Author Notes: * mean thoughts. { mean when a person is talking on a communicator. This story doesn't follow the series to its entirety. This is also the beginning of my Hoshi/Reed epic. As always I love feedback. Please tell me what you think of my stories, give me suggestions, let me know if I made a mistake, tell me anything you want be it positive or negative.
Disclaimer: Enterprise and all the related characters belongs to Paramount. This fan fiction piece belongs to me. Just to let you all know I'm not making any profit off this story ~Ziyal~
Rating: PG-13
The Red Planet X
By Tora Ziyal
It was another day and like most days so far uneventful, except for the occasional meetings of new species and new scientific discoveries of the galaxy. The Enterprise drifted on impulse engines as its crew on the bridge sat at their posts hoping that maybe today would be that day of a new contact or discovery. Ensign Hoshi Sato sat at the communications station with her elbow resting on the console and her head resting on her hand. She gazed around the bridge and observed the crew, who seemed to be doing the same thing. Awkwardly everyone looked at each other and then glanced back down to what they were doing before.
*Oh this is fun. * Hoshi thought as she fiddled with her earpiece hoping she could pick up something. She shook her head at the static that buzzed through it. *Okay no one said that being in Starfleet was going to fun all the time. I mean what am I even worried about fun for, I didn't actually really want to be here. * She sighed and looked up and noticed that from across the way Lieutenant Malcolm Reed was...staring at her?
Malcolm noticed that Hoshi was looking back at him and he immediately looked away and back down at the scanners. He then pretended like he was busy doing something and Hoshi stifled a laugh. *Okay Malcolm, you're busy.....* She thought as she watched him push some buttons and look over a padd.
T'Pol sat in Captain Archers chair, showing not the slightest bit of emotion on her face. The Vulcan woman was the sub-commander of the Enterprise and she was on duty while Archer was resting. If Jonathan Archer were here right at the moment, he would have livened up the bridge a bit. Instead the entire crew sat in silence hoping that their shift was coming to an end or something of interest would happen.
Hoshi yawned and tilted her head to the sides a few times easing the stiffness. *Ugh what time is it? * She thought as she looked down at the clock on her console. She let out a soft groan when she saw that it was only O-500 hours. *Five a clock in the morning only.... These shifts are horrible. * She knew that in a few more hours she'd become 'goofy' from the lack of sleep, at least she'd be heading back to her room. She yawned again, listening to the faint crackle of static in her ear. The static slowly began changing from soft too loud and then began to actually sound like words?.... A language?.... A distress call? Hoshi tuned it in a little more. She couldn't make out anything but it was definitely more than just static. "Sub-commander...I'm picking up something." Hoshi said as she looked over at T'Pol's way, tuning her earpiece.
Malcolm looked up from his station. "I'm getting some readings as well, Sir." Reed said in his soft British accent. "It seems like it's coming from a planet."
T'Pol looked at him like he was an idiot. "I assure you Lieutenant. There is no planet around...." She didn't get to finish her sentence.
On the view screen was a fairly large red planet. The bridge crew looked at it for the longest time wondering why they didn't pick it up on their sensors before they practically were on it. "T'Pol to Archer. I think you may want to look at this." She spoke into comm.
Hoshi fiddled with the earpiece trying to tune the words that came over it. "This is the starship Enterprise, are you in the need of assistance, copy?"
There was no reply on the other side. *C'mon, c'mon.... Please respond...* She thought as she watched the doors open onto the bridge and Captain Jonathan Archer walked onto it in full uniform.
"What's going on?" He asked looking at T'Pol.
"Captain, we've come across a planet," She said looking at the screen. "It did not show up on any of our sensors until we came very close to it. Ensign Sato believes she is receiving a message from the planet."
Archer looked at the young ensign. "Hoshi, what can you tell us?"
Hoshi held up her index finger, and punched some stuff into a padd. "Captain, I'm only getting bits and pieces of the message....The translator is not identifying the language...I need a little more." She said as her fingers flew frantically around the padd.
Archer gave a quick nod. "Full stop." He told the helmsman.
"Aye, Sir." The helmsman replied as the Enterprise abruptly stopped.
{Trip to Archer. Is everything okay up there? Why'd we just stop?} Charles Tucker asked over his communicator from engineering.
"You may want to get up here, Trip." Archer said as he looked at the huge red planet.
{On my way.} Tucker responded.
Archer looked back at Hoshi. "Can you play the message over the speakers?" He asked.
Hoshi nodded and pressed the speaker button. "Uni delveros terki rarsha et ma yinni du." The message repeated over and over. Archer made a cutting action with his finger over his throat. Hoshi stopped the message and smiled. "I think I got it Sir."
Archer nodded. "What does it say?"
Hoshi pressed another button and the message started up again, this time in English. "We need help...crashed...5 years ago....." The message played and then Hoshi cut it off.
"It sounds like a spacecraft crashed down on the planet five years ago." Commander Tucker said as he stepped onto the bridge. "We gonna check it out?" He said in his smooth southern drawl.
Archer looked over a T'Pol who was at the science station. "The planet is safe for us to go to, if that is what you're going to ask. I'm also picking up two human life forms, and they're both in critical condition. There is also another species present, most likely the one who sent the transmission" She said to Archer with her hands clasped behind her back.
Archer looked back at Trip. "I think we should go see if you can offer some assistance." He said as he began to walk. "Hoshi, Reed, and T'Pol, you're with me." He stopped and looked back at Trip. "You have the bridge commander."
Tucker watched the captain and his fellow crewmen walk away and then he smiled and sat down in the chair.
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Archer, T'Pol, Reed, and Sato entered the sickbay. Dr Phlox turned from his patient and greeted them with a warm smile. "What can I do for you?"
Archer began to explain the situation. Dr. Phlox nodded his head as he followed the story. "So you need a doctor to go along on this rescue?" He asked.
Archer nodded. "Yes, but I want one of your best-trained staff doctors to go. I want you here getting ready for the injured that will be coming."
"I understand." Phlox said as he turned around to a young man. "This is Doctor Ryan Graves; he is probably the one for this job." He introduced.
"Good." Archer turned to T'Pol. "I'm sending Dr. Graves, Hoshi, and Reed to the planet surface."
Hoshi looked at Archer with surprise. "Me?" She asked
Archer nodded. "You're the only one that has the best chance of communication with the alien." He turned to Malcolm. "I want you to pilot the shuttle and get Doctor Graves to the location."
Malcolm nodded and looked over at Hoshi. *At least there will be a third person with us.... Don't have to worry about any awkward moments and such. * He thought as he was wishing that he wasn't the one going but he did not tell Archer that.
Archer looked at the three crewmen. "I'll meet you in the shuttle bay in ten minutes." He said as he and T'Pol walked off.
Doctor Graves began gathering medical supplies to take with them. Hoshi glanced over at Malcolm at the same time he glanced at her. Their eyes locked on to each other for a moment and then they both turned away, and began going out the door towards the shuttle bay. This was going to be a most interesting mission.
To be continued...............
