Following Orders Part X

Disclaimer: See first installment.

Archer closed his eyes wearily after Krem admitted his cousins' involvement in their kidnapping, and he leaned against the wall of the hut. After a moment, he slowly reopened his eyes and glanced at Trip who was being tended to by T'Pol. The engineer was curled onto his side in obvious discomfort, and the sight of his twisted body brought into focus the fear Archer had been trying to ignore.

Noting the human's concern, Krem shuffled to the commander's side again. As he did so, the Renkan with whom he had conferred earlier entered carrying a bowl filled with a viscous liquid. Krem nodded his thanks to the hard-to-see alien and then motioned Archer over. Hampered by fatigue, Jon stood slowly and moved to crouch by his friend.

T'Pol, who had been unsuccessfully attempting to ease the painfully clenched muscles of Tucker's back with another Vulcan massage technique, wordlessly stepped away from the commander when Krem started moving his hands over the human's contorted body. She observed the alien carefully and was prepared to intercede if she sensed any harmful intent toward her shipmate.

"In my people, the poison primarily attacks the skeletal system," Krem explained as he explored the muscles of Trip's upper back. "Apparently it has the same effect on yours," he continued while looking up at Archer.

Trip groaned loudly as Krem manipulated a particularly tender muscle.

"I coulda told ya that," he gasped weakly, and Archer noticed with some alarm that Trip had begun slurring his words.

"Just try to stay calm, Trip," he responded. "We're going to give you something to help."

Trip's reply was to issue another groan. He then clumsily pushed his head further into the dusty floor of the hut in an attempt to escape from the agony in his back. The pain really was excruciating, and respite from it had been rare in the past hour. In an unfocused thought, it occurred to him that he might be willing to accept death if only the incessant pain would stop.

In consideration of the sick man, Krem lowered his voice as he further explained Trip's illness to the Captain and T'Pol.

"Untreated, his joints will be attacked next, and when that happens his breathing will become compromised as his ribs become inflexible. Death follows soon after, but overall the effects of the poison are hard to watch and even harder to experience."

"Coulda tol' ya that, too," Trip rasped. "I can hear what you're sayin',ya know. Nothin' wrong with my ears."

"Trip, please, just rest and let us try to figure this out," Archer responded gently while carefully hiding his exasperation.

"It ain't exactly easy to rest, Captain!" Trip said with energy that surprised Archer. But it was ill-spent energy from depleted stores, and Trip visibly wilted after his outburst. "It's just that, uh, it hurts, Cap'n."

"A minute more, and I'll give you the tonic," Krem said gently. "I just need to be sure of the extent of the damage to your system."

The little alien probed a muscle in Trip's right leg. The pain was exquisite, and Trip almost lost awareness with it. His vision blurred sickenly, and he closed his eyes, all the while welcoming the oblivion of unconsciousness.

But that reprieve did not last long, and as hearing and eyesight slowly returned he found himself focusing on the voices around him.

"He has had other symptoms," T'Pol was saying impassively.

Trip felt more than saw Krem's head move up in alarm.

"What other symptoms?" Krem asked.

"His heart rate and breathing have been erratic, and he has been running a high fever," T'Pol stated simply. "He vomited once as well."

Trip re-experienced the embarrassment of that particular side effect, and then consciously noted the nausea had been building during their time in the Renkan city. He had been naively dismissing it and now miserably hoped he could keep his stomach contents where they normally resided. But he had the unfortunate impression this was a futile hope.

"These are not normal side-effects of this particular poison, Captain," Krem responded. "I'm not sure if the tonic will affect him the same way as it does my people. There may be unforeseeable consequences."

Archer put his head in his hands as he considered the options. He was desperately unsure, and this was not a feeling to which he was accustomed. If he were the one who had been poisoned, he knew the choice would be an easier one. But he wasn't the one in danger, and indecision plagued him.

"Cap'n," Trip unexpectedly offered. "I'm gonna die if I don't take it. Might..." Trip was interrupted as he felt the nausea rise again. He took a deep breath and continued. "Might as well take the stuff."

Archer smiled and was secretly relieved to have the decision off his shoulders.

"Okay, Trip," he said gently. "Okay."

With T'Pol's help, Archer moved Trip onto his back and supported the engineer's head and spine so that his head was positioned slightly above his chest. Trip somehow managed to stifle the screams that were his response to the devastating pain of movement, but in doing so he found he had given the nausea a chance to overtake him.

Archer nodded to Krem, who brought the bowl of the thick liquid to Trip's lips. The noxious smell of it overwhelmed the engineer, and Trip closed his eyes against it.

"I need-need a minute," he said breathlessly.

"Okay, just stay calm," Archer soothed and nodded at Krem again.

Fresh air replaced the ugly fumes he had breathed in the moment before, and Trip was able to regain some control over his rebelling stomach.

"You ready to try now?" Archer asked, and Trip stiffly nodded in assent.

Again the bowl was brought to his lips, and this time he gulped down as much of the stuff as he was able. He found swallowing difficult since in addition to the horribly pungent taste of the vile tonic, the muscles in his mouth would not respond in the way he directed them to. Consequently, much of the sticky liquid ran down his neck and over his uniform. Tears leaked from his eyes as he again felt the humiliation of his weakness.

In a hurried and unexpected motion, T'Pol briskly wiped the tonic off the commander's face and neck with the arm of her uniform. Archer looked at her grimly and yet was overthrown by the Vulcan's ability to share in Trip's emotions.

Trip looked at her gratefully, and Archer was further shocked to see the edges of T'Pol's lips curl up to give the illusion of a kindly smile. This simple act that he took for granted in others was one his curiosity would force him to ask the emotionless T'Pol about later.

"Now we wait," Krem announced.