Chapter 14
Impaired Figure Ground - Part 1 of 2
Loss of the ability to distinguish the foreground from the background
"I have to say this is the first time I've actually enjoyed it when my date ignores me." Hoshi whispered to Trip.
"They don't ignore us. We get to actually move the pieces when it's our turn, right." He chuckled lightly.
"Right, they plan, and strategize, and we do the physical labor. That does sound better than saying they ignore us." Hoshi smiled thinking how funny it was to see T'Pol engrossed in beating Malcolm at these games of strategy.
Trip enjoyed these evenings watching T'Pol get so wrapped up in beating Malcolm she forgot everything else. He couldn't explain to Hoshi how free and uninhibited she felt while outmaneuvering him on the battlefield. The only thing Trip understood about what she was doing was that she tried to accomplish her goal with as few casualties as possible. Malcolm on the other hand could lose whole armies and be happy. Even imaginary weapons fire and play wars on the vid screen excited him. T'Pol always added several layers of challenges for herself; Trip thought to justify spending the time with what she used to consider silly games.
When his turn came, he sat back and listened to her instructions, intently interested, even though he rarely understood the attack plan. Then he'd move his game pieces and acquire more men or weapons or whatever they were accumulating so she could conquer the universe. According to Hoshi Malcolm prepared for these nights by reading volumes on strategy and warriors throughout history to her. That T'Pol allowed the pair to see anything resembling a competitive side was amazing to Trip. She relaxed in their presence just enough for them to be aware of the difference. Her posture and facial muscles were slightly less rigid. She actually sat back in the chair instead of sitting on the edge of it like she usually did when anyone besides Trip was in the room. And sometimes when Malcolm was being his most verbal obnoxious, arrogant self she'd push back with that sarcastic Vulcan wit of hers.
The Captain entered without using the chime. Trip had told him to drop the reports off at the 'office'. He'd said they'd be there until late, so just drop by whenever.
T'Pol must not have been aware of his presence, at first. Her back was to the door but the instant she heard his voice her back became ramrod straight and her body moved forward in the chair. She and Jon were friends, but more on a professional level than a personal one. At one time Archer had thought they could be close personal friends and; in fact; they had been closer, but as much as he'd reevaluated his stance on Vulcans, he would never be as open to their culture and traditions as Trip was. He was every bit the explorer, but he was also the captain and had to maintain a professional distance to those he interacted with. His role as diplomat demanded this and Starfleet needed him to remain neutral and objective in the constant negotiations that seemed to be necessary to maintain the Coalition of Planets. Archer had noticed that T'Pol was reasserting her Vulcan control, which she had lost while in the expanse. This meant she was as professional and focused, as she had always been, but almost totally inaccessible on any emotional level that would help foster a closer friendship between them. Her sense of professionalism and his remarks to Trip and his initial coolness towards her because of their relationship and bond had made her wary of Archer's attempts to make up for any misunderstandings there might be between them. It was Archer's fault and he would have to do a lot of groveling to get past that wall of protectiveness she now exhibited where Trip was concerned.
His friendship with Trip had finally gotten back to something he recognized. Jon knew he'd made Trip angry with his attitude about the bond, and when Jon saw that his objections weren't having any affect on the pairs relationship he relented. Trip was committed to her and Jon had no choice but to be happy for him. Trip had made it clear he didn't want to sacrifice his friendship with Jon or his career, but he would if it came to that. With A.G. gone Trip was the closest thing to family Jonathon Archer had left and he wasn't about to lose him after the lengths he'd gone to to keep him alive and well.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Trip said I should drop the reports for the staff meeting off here." Archer said as he laid the reports on the end of the desk.
"No problem. I've almost wiped their little army off the map. A break might give Commander T'Pol time to come up with a new plan of attack." An over-confidently Malcolm bragged to the captain.
Trip bit his tongue as he saw T'Pol stiffen even more. Not because she was upset, but because she couldn't or wouldn't continue interacting with Malcolm while the captain remained in the room. Hoshi elbowed him when she saw the reaction.
In an attempt to relieve T'Pol's tension Trip began poking fun at Mal. "You know whenever you start talking trash she whips your butt." Trip and Hoshi thought it was because it made her more determined to make him eat his words that she found some way to prevail. Be it by outright winning or making his victory so miniscule it wasn't worth bragging about. Trip found he enjoyed it when she bested him because the Brit was insufferable when he won.
Trip opened his mouth to say something else but Hoshi got right next to his ear. "Shhh. You're messing with my evening. All that pent up frustration has to go somewhere." Hoshi admonished Tucker.
"You're incorrigible, Hoshi Sato. I'm amazed that Mal's able to keep up with you."
"You'd be surprised at what's hidden under all the stiff upper lip, British upbringing."
"That's okay I really don't want to know." More information than he ever wanted about his friends. He didn't listen to the rumors, but sometimes it was hard to avoid the stories about Hoshi and Malcolm. Trip had spent enough time cooped up in decon with Hoshi, listening to her stories of being so isolated at home with tutors and then making up for it with her misspent youth at the Academy, to be surprised that she was so adventurous. But Malcolm was always so proper and buttoned down that the guy who the talk was all about was hard to wrap his brain around. His dad always told Lizzie it was the quiet types you had to watch out for.
Jon looked over the table and at the vid screen. Obviously, one of Malcolm's intricate games of war or world domination. T'Pol hadn't turned around, but he could see by her movements that she was busy studying the layout. He'd heard Malcolm talking about playing cards with Trip and T'Pol. Archer wouldn't have guessed she'd ever participate in something as unremarkable as a card game. Even Vulcan social activities had some practical purpose, like reinforcing ones use of logic, physical prowess, or diplomacy. Maybe she'd gotten to like this sort of thing when they were searching for the Xindi and trying to destroy the spheres. "I'll let you get back to your game. Staff meeting 0900." Archer headed to the door glancing over his shoulder to see T'Pol relax back into her chair while explaining her plans to Trip.
Walking back to his quarters Archer reflected on how much better Trip and T'Pol were. They'd been exhausted after waking up in sickbay, but T'Pol had managed to get them past whatever problems the ordeal had caused. They supported each other, remained off-duty, and sequestered from everyone in their quarters for several days. Once they came out and went back to work, it was business as usual. On duty, they were more professional than ever and worked together better than they ever had. He didn't think most of the crew knew about Trip's collapse and those that did know he'd been in sickbay thought he'd gone down to the planet to assist Malcolm in the search for T'Pol and been injured. No one identified the source of that story, but Archer attributed it to Malcolm and Hoshi. Their contribution to 'true love' as Hoshi referred to the relationship between Trip and T'Pol. Archer had heard her commenting on how devoted Trip was to T'Pol. Jon cringed when he heard it but now that his fears of losing his friendship with Trip had gone unfounded, he was more settled about their bond. In fact, Jon was beginning to realize the only thing that had changed was his awareness of the depth of their relationship. They were behaving the same as they had been for months, except Trip no longer evaded Jon's questions about their personal life he simply ignored them. Now that he was aware and thought about it, Trip had been in love with T'Pol a year or more before Lexington showed up, but something, they were unwilling to tell him, happened during that time that solidified everything for both of them.
---
"Admiral are you sure sending a communications officer to sort this out is for the best?" Archer was perplexed as to why they wanted Ensign Sato on Prestoria to investigate.
"This wasn't my decision Jon. Just like you I follow orders and these orders say Ensign Sato is to attend the meetings and determine if Ambassador Rimmus' sudden change in recommendations' can be justified." Admiral Gardner was not happy about sending a communications officer to investigate, but he had no choice. Starfleet apparently felt she was qualified to observe and gather information without making anyone suspicious.
"I'm sending my tactical officer with her. At least he has some investigative experience." Archer wanted to ensure Hoshi would be safe. Starfleet was concerned that Rimmus had for months been so critical of the treaty with Prestoria, something to do with the gap between their technology and their social culture, and now suddenly he was all for it.
"That shouldn't be a problem. From what I've read woman are very protected there and she will require an escort if she is in public. Sending a security guard with a female diplomatic liaison will be seen as a reasonable action on your part." The laws on Prestoria were very clear that all women had a protector with them at all times.
"What exactly does she need to be protected from?" Archer was a little worried.
"There aren't any particulars in the data we have received from the Chancellor, but there are several predators there and the women are not allowed to carry weapons of any kind." Gardner could see the concern on Archer's face. She'd be inside the Chancellor's estate. What predators could there be? Gardner had asked the same questions, but had received no credible answers. "Rimmus had been sending us reports on the culture there. He seemed to think that Prestoria was only seeking a treaty with the Coalition members because they had alienated all their neighbors. He thought they were trying to find sources of imports from planets that were far enough away that there would be no real opportunity for interactions amongst our peoples."
"Did anyone point out how resourceful humans can be when they want to explore?" Humans were spread out all across the quadrant. If they wanted to relocate or just go sight-seeing they somehow managed to get whereever they wanted and the government and Starfleet had no legal recourse to prevent it.
"Not that I'm aware of, but I haven't been in direct contact with the Ambassador." Gardner was following orders and hadn't spoken to anyone outside of headquarters.
Archer continued scanning through the report while they waited for his staff to arrive. As he read it was obvious that Admiral Gardner hadn't bothered to read the whole report before contacting the captain.
When his four officers arrived Captain Archer quickly filled them in on the mission. "Our mission has been changed. We are heading to a planet called Prestoria. Ambassador Rimmus from Starfleet and other unofficial Coalition members has been involved in negotiations there with their Chancellor and several neighboring planets. Starfleet wants us to investigate some reports of unusual behavior from the Ambassador recently."
"Ambassador Rimmus is on Prestoria?" Hoshi asked.
"Do you know the Ambassador, Ensign?" That could explain the orders to send the Ensign to the conference, Gardner knew.
"I was his assistant my last year at the Academy. He taught several classes on alien cultures and diplomacy." Hoshi hadn't seen him since she'd been dismissed from Starfleet and gone to Brazil, but they were friends.
Archer's annoyance showed plainly on his face as he looked at his superior officer, but he covered for it well. "Starfleet is counting on that fact. They really need to know why his change in behavior has been so drastic and knowing you should make getting him to talk easier."
---
"Archer to Tucker."
Trip pulled his comm unit from his pocket. "It's me Captain what's up?"
"Why does it sound like you're in some tunnel somewhere?" Archer heard echoes when his chief engineer responded to his hail.
"I'm working on that continuity problem in the maintenance shaft over sickbay. The Doc says his little zoo keeps losing power and the bats are upset that the shades are up so it's not dark and somebody's not happy because there's not enough light or it's too cold. Anyway they're all so agitated that it scares all his patients." Phlox had complained that he was going to start making rounds because no one would come see him in sickbay.
"Well, then I need you to assign someone else to fix the problem and then I need you and T'Pol in my Ready Room." Archer waited for Trip to complain.
"I'll get Hess or Rostov on it. Do you want me to contact Commander T'Pol?" Trip knew she was in the Command Center. Most likely deciphering the data from the meteor shower. It wasn't a priority, so she worked on it when the Captain didn't need her to do something else.
The captain assumed he'd find T'Pol with Trip working somewhere. They were always working together on some project or other. "No, I'll contact T'Pol. Just be here in 30 minutes."
Trip responded while climbing out of the shaft. "Aye, sir, 30 minutes. Commander T'Pol's in the Command Center. Tucker out." Trip informed the captain to save him from having to scan the ship to locate T'Pol.
--
Archer entered sickbay to a symphony of unrest. "Phlox, I need to know if Hoshi's been cleared to return to the surface?"
"She has, but I've asked Lt. Reed to carry a medkit and a hypo of analgesic in case her headache returns and to watch for any signs that the Ensign is experiencing difficulties." Phlox informed the captain while trying to appease several of his less happy pets.
"Do you know what's causing the headaches?" Hoshi had never been one to complain unless she was in severe pain. The fact that she had visited sickbay twice since going to the conference had Archer concerned.
Phlox pointed up at the scans above them. "I expected the test to show me something, but as you can see all they show is stress in this region of her brain. She has not been sleeping well. If this continues there could be problems." Her blood work was also clean.
"Have you seen Trip or T'Pol recently?" The captain needed information and the doctor was the only one left who could provide it.
"Not since they've been back on full duty. I have spoken to them in the Mess Hall and of course, Commander Tucker has been attempting to correct the problems we've been experiencing with power. Is there some reason you're asking?"" They were both healthy so there was no reason to see them in sickbay.
"Malcolm asked that I send T'Pol down to help him figure out what's going on down there and if I send her I'll need to send someone as security. You and I both know Trip will want to go. I'm just concerned about this bond between them." Jon had tried to talk more to Trip about it, but he hadn't been very forthcoming with details.
"I'm not sure what you're asking me. Both Commanders are extremely healthy and the bond is causing no problems for either of them." Phlox had been observing the pair and had not seen any signs of trouble.
"Trip refuses to talk about their relationship at all. And he shuts down totally whenever the bond is mentioned." Archer's frustration was coming through loud and clear.
Phlox was aware that human males often discussed their relationships with females amongst themselves, but he also observed that this behavior usually ceased when a relationship became serious. "Would you discuss your relationship you share with Captain Hernandez with Commander Tucker?"
"When she and I were together before Enterprise we talked about her and his girlfriend Natalie all the time, but not anymore. Trip now considers his personal life out of bounds." Archer hadn't really thought about it, but Trip had not asked one question about Erika since they'd started seeing each other again.
At that moment, Dr. Phlox could see how very different the two friends were when it came to the woman in their life. Trip Tucker would sacrifice everything for T'Pol, but Jonathon Archer either had not found the right woman or was not capable of allowing a woman to get that close to him. Phlox considered that that need to keep up his guard and remain somewhat aloof to those around him was what made it possible for him to be in command of a starship. The doctor surmised that Captain Archer was just beginning to see that he and Tucker had different priorities in their lives than he might have previously thought. "Both Commanders have medical clearance for full duty." Phlox wasn't discussing the private lives of his patients with anyone, not even the captain.
---
"When exactly did I lose control of this mission?" Archer complained to his chief engineer when he showed up.
"Somewhere around the time you let Malcolm take charge." Trip had watched Malcolm and T'Pol do the whole one upsmanship routine. Nothing overt, or out of line but their investigation had a bit of a competitive edge. Reed started it when he requested T'Pol's assistance and they both just fell into the pattern they'd established in their off-duty games.
"You've actually managed to corrupt a Vulcan's sense of duty." Archer couldn't believe it.
"How'd I have anything to do with this? All I did was get her to socialize with Hoshi and Malcolm. And don't forget she's still a Vulcan. Malcolm may not be acting all stuffy and proper and T'Pol isn't preaching all those damn Vulcan protocols ... but what's wrong with that?" They both knew there was no way as a Vulcan T'Pol would allow anything to interfere with doing her job and most people would still say she was uptight with a condescending and superior attitude. Trip just wanted everyone to see her as T'Pol, a Vulcan who was trying her best to live amongst humans without losing what made her T'Pol.
But the captain wanted...what? As captain, he wanted the focused, somewhat rigid Vulcan first officer that had emerged after their first year or two but Jon wanted the less rigid, more emotional T'Pol from their time in the expanse that had become his friend. He couldn't have either and he didn't know how to deal with this T'Pol that was very Vulcan, yet could let go just enough that the friends she'd made appreciated the effort it took to find common ground with them and relax ever so slightly in their presence.
Archer wasn't upset about the investigation. He'd been trying, unsuccessfully; to regain the ground he'd lost with T'Pol. She was being resistant to all his attempts to rebuild the trust he seemed to have destroyed between them. "How is it she's so comfortable with Malcolm and Hoshi and I can't even get back to socializing beyond dinner and then only when I request it?"
"I wouldn't exactly call it comfortable, but she does ease up just a little with them." He didn't have words to explain to Jon the control it took for her to let her guard down just that little bit now that the damage to her neural pathways was less of an issue. "As her commanding officer she respects and trusts you, but on a personal level things are a little harder for her." Trip had pointed out to T'Pol that Jon had kept their bond to himself and hadn't made it an issue, but she insisted she must remain professional when interacting with the captain. She said she should never have allowed herself to cross that line between personal and professional with a superior officer and would not make that mistake in the future.
"Did you tell her everything I said?" Jon doubted Trip had but this bond they shared might make it possible for her to know anyway.
"We talked about it. I didn't repeat every word." He didn't have to she could feel Jon's emotions in Sickbay and she knew exactly how Trip felt. Knowing she was being protective of him but also that she was trying to exert control over her emotions again did little to alleviate the tension Trip now felt. "She had a really difficult time there for a while...she's better now but she's still trying to figure out what it means to be a Vulcan and right now to her that means she has to maintain a 'high level of decorum'." He still wasn't clear on what that meant but he knew T'Pol felt she had no choice.
"So what do I do, just give it time, and hope she'll eventually trust me enough to be friends again?" Archer wasn't good at waiting and being patient. He wanted to do something to make things right before it affected his friendship with Trip. He just didn't know what that something was. The biggest problem was they had no common ground to work from. T'Pol did not consider Trip a shared interest and made it clear any discussion of him outside of her professional duties was unacceptable. Leaving the only other interest the captain knew they shared which was science and that meant T'Pol could talk circles around Archer on most any topic they discussed. That also usually meant their talks ended up being work related.
Trip was hopeful that once T'Pol was more confident in her ability to suppress her emotions, like she had in the past, she would find a balance between a professional and personal relationship with the captain. "I know Vulcans aren't supposed to get angry but you pissed her off when you attacked her culture. She'd never admit it but I think she sees it as a personal rejection. She doesn't trust your friendship and it's going to take her awhile to let it go." T'Pol still didn't understand human friendships and how men behaved with each other and try as he might he couldn't make her understand. Especially since he didn't even understand, the unspoken code that developed between guys that made it okay that Jon didn't really apologize to Trip but allowed them both to act as if nothing happened and let their friendship go on as before.
While Trip continued to contemplate what he could do about Jon and T'Pol, she entered the Ready Room.
Archer turned his attention to her. "Lt. Reed sent a copy of all the reports that have been sent to the various governments from this conference. He wants you to review them to see if you find the same pattern he sees." He'd asked that T'Pol come back down to the surface to investigate. Reed thought she might be able to determine what was going on because he was at a loss. He'd been observing for several days and couldn't come to terms with the fact that there should have been differing opinions amongst the different species but there wasn't.
T'Pol had been down to the surface and talked to several of the participants. "I have begun to read through several reports. There are many discrepancies between the early reports and ones that are more recent. The language of all the recent reports is similar as if they were all written by the same hand." T'Pol had her team and several of Lt. Reed's security personnel investigating each of the diplomats.
"Lt. Reed wants you to attend the conference this morning. He believes as a Vulcan you may be able to pick up on any usual behavior of many of the attendees." Malcolm simply didn't know enough about several of the species present to know what was normal for them.
"He expressed this request when we meet last evening to 'compare notes'." T'Pol saw a look of disbelief on the captain's face while Trip just smiled at her.
"Have you found anything unusual?" Archer assumed they had and that's why they were 'comparing notes', but hadn't collected enough facts to support their findings. This new working relationship with the tactical officer baffled Archer. It also made him jealous that Malcolm the most uptight of the senior officers had become friends with T'Pol.
"We'll have more information for you in a day or two." T'Pol had a meeting scheduled with her staff and the security staff to check several anomalies she had run across in her reading.
---
"What do you mean they're not on the ship? I left them sitting in the Mess Hall eating lunch not five minutes ago." Archer yelled at the ensign.
"Sensors have no sign of them here or on the planet sir." Ensign Riley was scanning as far as the sensors would allow and there were no biosigns for the four officers.
"Do you know how Commander Tucker disabled sensors a few weeks ago?" Archer asked hoping that maybe the sensors had been taken offline again.
"Captain they were transported from the Mess Hall, sir. Besides Lt. Reed said that he and the Commanders had 'a gentlemen's agreement' regarding the sensors, so Commander Tucker would not have done anything to the sensors without informing the Lieutenant." Riley knew the captain had to be aware the sensors weren't the problem and that someone on the planet or in a nearby ship had to have taken their crewmen.
Archer knew better. He was grasping at straws. Reed would never compromise the safety of Enterprise or the crew and he wouldn't let Trip do it either. "Contact the security forces on the surface and I'll have Ensign Carter contact the Chancellor."
"We've already attempted to contact everyone on the planet, but no one seems to know who we are or remember anything about Starfleet officers being at the conference. In fact, the Ambassador didn't seem to know what Starfleet was." The young ensign got the impression the Ambassador didn't know who he was or what he was doing on Prestoria.
"Let me know if there's any sign of them." Archer rubbed his temples.
"Captain, Commander T'Pol ordered me to run all of Lt. Reed's tracking programs to prevent any unauthorized access to our computer files. Should I continue?" Riley had been running the programs all morning.
That must been part of the information T'Pol was talking about when she asked to meet before they returned to the surface. "Have you found anything?"
"There were several sensor readings that trace back to the planet, but that's all I can tell you at this time." Once the computer backtracked them to Prestoria, the trail went in hundreds of directions, in a well thought out plan to make any attempts at tracking the intrusions impossible.
"Keep looking." Archer ordered as he left for the bridge.
---
"Damn. It's dark." Trip's eyes fought to adjust while his body screamed at him for lying on the hard ground in the same position for far too long. Hours. He'd been here for hours.
The warm night air surrounded him giving a feeling of being somewhat more relaxed, but where was he? 'Get up' he tried to tell his body, but it wouldn't comply. With some force, he sat up but soon had to lay back down to stop the merry-go-round. His mind was searching. "T'Pol." He croaked out as loudly as he could. There was movement in his periphery vision, but when he turned straight on to see what it was all he could make out was a dark body-like shape.
'You need to go see who that is. Get up and do what you've been trained for.' That voice in his head kept hammering at him. "T'Pol is that you?" Trip asked as he tried to get himself upright again.
"It's me Trip." Malcolm sat up and immediately laid back down thinking he missed the fun part of this hangover.
"Malcolm are you alright?" Trip realized he still had that stupid vest, that Malcolm made him wear, on. He began checking the pockets. He found his tricorder, his and T'Pol's phase pistols, and the med kit the doc had given him in case he or T'Pol developed a headache was still strapped to him, but no communicator.
"I think so, but my head feels like scrambled eggs. Do you see Hoshi or T'Pol anywhere?" Malcolm tried looking around and all he saw was multiples of whatever he tried to focus on, which then brought on waves of nausea.
Trip grabbed the bottom of his boots to hold himself upright. "No. Where the hell are we?" Trip looked around attempting to find some clue as to their whereabouts.
"We're in the dark, on some strange planet, with one hell of a headache." Malcolm quipped back at him. They definitely weren't in the Mess Hall anymore.
"Well, at least I know you're okay. Check to see if you have a communicator. Mine's missing." Malcolm may be tipsy but if he still had his awful sense of humor, he'd be fine.
"Mine's gone to. And to answer your question my best guess would be we're on Prestoria. I didn't study the local terrain that closely. We were only supposed to be on the Chancellor's Estate." The only thing he had looked into closely were those indigenous animals Hoshi and T'Pol supposedly needed protection from.
Trip was beginning to hate hearing we were only supposed to do this or that and then ending up in the dark or the desert. This wasn't a desert or at least it didn't smell like one and there were structures of some sort. "I'm going to look around. T'Pol's here somewhere I just need to figure out where." He kept trying to center his thoughts, but the pain became too much. Just as he started to move, he heard a noise and turned to head in the direction of the sound.
"T'Pol, is that you?" Trip yelled while trying to concentrate on staying upright as the world continued to move around him.
Groaning and obviously in pain T'Pol attempted to move to an upright position but every time her head reached a certain level she fell backwards in pain once again. "Stay down. Give yourself a few minutes, it gets better." Trip insisted as he knelt down at her side.
"Where are we?" T'Pol asked immediately.
"On a strange planet, in the dark, with the worst headaches of our lives." She heard Reed reply.
"It wasn't funny when he said it earlier either." Trip laughed. "We think this is Prestoria, but we're not really sure. The last thing I remember is getting ready to go to the Armory to talk to Riley about those scans and programs you ask him to run."
Malcolm bowed his head trying to remember. "Yeah we were going to see him then meet with the Captain before returning to ..." Returning where? He couldn't remember.
"Is Ensign Sato present?" T'Pol attempted to sit up again. This time Trip assisted her.
"She must be here somewhere. I need to find her. She doesn't have any way to protect herself. All she had was the med kit." Malcolm assumed the four of them had been transported together and he had her weapon in his vest pocket.
"Bloody hell." Malcolm stumbled dizzily through the first abandoned shack he came to. When he saw no sign of Hoshi he proceeded to the next.
"Do you need my help Malcolm?" They had all been together, so Trip also assumed Hoshi must be close by.
"No. There are only two shacks left." He could be quieter on his own so he could hear her if she was waking up nearby.
Trip turned his attention back to T'Pol. "Do you remember what happened? All I get is pain whenever I try to see past the Mess Hall. There was someone in my head and then it hurt..." The pain intensified again.
"There was a being trying to manipulate our memories, but they were unable to access mine and when they attempted to access yours your shields must have prevented it."
"You helped me somehow. You were standing there in my head and then I woke up here. Who was trying to get inside my head?" Hoshi has been complaining for a couple of days now that something was wrong, but had not been able to say what. Trip hadn't lost his memory but he wanted to know what else happened to him. The last time a being tried to take him over all he remembered were trips to Florida and a picnic with an old girlfriend. The rest he'd gotten from Malcolm's security footage and what Rostov and the rest of the crew told him.
"I remember telling you to protect your mind and trying to send you strength through the bond but you said you didn't need my help." T'Pol was surprised and pleased at how far he had come in learning to protect himself. She was also surprised when she entered his mind, having never done that before. The next surprise wasn't as pleasant. The beings, which had tried to alter their memories, were not indigenous, but had formed some kind of symbiotic relationship with the original inhabitants of Prestoria.
"Do you know what they've done to Hoshi? Did they get inside her head to alter her memory?" Malcolm told Trip that Hoshi seemed to be forgetting details about the conference and its participants. She'd even become unusually agreeable about an argument they'd been having. They had an appointment to see Phlox about all of that after their meeting in the Armory.
"These entities have joined with the Chancellor and others of his species and wished to ensure the successful completion of the treaty negotiations. It is unclear what the purpose is. Some of the reports from several of the diplomats expressed concern over the disparity between their technology and the rest of their culture."
"It does seem odd to be so advanced you have a warp 7 shuttle and an automated system to treat the sick and injured, and yet have no trades of any kind and treat your women like children." Trip had read the Ambassador's reports where he stated the women were claimed by a male, at around age 14 by human standards, and unless another man challenged the claim she was considered joined with the claimant. Woman had no say in the matter and had no responsibility beyond caring for their mate and children and were not allowed to venture outside without their 'protector'. If they did, it became open season for any male who wished to claim the unprotected woman as his own. The whole social structure seemed barbaric to Trip but he had refrained from passing judgment and kept his thoughts to himself.
"Perhaps that is why the treaty is so important. They import all they require from other worlds and if the others are far enough away then it is less likely their culture will be questioned or influenced by outsiders." Usually they were concerned with changing the course of evolution of a civilization by exposing them to technology they were not fully prepared for not influencing societal customs.
"I still don't understand how you can build a warp engine but you can't program a computer to build a table and chairs?" The engineer thought if you can program a computer to run a warp drive, furniture and other needs should be easy.
"You need to have an imagination to do that. A computer can only design what it is programmed for and without imagination you get a square topped table or chair with four legs to hold them up." Malcolm interjected as he approached. "These people discourage anything but technological pursuits so if anyone has an imagination they surely must keep it to themselves."
"I don't suppose this sudden burst of knowledge means you remember the last few hours does it?" Trip inquired of Malcolm.
"No I don't. Do you two know why we're here?" He opened his arms wide to the space around them. "And why Hoshi isn't?" The tactical officer wanted to remember but mostly he wanted to know where the ensign was.
"We have determined there are entities that wish to influence the outcome of the conference. They may have altered your memories but were unable to access mine so I suspect they needed a plan 'B' I believe the Commander called it." T'Pol looked to Trip for confirmation that she had gotten it right. From the remarks Malcolm had made it appeared they had altered his memories, but it wasn't complete. He seemed to have some memories of the past several days intact. T'Pol surmised that was why he was here. Hoshi on the other hand had been losing memories for several days so it was possible she was allowed to remain on Enterprise.
Trip nodded taking note of her omission regarding his memory and decided it was best to just let it drop. Saved having to sidestep the obvious questions Malcolm would have. "They are on the outs with all their neighbors and need that treaty to be signed so they made all the diplomats agreeable by wiping out their memories?" That would explain a lot of the behavior they had observed in the last few days.
"Wiping out their memories wouldn't explain why they all seemed to have the same personality. Maybe the drugs or whatever they used affected their frontal lobe." Malcolm offered then added, "That is what affects moods, and personality isn't it?"
"Correct, but it was not drugs they attempted to use on me. It was a physical being that entered my mind and tried to manipulate my memories directly." T'Pol still felt the intense emotions the intrusion had evoked in her.
Malcolm let out a sigh. As big a pain as he used to think Vulcans were he was very thankful T'Pol had joined the crew. Her Vulcan mind, discipline, and control had saved their butts too many times not to be appreciated. It also helped that they had become friends or as close to human friends as he thought a Vulcan could be.
Malcolm pointed out the packs nearby. "Then they must have just needed us out of the way to get the treaty signed. That could explain why they dropped us out here with supplies and weapons." Malcolm doubted this was going to be as easy as they thought. Captain Archer would raise hell until his people were found and most likely had already started working on getting Starfleet to authorize removing every human he could find from the planet. At the very least, he'd see to it that no treaty was signed.
Trip listened to his stomach protesting the lack of dinner. "It's been hours since lunch and I'm getting hungry. I don't suppose they included anything like food in those packs." Trip motioned to the three packs. Another sign that Hoshi was not with them.
Malcolm reached in and pulled out a package of food. "Let's hope we can find something else out here because this stuff they tried to pass off as food makes emergency rations seem like a delicacy." Malcolm warned them. After one meal on the surface, he and Hoshi had insisted on returning to Enterprise for meal breaks.
"Must really be bad if you're refusing to eat it." Malcolm had a favorite food, pineapple, but if he was hungry he'd eat just about anything.
"It's like eating dirt, - grit and all." Malcolm made a face as if he was feeling that grit in his teeth.
"Then we need to check out the area. See what we can find. Put all those hours you spent earning those scouting badges to work." Trip teased the Brit.
---
"Trip what are you doing?" Malcolm snapped as Trip stripped off his jumpsuit and tied the ends of the legs together.
"I'm making something to carry some of this vegetation in. And I thought you were the survival expert?" Trip chuckled thinking back to how poorly he had done in all the survival classes and expeditions during Starfleet training and since they'd been on this mission.
"Well you might want to take off your shirt. It looks ridiculous with the lines from your undershirt showing through."
Trip roared with laughter. "What the hell is wrong with you? We're in the middle of nowhere with no clue how to get back to Enterprise or even find people and you're concerned about how my clothes look? You need to lighten up."
"Yeah maybe, but you really are inept when it comes to your attire. It's a good thing Starfleet requires we wear a uniform." Malcolm often thought about what Trip was likely to wear if left on his own to decide. He would never be taken seriously as the chief engineer in those bright flowery shirts he wore when he was off-duty. All anyone would have seen was the science geek.
"Sorry I'm not up to your standards in the clothing department, but I really could care less on my best day and who would I be trying to impress here anyway?" Trip hadn't bought new clothes since college. When he entered Starfleet Academy, he was issued uniforms that went to the base laundry and came back clean and pressed. Wearing casual clothes would have meant he had to do his own laundry so to avoid this he just wore his uniform.
Malcolm realized this was a pointless discussion and his head hurt too much to even try making headway. Unless T'Pol, who had some sense of style, insisted, Trip would never change. He removed his own uniform and laid it out on the ground. Once he had enough wood he tossed his shirt in and tied the extremities of the garment together and lifted his load to his shoulder. "What exactly are we having for dinner?"
Trip dug around inside his jumpsuit to show Malcolm what he'd found. "I have a couple of fruits I think. One's like a sweet grapefruit and the others a berry. There's a bunch of field greens and these roots that seem almost like a beet but they taste better and then there's this flowery thing that the tricorder says is edible, but I'm not sure how filling it will be." Maybe it could be used for flavor with whatever else was gathered by the group.
The two men foraged around the woods for some time. Trip listened to Malcolm drone on and on about the plants and flowers. He kept thinking he was like one of those spinning tops he used to have that drove his parents crazy because the longer he talked the more wound up he got and the more involved and detailed his discussion became.