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Chapter 4Captain Archer paced restlessly in his ready room. Malcolm and Hoshi had not checked in at their scheduled time. T'pol entered the room, watching him pace, then speaking.
"Captain, the away team has still not responded to our hails."
Archer stopped pacing and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Are you in pain, Captain?" T'pol questioned.
Archer sighed deeply. He admired and respected T'pol but sometimes wished for a first officer with emotions.
"Have you tried hailing Travis and Trip?" Archer asked, ignoring her previous question.
"There is no response from either team, Captain." She answered.
"Contact the Vulcan council, T'pol. Let them know if they don't know where my crew is in 10 minutes, I'm going in and getting my people the hell off that planet."
*******
Travis was about to begin searching the boxes when he looked over and saw Malcolm stirring.
"Malcolm…" Malcolm was asleep in his bed, wishing whoever was down the hall would shut their bloody mouth.
"Malcolm… sir can you hear me?" Malcolm sighed and pushed his face down deeper in his pillow. Wait a minute. This pillow was so hard. 'I really need to se Dr. Phlox. I am not feeling well.'
"Malcolm, can you hear me?"
Finally, Malcolm came slowly awake. His eyes didn't seem to want to open willingly, his head was pounding, and he felt like throwing up.
"Lieutenant, are you OK?" Travis asked again, watching Malcolm warily.
Malcolm finally answered, his voice slurred. "Ensign, where are we?" Realizing he had been unconscious, Malcolm swore under his breath and said, "How long have I been out?"
Travis shrugged and estimated, "At least two hours."
"OK. Fine, again where are we?"
"We're in some kind of underground cavern, sir. It was all a trap. The Obeexans took Trip and Hoshi. I don't know how much time we have until they come back." Travis tried not to let the fear into his voice, not wanting to his commanding officer to see him as weak.
Malcolm knew that he was not going to stay conscious for long. "Travis, we need to contact the Enterprise. They should know by now that something is wrong. I am not going to be anything but a hindrance in my current state." Malcolm's head lolling back punctuated this statement.
"Sir, how?" Travis asked.
"I don't know ensign, but it has to be done." He looked up at Travis and grabbed his arm. "You can do this, Travis."
Malcolm laid back and passed out again.
Travis sat next to him and leaned his head back against the wall. 'What am I gonna do?'
Standing up, he began to forge around in the boxes, not really sure what he was looking for. After searching through several boxes, he came across what looked like the equivalent of an old Earth tire iron. He wasn't sure exactly what he could do with it, but he decided to keep it near him.
Several minutes later, he heard voices coming from the hall. He knew he would have one chance, and only one chance.
He crouched down by the door and waited. The forcefield dropped and he swung the iron as hard and swiftly as he could. The phaser the alien had been holding fell to the floor. He felt the iron connect with a sickening crunch and moved on to the next assailant.
The gray-haired alien that had attacked him earlier roared and sprang at Travis, knocking him to the ground. Fighting with the knowledge of win or die, Travis used strength he did not know he possessed. They wrestled for control of the iron. Finally Travis shoved upward causing the iron to slam into the aliens face. The alien fell off Travis reaching up to his broken nose in pain. Travis slammed the iron over his back and the alien slumped to the floor.
Jumping up, Travis grabbed the phaser and ran back to Malcolm. He bent down and hoisted him over his shoulder.
"Man, I hope he wakes up soon." He headed out of the cavern.
*******
"Oh, shhiiiittt…." Trip hissed when Sh'ral laid the tool against his wound. Being manhandled had reopened the tear in his side. His attention on Hoshi, Viren had ordered Sh'ral to "fix it," waving towards Trip. Trip wasn't sure if the "it" meant the injury or him, but either way, the statement pissed him off.
"What the hell's that?" he'd demanded when Sh'ral approached him with the tool in her hand. He was lying on a table, where the goons, as he now privately referred to them, had dumped him. His shirt was still open from Travis and Hoshi's attempts to doctor him, but the goons had removed the makeshift bandage around his middle. "This will stop the bleeding," she answered flatly.
"Well now hold on, how do I…yaahhh!"
Apparently, the tool worked by cauterizing the wound—burning it closed. Trip's head lolled for a moment, but he forced himself to stay conscious. On the other side of the room, Hoshi's back was to him. Viren was speaking to her, holding her tightly by the upper arm. Trip couldn't hear what Viren was saying, but Hoshi's back was stiff. While he waited, Trip scanned their new surroundings. They were in another cavern, also brightly lit. But this cavern was huge, designed like a hanger, with a ship parked in the center. Several hundred meters above the ship were hanger doors, built into the roof of the cave. Several stations were set up around the room, with various kinds of equipment. From where he lay he could identify communications, surveillance, and defense systems.
Finally, Trip saw Hoshi nod and Viren released her. She immediately moved towards Trip. Viren watched her walk away, but apparently decided it wasn't worth his concern. He turned his attention to his people and the equipment they were handling.
Trip swung his legs over the table as Hoshi reached him. He tried to make it look effortless. It would have worked, he thought crossly, if his damn legs hadn't refused to hold his weight. Hoshi caught him as he fell forward, and helped him to a nearby crate. He gratefully sat down and leaned back against the wall behind him.
"How are you?" Hoshi asked with concern.
"Fine," he responded. At her wry look, he relented a little. "Better. Kinda lightheaded, but whatever the hell that witch did to me, it seems to have helped some." He turned the conversation back to his chief concern—Hoshi. "What's that guy want from you?"
Hoshi sank onto the crate beside him. She glanced over her shoulder at Viren with anger in her eyes. Her dark hair was tangled around her face and shoulders, her dress was dirty, and Trip now noticed how drawn her face was. A bruise was already forming on her cheekbone, reminding Trip that he owed Viren a good ass kicking.
"He thinks I can help them, by communicating with new species, finding out what they have of value. To make stealing from them, destroying them, easier," she said bitterly. "I'm their newest member, and you," she slipped her hand into his, "you are insurance. Viren calls it my 'reward' for services. Your well being depends on my performance. Apparently, he has a similar hold on many of his people. I think he was planning to use Malcolm, if he woke up, but when they tried to hurt you, my reaction…I'm sorry, Trip." She stopped talking and rested her head on her hand.
"Hosh," Trip said reasonably, "they were gonna kill me. Least this way, Malcolm and I are both still alive for now."
"True," she smiled up at him tearfully, but the smile quickly faded to straight tears.
"Hey, c'mere," Trip slipped his arm around her, and she rested her head against his neck. They fit perfectly.
They sat silently for a while, gradually becoming aware of the warmth of one another's bodies, not really hearing the activities of Viren's people across the room. They were both exhausted, and there was nothing they could do about their situation for the moment.
"So listen, Hoshi," Trip finally began.
"Hmm?" she said tiredly, head still tucked against him.
"Given the circumstances, I was thinkin' we could rethink that whole idea of puttin' us on hold until we're back on Enterprise…"
"What…" she pulled back to look at him, surprised. But when she met his eyes, she could see that he was teasing her. She returned his smile and they laughed together.
In the next moment, they both slowly stopped smiling. Trip's arm was still hooked around her neck, and he used it to pull her closer, bringing her mouth to his. He kissed her softly, hesitantly at first, until she slipped her hand into his hair and drew him even closer. She opened her mouth and for the first time, they really explored one another, relishing the tastes of each other. Trip pressed her against him, eager to feel every inch of her against him. They sank into the kiss, forgetting for a moment where they were.
A sudden bang, caused by a dropped tool, caused them to start and break apart slightly. Trip glanced over her shoulder to find the source of the sound, then moved his gaze back to her face. He dropped his forehead against hers, and they sat, breathing quickly.
"Wow." Trip rasped. "Huh." He grinned at her.
"Yeah," Hoshi agreed. She smiled back, but her lip trembled, and she broke eye contact with him. But not before he saw the fear that had slipped back into her eyes at the reminder of their situation.
"Aw, Hosh." Trip drew her head back to his shoulder. "We're gonna get outta this. I promise."
"I know." Hoshi said. He was proud of the certainty in her voice. He raised his hand and stroked her hair.
Behind them, Viren watched with great interest.
*******
