Jon adjusted the straps of his pack once more as he walked down the corridor towards the transporter. As he passed a side corridor T'Pol appeared at his side.

T'Pol: "Jonathan, are you sure you're prepared for this adequately?"

Jon gave her a sideways glance as he continued walking: "Yes, Phlox has given me some injections to bring along in case I run out of breath and these new desert environment suits will help a lot, I'm sure."

T'Pol: "Have you brought sufficient amounts of water?"

Jon: "Yes, everything is in my pack"

The two of them turned a corner and stopped. Standing in the transporter alcove was Ambassador Soval. Jon frowned, he hadn't even known the man was aboard..

Jon: "Ambassador, what can we do for you?"

Soval: "Captain, I understand you intend to journey to the Forge."

Jon looked at T'Pol, she shook her head, indicating that she had not informed Soval.

Soval: "I am not here to hinder you Captain, I am here to offer my assistance. Commander Tucker and Corporal Cole saved many Vulcan lives and I am here to, repay, the favour."

Jon: "How do you intend to assist us?"

Soval held up what looked like a data disk. "This contains the sensor data that is necessary to get you through our satellite network."

He turned and handed it to the crewman at the console. Jon nodded when the crewman looked at him.

Jon and T'Pol stepped into the alcove and signalled they were ready. Jon looked at Soval and nodded his thanks to the man.

Soval: "Safe journey."

Jon and T'Pol vanished in a mass of sparkling light.

As the transporter beam released him, Jon staggered a bit. He was still not quite prepared it seems for the increased heat and gravity of this place. T'Pol reached out a steadying hand and Jon smiled his thanks to her. He reached around to a pouch on his belt and pulled out a medical injector, he quickly injected himself with Phlox's concoction, almost immediately he began to feel better. He'd have to remember to thank Phlox upon their return.

Jon looked out over the expanse of the desert and was glad he brought his hat and sunglasses, he looked at T'Pol, she was also looking across the desert. She stopped and pointed to what appeared to be an old gully or stream bed.

T'Pol: "It is this way, keep close."

Jon smiled and followed her down the side of the hill, then they began their long trek towards their goal.

After a few hours Jon called a halt. He really needed to rest for a few minutes and his body was crying out for water. They walked over to an area that was partially shaded by an overhang. Jon wearily dropped to the ground and dug out the water pouch. He drank only a few sips, knowing they would need to conserve it in case their search lasted longer than they would like. He turned and offered some to T'Pol, instead of refusing it, she accepted it and took enough only to wet her mouth. As a Vulcan she was quite used to these condition and could actually have gone longer without water. But she knew the site of her not taking a drink would bother her husband, besides it was best to just play it safe.

Jon: "Are we still on the right heading?"

T'Pol: "Yes, however I suspect we will need to find some sort of shelter soon, night falls quickly here as does the temperature."

Jon nodded: "Fine, let's get going then, we'll keep an eye out for a cave or something."

The two quickly set out again, T'Pol in the lead with Jon following a few feet behind, he trusted her to keep them to the course laid out in the holographic map, while he tried to spot anything that would be suitable shelter for them

The two of them had only been walking for another ½ hour when T'Pol suddenly stopped. Jon looked at her as she leaned in close to him and whispered in his ear.

T'Pol: "We are being watched, above us, on the ridge it is a Vulcan."

Jon nodded briefly: "Keep walking, if they want anything, they'll show themselves."

They began their walk again, this time they walked for over an hour, as they turned a bend in the ancient stream bed, they stopped, standing in front of them was a Vulcan male. Jon had always had trouble judging their ages.

T'Pol held up her hand in the split V gesture, it was returned by the male.

Vulcan: "Greetings, may I ask why you are out here?"

T'Pol: "We follow the path of Surak."

The Vulcan nodded and then looked over at Archer, "You are a Human, do you also follow Surak's path?"

Jon nodded

The Vulcan stared at him for sometime before making a decision. "Very well, I am Arev, Come, I will take you to the sanctuary. It is quite a distance away. However, we will need shelter first as there is a storm approaching."

Both Jon and T'Pol turned and looked behind them, they saw the huge mass of wind and sand steadily gaining on them.

The three of them turned and ran for an opening in the rocks ahead, behind them the storm grew quickly in size and fury, there was so much static in the air that it was producing lightening. One bolt slammed into the ground too close to Jonathan and he was thrown off his feet by the shockwave. T'Pol stopped and ran back to her mate, he was dazed but appeared to be otherwise unharmed, quickly she lifted him up and pulled him along with her.

Soon enough they reached the cave.

Arev: "Quickly, we must block the entrance."

The three worked together to pile rocks and other debris into the caves small opening, Once ther were done, Arev turned to and began building a small fire with bits and pieces of wood that were in the cave.

T'Pol looked at Jon, and even though he had a slightly dazed look still in his eyes from the too near lightning strike, he assured her he was okay. She nodded and turned to help Arev and to get Jon some water and a ration bar from the packs.

While T'Pol and Arev busied themselves with their tasks, Jon leaned against the wall of the cave and let our a slight grunt of pain, the lightning had hit close enough to him to have actually shocked him, And the fall he took didn't help matters either, he thought he may have bruised a few ribs. As he watched the two Vulcan's go about their chores he could not help himself from falling into a light doze.

T'Pol returned to her husbands side and found he had fallen asleep. She reached down and tapped him on the shoulder, and called him Captain, she had found this woke him much more quickly than just stating his name.

As she mentioned his rank, Arev looked at them and then away again. He also had been busy preparing food for them from his own pack.

Arev stood and walked over to where to other two were and handed them small wooden bowl with a heated broth in them.

Arev: "You are not here following Surak's path. You are Captain Archer of the Enterprise, and you are his first officer, and wife, Commander T'Pol. Why have you come to the Forge Captain. As a Human you are unsuited to the conditions here."

Jon smiled a bit and looked at Arev: "How'd you know?"

Arev: "She called you Captain, there is only one Earth ship that has a Vulcan as part of it's crew. Also your hat gave it away:"

Jon smiled, of course it would have been the hat, emblazoned with NX-01 right on the front of it. Next time he's have to use a different one.

Jon: "We're on a mission, we need to find the Syrranites"

Arev raised an eyebrow. "Why do you seek them?"

Jon: "We need to find out how they are connected to the bombing of the Earth embassy, and the death of my crew."

Arev was silent for a moment. "The Syrranites have no connection to those incidents. They are peaceful."

He was about to say more when a blast of lightning from the ongoing storm struck near the cave entrance. It knocked loose some of the stones. The three of them hurried to rebuild the protective barrier. Jon turned to grab a large stone near him when a cry of pain caused him to look up, T'Pol had been nearly struck, the shockwave hurling her across the cave, Jon quickly went to her side and checked her over. Whispering to her he told her to lay still. He found nothing in his quick check other than some minor burns along her side.

Arev: "Quickly Captain, we must seal the entrance again, then we can tend to her injuries."

As Jon rose to help Arev, a huge bolt of lightning sizzled in through the opening and struck Arev full in the chest. He was tossed across the cave and slammed into the far wall. Jon ran to him, the sight was gruesome, but Jon checked him anyways. Amazingly, Arev still lived, Jon looked at him, he was horribly burned.

Faster than Jon could move Arev's hands reached out and grabbed him, one behind his head, holding him in place, the other was pressed to the side of his face, the fingers searching for certain areas. Suddenly Jonathan felt his mind being invaded. He fought but it was no use.

Arev: "Vokau….vokau…vokau…."

Jonathan felt something else enter his mind, another presence, merging with his own, then all he saw was darkness.

Jon awoke to the feeling of something cold and wet being drawn across his forehead and down the side the side of his face, he opened his eyes and immediately regretted it as a sharp pain seemed to pierce his brain.

T'Pol: "I caution you against doing that again."

Jon: "What happened?"

T'Pol: "I am unsure, when I came too I found you laying here and Arev dead."

Jon slowly turned his head and looked at the still form of the other Vulcan, his face had been covered by T'Pol. Jon cautiously raised himself to a sitting position and gratefully accepted the water flask from T'Pol.

T'Pol: "Are you alright?"

Jon: "I'm not sure, Arev was hit by lightening. I went to help him, and I think he hit me."

T'Pol looked to the cave entrance and then back to her husband.

T'Pol: "I believe the storm has passed, if you are well enough to travel I suggest we continue."

Jon nodded absently. He seemed to be distracted by something, he couldn't put his finger on it. He was sure it would come to him in time.

Jon and T'Pol gathered their things and Jon paused by the body of Arev a minute and then the two left the cave. T'Pol once again took the lead, following the route that was given them by Koss. They had elected to wait until it was nightfall to start out again as it was easier for Jonathan to travel in. Also it had the added benefit of making it hard for them to be spotted.

Jon stopped and looked over head into the night sky and watched as a pair of scout craft flew by.

Jon: "I thought technology couldn't function here?"

T'Pol: "The dampening field only extends a few hundred meters."

Jon nodded and began walking past T'Pol, raising her eyebrow at his suddenly strange need to take the lead, she reached around and placed her hand on his arm, when he stopped she held up the water flask with her other hand, it had been quite some time since he had last taken a drink. To her surprise he shook his head.

Jon: "I'll be fine for a while longer."

T'Pol: "You're not Vulcan."

Jon: "Oh,. Right."

T'Pol raised her eyebrow again as she watched Jon take a drink, he had sounded as if he had been disappointed. They once again began walking, unfortunately their progress was becoming impeded. They were having to seek shelter more and more from ever increasing over flights of scout ships.

T'Pol: "We must find another cave, if we remain out here we will be discovered."

Jon nodded distractedly. As T'Pol turned away down a side gully, he stopped her.

Jon: "No, it's this way."

Jon walked away from T'Pol as she just stood there watching him.

T'Pol: "What is this way?"

She hurried to catch up to him, his behaviour was becoming increasingly erratic ever since the storm.

T'Pol watched as Jon walked up to the side of a cliff.

T'Pol: "I fail to see how this will be of use to us."

Jon turned to her and smiled. "Trust me"

And to her amazement, he walked through the cliff face. Of course it was a hologram she thought to herself. Quickly she followed him. They were in a cavern, the floor was smooth and there were polished columns supporting the roof. This place had been formed by Vulcans.

T'Pol: "Where are we?"

Jon had a look on his face that made her think of the time they had discovered the crashed Xindi insectiod ship and he had been infected with a chemical that took over his thinking process. She was becoming worried about her husband.

Jon simply replied, "Don't resist."

T'Pol: "Don't resist? Don't resist what?"

Without any type of sound or warning, the two of them were surrounded by Vulcans. Three of them were surrounding and holding Jonathan, while a fourth held a knife to his throat. Two large males had grabbed T'Pol's arms and held her fast as she struggled to go to her mate.

Out of the darkness a woman who appeared to be the same age as T'Pol appeared, her hair was worn in a different style than was the norm, it brushed the tops of her shoulders, she looked over the two of them demanded to know why they were here. Before T'Pol could try their cover story, Jonathan interrupted her.

Jon: "We're looking for the person who bombed the Earth embassy, she looks a hell of a lot like you, goes by the name of T'Pau."

The Vulcan woman looked at Jon and proudly stated that she was T'Pau. That did it. Jon struggled against his captors, almost succeeding in breaking free of them.

"You murdered my best friend!" he snarled at her.

T'Pol was shocked at his sudden ferocity.

T'Pau however was unmoved at his display of primitive emotion.

T'Pau: "I didn't have anything to do with the destruction of your embassy Human, I am a Syrranite. I and the others here follow Surak's true path, we are pacifists."

Jon: "Your DNA was all over the bomb fragments we recovered!"

T'Pau: "Irrelevant. I was not involved."

She motioned for the guards to take Jon and T'Pol away. They were led to a small room and tossed inside. Once the door was closed and locked behind them, Jon stumbled over to a small barred window and clutched at it for support. Quickly T'Pol went to his side.

T'Pol: "Aisha, what is wrong?"

T'Pol was worried, she could only get a brief sense of him through their bond they shared, it was if it was being blocked somehow. Yet she could tell that it was not Jonathan who was doing it.

Jon: "I…I'm not sure, I think something happened to me, I think Arev did something to me back there. He put something in my head."

T'Pol: "What do you mean?"

Jon: "It feels as if I'm not alone, it almost feels like our bond, but different."

Without warning Jon dropped like a stone to the floor, It happened so quickly T'Pol had little time to catch him before his head it the ground.

Jon looked around him, it looked as if he was in the same cavern where they had been caught by T'Pau and her followers.

"Greetings Captain. I apologise for the abruptness, but I felt it was time I introduced myself."

Jon whipped around and came face to face with a middle aged Vulcan male. He was calmly seated on a stone bench and looked up at Archer.

Jon: "Who are you?"

Surak: "I'm sure you've heard of me Captain, I am Surak."

Jon was momentarily distracted from the conversation by a flickering of lights in the distance, as he turned his attention fully on it, he recognized the flickering as the signature of particle weapons being discharged. On the horizon, a great battle was being waged.

Surak: "We are at the dawn of what my people will come to call 'The Time of Awakening' . The war is taking its toll."

Jon: "That was, almost 1800 years ago."

Surak: "We have much to discuss you and I."

Jon watches the battle rage for a few more minutes. "This doesn't feel much like a dream"

Surak: "You are seeing the past, through my eyes. You have been chosen Captain. I sense, you don't trust Vulcans very much."

Jon smiled and thought briefly of his wife, T'Pol "Some more than others."

Surak: "Given your experiences with my people, I can't say I blame you. The culture you are used to is very different from the one I helped create. My people have strayed Jonathan, and someone must restore them to the path."

Jon looked at Surak "I think you've got the wrong man, never mind the wrong species."

Surak actually smiled a bit. "I'm sorry Jonathan, but there's an Earth expression, we're stuck with each other. Don't fight what's been given to you, open your heart and mind, and the way will become clear."

Jon sat on the stone bench and rubbed his hands together, he wished T'Pol was here with him to give him support, like she had always done in the past.

Jon: "I'm not sure where I would even begin."

Surak: "The way will show itself Jonathan."

Suddenly the two were almost blinded by the light of a huge explosion, Jon looked up and to his horror saw the all to recognizable signature of a nuclear detonation, a huge mushroom cloud was rising above the desert.

T'Pol cradled Jon in her arms, his collapse had caught her off guard, she was doing her best to comfort him in this environment. She needed to get their supplies back, It was past due for Jonathans injections. She hoped that it was the only reason for his odd behaviour.