CHAPTER TEN:
Earth: May 20, 2186Hoshi Sato stood from her lover's body, her face distorted with grief.
She ran towards the gateway, leaping into the portal.
Her last thought was of the three men who had given up everything for her, forsaking love, careers, wars, and even the fate of the universe.
All for her.
She was determined to save them all.
Eshe: May 20, 2154
Hoshi opened her eyes slowly, blinking to shield her eyes from the falling dust. The room was dark and still, and deathly quiet. She looked around her, feeling disoriented and utterly confused. Her eyes had not yet adjusted to the darkness, and as she pushed herself up onto her feet, she caught her leg on something and nearly fell again. Looking to the floor, she was shocked to see that there was a body on the ground.
Hoshi did not scream.
She had seen worse, after all.
The body seemed perfectly still, but Hoshi noticed that despite the bloodied chest and forehead, there was yet the gentle sound of breathing, no matter how faint. Her sharp ears focused right on the sound, and she realized that the man was alive, but just barely.
Still rather confused and dazed, she moved towards the body, turning him over so that she could look at his face. Brushing aside the dust and dirt that had settled on him, she squinted slightly to see him.
With a gasp of fear, she froze.
It's him...He was still alive, damn him. Hoshi felt anger seep into every part of her body. She wanted to kill him now, to take away his life as he taken away hers. It had been his fault, hadn't it? The bastard. He lay quite still, his face looking even angelic in the darkness. His dark curls were covered with dirt, but they still seemed rich and royal. His lips were relaxed, but even after so many years, the thought of that perfect smile still haunted her.
She leaned closer to him, still deciding. Every part of her being screamed to her to finish it now.
No...this won't change anything. You don't even know if he was the one...
Biting back her fury, she shook her head at herself. Five minutes back here, and she had already almost lost her focus. She turned back to him, her hands carefully searching his body for the dagger she knew was there. She gave a little smile as her fingers curled around the smooth hilt.Standing up, she scanned her surroundings, all the while fingering the dagger in her hand.
You have to concentrate now, Hoshi, she told herself, scanning the room she was now standing in. Focus...you knew that you'll be seeing them alive, young again, but you can't allow yourself to get caught up in that. It's the past, Hoshi. You're here to save the future.
Sighing, she began to walk around the room, searching for a way out. Huge boulders were strewn across her path, along with pieces of the old columns. Coughing in the dust filled air, she blinked as she tried to find the door. Instead, her footsteps led her back to the foot of the altar, where the three stones gleamed in the darkness.
Hoshi didn't know why, but she stopped in front of the altar, her gaze fixed on the stones that seemed to wink at her.
"I'm back here..." she whispered to herself, now understanding why his body had been on the ground. "This is the temple...but...how did I get here?"
She was lost in thought, completely confused. It was the temple, wasn't it? That's right...this was where the first explosion had happened. She closed her eyes, thinking hard about that day, over thirty years ago. She remembered falling down, being knocked out by the blast. But...
I was pulled somewhere...I felt something pull me towards the altar...
Gasping, she opened her eyes, looking at the glowing stones in front of her.
This didn't happen before...
Her eyes suddenly grew wide with realization. Coming back her had done just what Jonathan Archer had predicted; she was already changing the future with her very presence here. Hoshi felt a pang of guilt at the thought. She brushed it aside, however, telling herself that this was for the greater good. Hoshi had never been one to believe that the ends justified the means, but in this case, she thought, some things were necessary.
A rough coughing on the opposite side of the stone wall caught her attention. Spinning quickly, her eyes darted among the rocks. She saw the outline of a small figure, covered in dust, who was beginning to stand.
Hoshi recognized the figure immediately. Part of her wanted to speak up, to embrace the young priestess again. She remembered quite clearly her strength and courage during those dark days, and she smiled at the thought. However, she realized then that she was not supposed to be there, standing in the ruins of the past, and she quickly crouched, moving as far away from the girl as possible.
Hoshi held her breath, leaning back slightly. She wasn't prepared for the rocks behind her to move, and stifling a cry, she fell back and through the debris.
"Enterprise to Captain Archer...Enterprise to Captain Archer...Captain?"
On board Enterprise, T'Pol frowned at the silence on the other end of the comm. Her usually calm face was now twisted in concern, and it was easy to see that the Vulcan was becoming more and more frustrated with each passing minute.
Moments ago, Crewman Yates had detected an extremely powerful energy transmission from an unknown source to the planet's surface. He had been unable to determine what the energy meant, but had revealed that the patterns resembled that of the energy generated by warp fields.
Within seconds of the first energy transmission, Enterprise had also picked up a second energy burst, this one much weaker than the first but still powerful.
T'Pol had been trying to contact the away team for over ten minutes now, and her growing concern was shared by the rest of the bridge crew.
"Can you read their bio-signs from here?" T'Pol asked Ensign Kain, who was situated at her science station. Ensign Kain shook his head, saying, "The distance is too great, Sub-Commander. From our scanners, we can't distinguish human bio-signs from Eshian. Perhaps if we sent a shuttlepod down..."
"No," T'Pol replied, shaking her head. "We cannot risk being detected by the native peoples."
She paused for a long moment, deep in thought. She didn't like this, didn't like the fact that the Captain was down here in some form of dangers. She always felt uneasy when Archer lead the away teams down, mostly because she did not like the thought of the commanding officer willingly putting himself in harm's way. However, Archer always managed to ignore her warnings on the issue, no matter how blatantly clear she made the,. This was not the first time he had gotten into trouble on an alien world, and T'Pol doubted it would be the last time. He was adventurous and brave, and she had come to respect his decisions. However, he could also be extremely stubborn and reckless, sometimes abandoning reason in his pursuit of exploration and justice.
Sighing a little, T'Pol straightened her back ever so slightly and spoke again.
"Ensign Kain, I want to you find me any data you can about these two energy blasts. Perhaps they will reveal the reason for the failure of communications. Crewman Johnson, continue hailing Captain Archer and the rest of the away team. Notify me immediately if there is any reply."
At the nods from the bridge crew, T'Pol turned and walked towards her quarters, her mind spinning with the possibilities. She had an uneasy feeling in her stomach, and she did not like it one bit. She was sure something had gone terribly wrong, and she knew she had to find out what.
Entering her quarters, she took a deep breath and lit her candles, preparing herself for meditation. If anything, it would calm her nerves, allowing her to think more clearly.
Closing her eyes, she began to focus, letting everything else melt away.
Jonathan Archer looked up at the darkened ceiling for the hundredth time, wishing desperately that he was anywhere but here.
He looked over at the man laying on the ground in from of him, his eyes closed in deep slumber.
Archer had woken moments ago, unsure of how long he had been knocked unconscious. The last thing he could remember was being shoved back into the Prime Lord as the temple had collapsed around them.
Archer didn't know why, but there was something very unsettling about what had happened. All he knew was that somehow, an explosion had occurred inside the temple, just as the Prime Lord had been blessing the altar. He tried to think back harder, to grasp the details, but found to his annoyance and frustration that it was all a blur in his mind.
Across from him, the younger priestess was also unconscious, but her condition was more serious than that of the Prime Lord. Archer had made sure that she was breathing and stable, but he was worried about the large bruises on her body, knowing that she could have been bleeding inside. He felt useless for not being able to help her more, and he mentally berated himself for being so pathetic.
The Prime Lord's eyes fluttered open, his expression fearful as he struggle d to sit up. Archer moved over to him and helped him up, ignoring the other man's adamant reassurances that he was fine.
"What happened?" The Prime Lord asked, looking from Archer to the young priestess. "One moment, I was blessing the altar. I don't remember what happened next, but there was an explosion, wasn't there?"
Archer nodded, gesturing around him.
"Yes. There's been a cave-in, but do not worry. I am sure your people will find a way to release us."
Archer had been looking at the priestess as he was speaking, but the Prime Lord suddenly gained his attention as he began laughing, an eerie and bitter laugh that echoed in the ruins.
Archer was disturbed by the hollow laugher, but he could do nothing except ask.
"Is there something I don't know?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
The Prime Lord looked at him straight in the eye, all traces of humor lost from his face.
"Yes, my honorable friend. You look to my people for help, but I assure you, every single one of them would love to watch us slowly wither away in here. I do not command as much authority as you may believe, and the people are losing their trust and faith in my kingdom. No, my friend, there will be no help from "my" people."
Trip groaned in the dark, his arm lying at a crooked angle to his body. Turning slightly, he winced as waves of pain shook through his body. Looking down at his left arm, he realized to his dismay and grim amusement that it was beyond use. He couldn't move it without excruciating pain, and he gave up on trying to lift it.
Blinking his eye to clear the dust away from them, he managed to shift his body into an upright position, his left arm hanging limply the side.
Glancing around him, he realized that he was no longer near the altar. Instead, the explosion had somehow thrown him lower, for he could see the base of the altar from where he was. He was separated from the others, the giant shards of stone and debris blocking the way up and towards the door. Coughing in the dirt ridden air, he moved to stand. The sudden movement caused his entire body to shake furiously, and he gave a yelp of pain before deciding against walking.
Settling down, Trip pulled his communicator from within his robes with his good arm.
"Tucker to Captain Archer."
He waited for a moment, but there was only static on the other end. He tried again, this time hailing Hoshi, but he got the same result. Again, he hailed Malcolm, Travis, and then Enterprise, but the only sound that greeted him was the sound of his own breathing.
Giving a frustrated sigh, Trip leaned back, resting his head against the wall. He was tired, the sensations of pain fading as his arm began to numb. Sighing again, he closed his eyes, unable to keep awake for much longer. His thoughts lingered upon the last things he remembered seeing and hearing. For some odd reason, a woman's face kept resurfacing in his mind, a face that was so beautiful but so full of grief as well.
He took a deep breath, drifting away to his dreams.
He didn't see the unconscious figure buried beneath the rocks near him, her dark hair and slender frame barely visible underneath the dust and stone.