Stazi Zimmer stood for a moment in the suddenly empty room and then followed, slowly because her head was still pounding. The ship reminded her a little bit of a school tour she'd once had of a submarine. It had that same close, stark military feel. Without the pervasive smell of engine oil and brine. The air was pleasant to breathe, not harsh and drying like you got on an aeroplane. She liked the feel of the ship, except for the way it was now shuddering under her feet. Clearly this was something that was disturbing the whole crew.
When Stazi arrived on the bridge she thought she was in a small movie theatre. A screen at the front of the room showed a picture of some large artefact, a satellite. Emanating from it like electric fingers was a web of jagged blue lines.
We're just lucky the di-lithium crystals are still intact,' Tucker was saying. At least we've still got life support.'
The lady with the pointy ears and attitude, Stazi guessed she was the Vulcan Jon had mentioned, was peering into a sort of periscope. The damping field has the same energy signature as the energy surge we encountered earlier, Captain. The one that occurred when you were attacked and moved to the planet.'
Archer was slumped in a chair, still dutifully sipping Dr Phlox's potion. Does it match Suliban energy signatures?'
The earlier reading is a close match.'
That's a temporal field. A time transporter.'
The Vulcan's head came up abruptly and she caught Archer and Zimmer with a harsh predator's gaze. Stazi Zimmer was brought here by time travel?'
That's right, she's early twenty-first century.'
T'Pol was almost angry. I'm sure you would have mentioned this in conversation at some stage, Captain.'
Sarcasm's regarded as a form of humour, you know.'
We cannot have a loose anachronism on the ship.'
Stazi frowned, not sure if she was actually being insulted.
Well it may have escaped your notice, T'Pol, but I was about to send my chief engineer over there to find out just exactly how that time trip thing works. He got a little distracted though,' he punched his fist at the seething lines on the viewer.
We should have Dr Winsome research Stazi Zimmer's genetic and historical material. It may be imperative that we return her to her own time.'
Archer frowned. It seems odd that the Suliban would bring her here and then not follow through. They weren't on the planet, they're not on the space station, they just brought her here and left.'
And trapped the ship.'
I think all our answers are over there. We'll go over with Trip and Reed, see what we can find.' He gagged down the final mouthful of Dr Phlox's patent medicine.
T'Pol would have argued with Archer about his proposed trip to the space station. Mayweather had been all set to march him back to sickbay, as ordered. Neither was necessary. T'Pol was often disturbed by human emotions, they couldn't even keep their skin colour under control, glowing red when they were embarrassed or the flushed anger that went with the hot smell of andrenaline. In this case, Archer had gone white. Not white with rage, his face had simply bleached. Even his eyes, as they rolled back in his head, turned their white sides outward and he slid bonelessly to the floor.
Zimmer had pounced on him rolling him onto his side and doing something with her hand in his mouth and demanding the doctor. And T'Pol, as senior officer, took command.