grey eyes and he said, "Sure. And I can do the same with you?"

"Sure," she replied without thinking about it. She leapt to her feet and said a cheerier goodnight and skipped out.