[after opening titles]

"Tripp, wake up." Tripp opened his eyes with some effort. Kaitaama was leaning over him in bed with her arm on his shoulder having just jostled him somewhat. She had his open communicator in her other hand. "I think someone is calling for you."

The communicator chirped again. "Lieutenant Reed to Commander Tucker."

Tripp moved up onto his elbows and Kaitaama positioned the communicator in front of him. "Tucker here," he replied, blinking his eyes.

"Sir. We have a situation. Could you come to the bridge immediately?"

"What sort of situation?"

There was a pause, and Tripp was about ready to ask the question again, when Reed replied, "I would rather not say over the open comm Sir. Please come to the bridge with all due haste."

Tripp and Kaitaama exchanged a quick look. "I'll be there as soon as I can." Kaitaama closed the communicator and Tripp sat up fully in bed. "What time is it anyway?"

"Fourteen hundred hours," Kaitaama replied. "Ship time."

Tripp shook his head. "We've only gotten a couple hours sleep," he complained.

"Lieutenant Reed seemed a bit distressed, don't you think?" Kaitaama observed. She was still in her own sleeping attire and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Tripp sighed, but then nodded and pushed the covers off to one side and swung his legs off the side of the bed. "You're right, let's get going."

Kaitaama hopped off the other side of the bed. "Do you want me to accompany you to the bridge?" She seemed excited at the prospect.

Tripp stood up and stretched. "It's as good a time as any to meet the bridge crew," he said. "You'll be here for at least a few months after all." Before he moved any further, Kaitaama grabbed her uniform and moved into the quarter's small bathroom and closed the door. Tripp stared at the closed door for a short time, and then moved slowly to where his own uniform had been draped over the desk chair and started pulling it on. It was apparently something he was going to have to get used to.

Five minutes later, both Tripp and Kaitaama exited the turbolift onto the bridge. The bridge appeared a little more crowded than usual, and there were also a few MACOs standing near tactical. "So what's the situation?" Tripp asked as they approached Reed.

Reed whirled around, clearly a bit on edge as Kaitaama had suggested earlier. "Sir. We're docked and enclosed within the Xindi Aquatic ship's cargo bay. Captain Archer had left me in command to handle all the docking procedures and to contact him when it was complete. That was about twenty minutes ago. In my attempts to contact the Captain, however, I have been unable to locate him or Commander T'Pol aboard Enterprise. I have contacted the Xindi and have requested a delay in our departure, but have not divulged the reason."

That was not what Tripp was expecting. "Have you searched the ship?"

"Yes sir," Reed replied. "Lieutenant McKenzie and her team along with security have searched Enterprise from bow to stern. Ensign Sato has conducted a sensor sweep for both Captain Archer and Commander T'Pol and their communicator signatures. They are simply no longer aboard Enterprise."

"We need to inform the Xindi," Kaitaama said. Lieutenant Reed looked at her a bit perplexed, as if seeing her for the first time. Kaitaama reached out her hand in what she knew to be a standard human greeting. "Lieutenant Kaitaama, recently assigned temporarily to Enterprise from Krios Prime. You can also address me as Kate if you like."

Reed shook her hand, and then recognition crossed his face. "Aren't you the First Monarch…?" he began slowly.

"For now Mister Reed," Kaitaama interrupted, "I hold the provisional rank of Lieutenant in Star Fleet and will be treated as any other member of the crew."

Malcolm nodded, but still appeared a bit stunned. Tripp rubbed his chin as he considered Kaitaama's suggestion. "Kate's right," he finally said. "The Xindi sensors are more advanced than ours. Perhaps they can help us in our investigation."

Malcolm was pulled out of his surprise. "I know the Xindi, and the Aquatics in particular, helped us with the Illyrians, but what if the Xindi are behind the Captain and Commander's disappearance. Can we trust them?"

Kaitaama started to say something, but then stopped. Tripp noticed her hesitation. "Out with it, Lieutenant. You have something more to say?"

Her eyes flashed back at Tripp, but then she smiled slightly. "In my past dealings with the Xindi on behalf of Krios Prime," she finally said, "I have noticed they are forthcoming and accommodating when it suits their interest. Otherwise, they simply ignore you. If they are behind this, it would be prudent for us to find out their intentions. The only way we can do that is by engaging them, and if they are willing to work with us, all the better. Trust them for now, but stay wary."

"From what I understand, it was this particular ship and its crew that helped the Captain with the Illyrians," Tripp added. "Our mission is to forge stronger ties with the Xindi, perhaps even an alliance, and we're here at their invitation." Tripp moved over to the Captain's chair and sat down. He then turned to communications. "Hoshi, hail the Xindi vessel."

"Enterprise," a clearly artificial voice said over the comm. "Are you prepared to disembark for Azati Prime?"

"This is Commander Tucker," Tripp replied. "We have a situation over here that requires us to delay our departure. Our Captain and First Officer have gone missing." No sense in beating around the bush.

There was a slight delay in the Xindi response, but then the unemotional synthetic voice responded, "We have scanned your vessel and Captain Archer and Commander T'Pol are no longer aboard. They are also not aboard the Deep Chasm. Request permission to send over a representative to aid you in your investigation. We will of course delay our departure until this situation is resolved."

"Thank you," Tripp said, although he was unsure how one of the Xindi Aquatic tanks would navigate throughout Enterprise. Almost immediately, however, a cylinder about one meter tall and twenty centimeters in diameter appeared before him. It hovered a few centimeters off the deck using some sort of anti-gravity technology and there were a few appendages that hung down its side.

"I am Svill Karak'don," the device said in the same synthetic voice used by the Aquatics. "I am deputy to Kilaret Ellek'zir who provided testimony for you Captain at his trial. The device you see before you is my mechanical avatar that will enable me to accompany you in your investigation throughout your ship. You can interact with my avatar as you would anyone else."

"Um, nice to meet you Svill," Tucker said hesitantly. "Welcome aboard."

The top portion of the cylinder swiveled a bit, as if it was looking about the bridge, and then the apparent optical sensor settled back onto Tripp. "Who will be in charge of the investigation?"

"That would be me," Lieutenant Reed spoke up. He stepped up beside Tripp who still sat in the Captain's chair. "Lieutenant Malcolm Reed."

"What can you tell me about the disappearance of your Captain and First Officer Lieutenant Reed?"

Reed cleared his throat. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about working with the Xindi Aquatic's avatar, but perhaps it would be useful. "At approximately 1130 hours, or two hours and forty minutes ago, the Captain and T'Pol departed the bridge and left me in command. The Deep Chasm exited the subspace conduit shortly thereafter and the Captain ordered me to oversee the docking procedures while they were to greet Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Kaitaama in the transporter room."

"Which they did," Tripp interjected.

"When the docking procedures were completed about twenty minutes ago," Malcolm continued, "I tried to hail both Captain Archer and Commander T'Pol with no success. We conducted a ship wide search, both physically and using our sensors, but they were not found and are no longer aboard."

"And our sensor sweep a few minutes ago confirmed this," Svill added. "Nor are they aboard the Deep Chasm."

"When they were first leaving the bridge," Hoshi offered, "I think I overheard them planning to go to the mess hall for lunch."

"Yes," Kaitaama confirmed. "After they greeted us in the transporter room, I overhead Commander T'Pol suggest they proceed to the Mess Hall as previously planned and the Captain replied 'by all means'."

"Did you hear this as well Commander?" Malcolm asked Tripp.

"No," Tripp replied, "but Kate's hearing is much better than any of ours." As with many humanoid species in the Galaxy, although nearly identical in appearance, Kriosians and humans also had notable differences.

"Did they arrive at the mess hall?" Svill asked.

"No." This was from Lieutenant Jennifer McKenzie, the head of the MACO unit aboard Enterprise. "When we did our physical sweep of Enterprise, we also debriefed most of the crew including the mess hall staff. No one saw either Captain Archer or Commander T'Pol between the time they greeted Commander Tucker and Lieutenant Kaitaama in the transporter room and now."

"What route would they have taken between the transporter room and the mess hall?" Svill then asked.

"They would have taken the primary turbo lift," Malcolm replied and then gestured over to the bridge turbo lift doors. "That one right there in fact." He then turned to the crewman sitting at tactical. "Suspend use of that primary turbo lift and recall it to the bridge and open the doors."

"Aye sir."

Almost immediately the doors to the turbo lift opened. Several people started to move towards it at once. "Stop," Malcolm called out. "We don't want to disturb any potential evidence."

"Kate and I just used that turbo lift," Tripp reminded him.

"Disturb any potential evidence further," Malcolm clarified.

"May I suggest, Lieutenant, that my avatar be allowed to make a preliminary scan before anyone else enters the turbo lift. It was completely sterilized before transport to your vessel and there will be no risk of contamination."

Malcolm hesitated for a moment and then nodded his head. "Proceed," he said, but followed Svill's avatar to the threshold of the turbolift. The avatar moved to the center and then the upper portion rotated about the full three-hundred and sixty degrees.

"I've detected a residual transporter signature," Svill said.

"You can do that?" Tripp asked. He had left the Captain's chair and was now standing behind Lieutenant Reed.

"Yes," Svill replied. "Analyzing the signature now."

As they waited, Malcolm visually inspected the inside of the turbo lift but could not detect any indication of a struggle or anything out of the ordinary. The inside looked completely empty and clean.

"Analysis complete," Svill said. "The transporter signature is definitely Xindi, but of an obsolete design."

Malcolm glanced back to Tripp, as if to ask if they could still trust the Xindi. Tripp shrugged his shoulders.

"Lieutenant Reed," Svill then said. "Are all the crew of Enterprise primates."

"Yes, I suppose," Malcolm replied. "Enterprise's crew is all human, save for one Vulcan." He then turned back to Kaitaama and added, "And one Kriosian."

"And Vulcans and Kriosians are also primates?"

"Yes," Kaitaama confirmed.

"I ask," Svill continued. "because there appears to be some material, possibly scales, in the far left corner of the turbolift along with the dead skin cells expected on a ship full of primates. I would like to collect a sample."

"Scales? Like from a Xindi Reptilian?"

"Possibly."

From his vantage point, he was unable to see what Svill was referring to, scales or skin cells. "How do you suppose they got there?"

"If a transporter was indeed used to extract Captain Archer and Commander T'Pol from this turbo lift, it is possible there was some transporter blow-back. In essence, the space that your Captain and First Officer occupied was replaced with the air, and anything that was in that volume of air, from the place they were transported to. I speculate that the scales I've detected in the turbo lift are from the transporting source since there are only primates aboard Enterprise."

"By all means," Malcolm said. "Proceed."

The side of Svill's mechanical avatar opened and two of its appendages activated. One appendage reached into the opening and extracted a small glass tube while the other telescoped out and reached towards the far left corner. The end of the telescoped appendage separated and then carefully picked up something and then moved it to the first appendage with the glass tube. Once inside, the tube was sealed and then presented to Lieutenant Reed. "I suggest you have Dr. Phlox examine this immediately. There is a second sample I would like to collect and bring back to the Deep Chasm for analysis."

"That sounds reasonable," Malcolm said. Svill's avatar then repeated the procedure of collecting the sample, but at the end of the process the small tube was transported away, presumably back to Svill himself aboard the Deep Chasm.

Tripp motioned to the inside of the turbolift. "Let's get this down to Phlox," he said. He didn't like the idea of relying too much on the Xindi Aquatics since it appeared that perhaps it was some faction within the Xindi who were also responsible for the Captain and T'Pol's disappearance. "Malcolm, Kate, you're with me."

The three of them stepped into the turbolift and Svill's avatar moved to the side. "With your permission, I would like to accompany you to sickbay and I will report the findings from my own analysis when completed."

"The more the merrier," Tripp said sarcastically as the turbolift doors closed.

The entourage entered sickbay and explained to Doctor Phlox what was required. Phlox took the sample and placed it into the medical scanning chamber. The results trickled in on his screen. "It's definitely Xindi DNA," the Doctor confirmed.

"That is my conclusion as well," Svill said.

Phlox examined a magnified image. "And by the scale-like nature of the specimen," he continued, "I would surmise it is from a Xindi Reptilian."

Those present all turned to face Svill's mechanical avatar. Of course it was impossible to read any sort of emotion from the device. "The evidence so far does appear to support that conclusion," Svill finally replied. "There are some strange markers, however, that still need to be resolved. Doctor, if you could conduct a chromosomal scan of each sequence so we can compare our results, that would be most helpful."

"A full chromosomal scan will take a few hours," Phlox warned.

"Have it take a few hours," Tripp responded. He had finally made up his mind about a few things. "Let me know when you have results." He then turned to Malcolm. "While the Doc is doing that, I want you to run a full scan of surrounding space," he ordered. "I want to know if any other vessels have been in the area and if we can track them."

"We'll have to detach from the Deep Chasm first," Malcolm replied.

"Then do it." He was starting to feel a little claustrophobic stuck inside the Xindi Aquatic vessel anyway.

"May I suggest that the Deep Chasm could conduct the required scans and provide you with the results," Svill said.

"You may suggest it," Tripp replied, "and I'm sure your sensors can do a better job of it than ours to boot, but if it's all the same to you, I want our sensors working on it too. I'm heading to the bridge. We're going to undock from the Deep Chasm and get back into space." He glanced at Kaitaama who nodded and then followed him out of sick bay.

###

"Captain, wake up," T'Pol said and tugged on the ropes that joined their wrists. They were sitting back to back on an earthen floor with their wrists tied together and the two of them tied to each other about the waist. Most of the walls were hewn stone, as if they were in a cave, with one wall covered with a large wooden door. Although there was no light in the cave, the slats in the door let in enough light to see. It appeared to be daylight outside with sunlight filtering in through some of the slats.

Archer stirred, and then looked around. "How long?" he asked.

"I regained consciousness just a few moments before you," T'Pol replied. "I don't know how long we've been unconscious."

"We appear to be on a planet's surface," Archer observed. "The last thing I remember, we were entering the turbolift on our way to the mess hall."

"That is what I remember as well," T'Pol confirmed. "I have a vague recollection of being in a transporter beam, but we must have been drugged or rendered unconscious in the process because I do not remember rematerializing."

Archer looked about the surroundings once more and their predicament. "Now this seems just all too familiar," he commented.

"Our kidnapping and confinement on Coridan," T'Pol replied. "I do see the resemblance, although it was both warmer and more humid on Coridan."

Archer smiled. Leave it to T'Pol to quibble on the details, although he realized it might also be her attempt at humor to alleviate the tension of the situation.

"If you recall," T'Pol started, "on Coridan, we pressed our backs together and stood up, thus enabling us to twist about to gain better access to the ropes that bound us together. I suggest we attempt something similar."

"I do recall," Archer said thoughtfully. The end result was not altogether successful, but it was worth a try. "On three then…"

Before they could execute their plan, however, a large shadow passed across the door and stopped outside blocking the sunlight. They heard some ruffling and the sounds of chains being removed, and then the door creaked open. Instead of whoever it was coming inside the cave, however, something else came in. A short cylinder on wheels with appendages that hung off its sides. On top, there was a sensor of some sort that was aimed in their direction. The door closed, the chains were reapplied, and whoever or whatever it was outside left. It was clear, however, that whatever they did from then on would apparently be observed.

"You… are… human," a mechanical voice emanating from the device stated.

"Yes," Archer replied.

"You… far… home."

"Yes, I am from Earth which is about fifty light years from here."

"You… are… responsible."

Archer didn't answer. He wasn't quite sure how to respond. Were these questions or statements? It was impossible to know because the voice provided no contextual clues.

"You… are… responsible," the voice repeated.

"Responsible for what?" Archer asked.

There was a pause. "Destruction… of… home."

"No," Archer replied immediately. But then he wondered. He was essentially responsible for the fall of the Spheres in this region of space. Might one of the spheres have inadvertently affected a nearby planet, their captor's home? "I don't know who you are or what planet you are from," he clarified.

Again there was a pause. "Xindi… first… home."

Archer shook his head. This was getting frustrating. T'Pol spoke for the first time. "The Xindi's first home world was destroyed over a hundred and twenty years ago, long before humans were capable of interstellar travel."

"Evidence… exists… to fly."

"What does that mean?" Archer said.

"Human… to fly… before."

Their captor seemed to be implying that humans had been there when the Xindi's homeworld was destroyed. Could they be referring to the North Star colony? That didn't seem likely. "Humans only arrived in this sector two years ago," Archer said, referring to the arrival of Enterprise in the region. "There can't be any evidence."

"Evidence… human… before," the voice countered.

"Perhaps, seeing us together, our captor believes we are both of the same species." T'Pol speculated. "Vulcans have been through this sector for centuries. Or perhaps what is translated as human to us implies both humans and Vulcans."

"It could be anything," Archer agreed. "Regardless, it was the Xindi themselves that destroyed their homeworld," he added in frustration. "If we still had our communicators, we could possibly use the embedded universal translator to help us communicate."

"It is curious," T'Pol replied. "If our captor is Xindi, why the difficulty in communication? Their translators were as good as or better than what we possess." T'Pol turned back to the device to try again. "Tell us who you are. Neither humans nor Vulcans were responsible for the destruction of the Xindi homeworld. Release us and we can prove it to you."

"You… plus mate… are responsible."

"I think we're wasting our time," Archer said. "Our answers are being lost in translation."

"If we keep talking, perhaps their translation matrix will improve," T'Pol said.

"I guess it's worth a try," Archer replied.

Again, T'Pol returned her attention to the device. "One hundred and twenty years ago, the different Xindi species engaged in a civil war that ended with the destruction of your homeworld. The Insectoid and Reptilian Xindi were responsible. Not humans or Vulcans, but the Xindi themselves."

There was a longer pause, but then their captor responded with a longer message that made their intention clear. "You… both… responsible. There… to be… justice. No… more… to fly. Prepare… to be… dead."

#

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