Chapter 6
The men's barrack was hot and dark. No lights or electricity were used. Bars covered the outside of every window. By now it had to have been around 1900 hours and the jungle was still as bright as ever. "Lights out" was immediately ordered.
When Archer and the rest of the small group had first entered the barrack, Archer held back a gasp. The prisoners that were already there did not look like humanoids. They were emaciated to the bone and most looked half-dead. There were no elders, probably because they couldn't last as long. The prisoners did not acknowledge the new group. Most only crawled into their cots and curled into a ball, hugging their shaking bodies. Is this what they would become? Near death, starving, and disabled? Archer didn't want to think about it. Sleep suddenly sounded like a great thing to do. Archer peered around the room. It was a little bigger than his bridge, and it was lined with rows of cots with four bunks above them. The bunks were held up by wood. It creaked whenever someone moved.not very comforting. Though Archer doubted these people were that concerned about comfort. And at the moment, neither was Archer. The door behind them closed sharply and was locked. It was somewhat useless to lock the doors. Beyond the barrack was a fence over twenty feet high with barbed wire surrounding the top and down the side to make sure no one escaped. Archer noticed many prisoners curled up on the cement floor sleeping. Archer gazed up at the bunks. Every single one of them was occupied. Archer heard Trip from behind him sigh. Archer looked at the floor and raised an eyebrow. Well, it's not Enterprise, but it'll have to do. Archer thought, and sat down on the cement and let his head lean back against the wall. Trip sat next him and did the same. "So, uh, you got any idea as to how we're going to get out of here?" Trip asked.
Archer shook his head reluctantly. "To tell you the truth, Trip," Archer said, "I haven't a clue."
Trip was silent. Archer closed his eyes and dreamt of Earth.
***
T'Pol crossed her arms and thought about plans for escape. Nothing came to mind. The compound was heavily guarded and they would be shot on sight. Fences made of barbed wire surrounded the entire area. It seemed almost impossible to escape. Technically, they had a 4.6% chance of escaping. And that only chance was to negotiate with the leader and work something out. But the possibility of the Colonel releasing them was very slim; too slim. The young girl called Vian sat next to T'Pol on the cement ground. She'd stopped crying a little while ago. Vian had said, "Her tears ran out." T'Pol didn't fully understand what she meant, so she didn't comment on it. T'Pol did not engage in conversation with the girl. It was irrelevant. T'Pol's main focus was their means of escape. She did not have the time to be sociable. The girl didn't talk either. Instead, Vian gazed about the room, studying it. Sometimes staring at a particular window or prisoner for more than three minutes. T'Pol found these actions odd. But, again, she didn't comment on it. T'Pol thought about Enterprise and what they must be doing. Lieutenant Reed was most likely acting erratic and illogical. Hardly what a commander of a vessel should be like. Not one member of the Enterprise crew would know what had happened to their officers.
Which means they might try to come down and help them only to become caught themselves. The number of officers here greatly exceeded the amount of people that could fit in a shuttle pod. The results would be devastating. T'Pol pondered the thought of how they'd gotten out of many dangerous situations throughout Enterprise's journey. Would this be included? Vulcan's didn't believe in luck, so T'Pol dismissed the idea and concluded that they would probably die here in what Captain Archer and Commander Tucker would refer to as "Hell."
"Why did you come here?" Vian spoke for the first time in seventeen minutes. T'Pol turned her head slightly, but didn't speak.
Vian expressed a sad smile. "I know better than to say we're alone in the universe, Sub-Commander. When I asked my father why there were so many different species here, he just said it was a result of the evolutionary process," Vian hugged her knees to her chest and frowned at the floor, "I didn't believe him."
"How did you know I was a Sub-Commander?"
Vian tucked her wavy brown hair behind her ear. "I heard your captain call you that. So what are you doing here?"
"We came on a peaceful research mission."
"Couldn't your gadgets and stuff tell you that not exactly anything down here is peaceful?"
"Our ship is damaged badly. Many of our tools are offline. I had advised that we stay on our ship, but the captain is ambitious and curious."
"There isn't anything wrong with that."
T'Pol bristled softly. "The captain's inquisitiveness is what led us to this prison. If he'd listened to me, we'd be out of your planet's atmosphere by now."
"But you would never know what was going on down here and how Earth is involved."
"The Humans had no way of knowing about-"
"No, they couldn't have, but it's their fault whether they knew about it or not."
T'Pol couldn't reply to this. The girl was correct. Vian remained silent and soon let her head lie lazily to her shoulder and fell asleep. T'Pol couldn't think about sleep. She simply wasn't tired and had too much on her mind. So, instead, she crossed her legs, and silently meditated.
***
Ensign Sato sat idly in her chair. There was nothing she could do to help find their missing officers. She'd tried hundred upon hundreds of times to contact the surface. Nothing would go through. Sato could hear Lieutenant Reed from behind her tapping his fingers on the command chair. He was having a hard time sitting still. Sato suddenly experienced some déjà vu. Back when the same three officers were prisoners of Andorians. Lt. Reed had been acting just as he was now.
Lt. Reed got up and went to the communicator on the wall. "Reed to Engineering."
"Go ahead, Lieutenant."
"Is someone working on the camera?"
"Not presently, Sir. The warp naccelle has been the necessity."
"Get someone to work on that camera. I want to see what's going on down on that planet."
"Yes, Sir."
Reed cut the channel and resumed his place in the command chair. He seemed somewhat satisfied with his order. Satisfied that he could do something.
"Sir?" Hoshi said.
"Hm?" Reed worked on his console and didn't look up.
"I think you should eat something." Reed nodded in acknowledgment but didn't seem to hear her.
"Lieutenant?!" Hoshi said, a bit louder.
This time, Reed looked up and in different directions before he settled his gaze on Hoshi.
"What is it, Hoshi, what's wrong?"
"There's nothing wrong, Sir. I just said before that you should eat something."
"Thank you, but I'm fine."
"Sir, you're pale and you won't stop twitching."
Reed scoffed. "I don't twitch."
Hoshi lowered her gaze to Reed's tapping foot. Reed looked down and immediately stopped tapping. "I was doing that on purpose."
"Sure," Hoshi said with a twinkle in her eye, "but really, Lieutenant, you're commanding this vessel at the moment and you should be in top working form. That includes having a meal every once and awhile."
Reed sighed but still didn't seem that convinced. He longingly glanced around the bridge.
"Don't worry," Hoshi said, "I'll call you immediately if anything happens."
Reed was obviously fighting with himself and he started to tap his fingers again. Hoshi couldn't stand it.
"Sir!"
Reed stopped tapping and looked up. Hoshi nodded her head toward the turbo- lift.
"Go on."
Reed grumbled and stood from the comfort of the command chair and walked slowly to the turbo-lift.
"You have the bridge, Ensign." ***
Morning came all too quickly. Though, from what it looked like outside, the word "morning" was an understatement. The sun had barely begun to rise from the horizon when Commander Tucker had hastily awoken Archer.
"What is it?" Archer asked sleepily.
"Get up, Sir."
Archer was used to getting up at 0700, but it felt like about 0400 hours. Archer looked around the room and saw the prisoners all but running as fast as they could into a line. Archer stumbled over to the line, sleep still claiming him, and tried to stand as straight as possible. Several guards were holding lanterns because of the lack of electricity in the barrack. Only a moment later, an officer in his mid-thirties stepped into the barrack. He walked with his chin up and hands behind his back. He took his, believe it or not, riding crop and rapidly tapped their heads taking attendance. The officer nodded to the guards and left the barrack.
"Who came in last night? Wer kemmen? Step forward!" One of the guards said.
Archer and Trip exchanged glances, and took one step forward. Eight other prisoners did the same.
"The rest of you may go to your duties, you ten, come mit mer."
Archer and the rest did as ordered and followed the guard out the doors. A crisp, chilly breeze whipped past Archer and he shuddered from the sudden cold. The bitter night weather was obviously still in control this early in the morning. And it probably wouldn't warm up for another hour or so. But despite the cold, prisoners were up and working. Past the barracks, there was a hill where prisoners worked with shovels, leveling the ground for construction. Guards stand around them, weapons drawn, and whips in their hands. Further into the camp, Archer recognized mining equipment and soon saw the large tunnels that led deep underground. Archer heard screams from the dark depths of the mine every once and a while. It made Trip uneasy and kept his head down. Archer suddenly remembered a scene from a movie he watched on Enterprise not too long ago. What was it called.Temple of Doom? Yeah, that's right, it was a part of some series of Indiana Jones movies.
The scene had contained slave children working in mines. Part of the sound effects contained blood-curdling screams. It sounded too similar to these shrieks of pain and torture. Only now, it was real.
The men's barrack was hot and dark. No lights or electricity were used. Bars covered the outside of every window. By now it had to have been around 1900 hours and the jungle was still as bright as ever. "Lights out" was immediately ordered.
When Archer and the rest of the small group had first entered the barrack, Archer held back a gasp. The prisoners that were already there did not look like humanoids. They were emaciated to the bone and most looked half-dead. There were no elders, probably because they couldn't last as long. The prisoners did not acknowledge the new group. Most only crawled into their cots and curled into a ball, hugging their shaking bodies. Is this what they would become? Near death, starving, and disabled? Archer didn't want to think about it. Sleep suddenly sounded like a great thing to do. Archer peered around the room. It was a little bigger than his bridge, and it was lined with rows of cots with four bunks above them. The bunks were held up by wood. It creaked whenever someone moved.not very comforting. Though Archer doubted these people were that concerned about comfort. And at the moment, neither was Archer. The door behind them closed sharply and was locked. It was somewhat useless to lock the doors. Beyond the barrack was a fence over twenty feet high with barbed wire surrounding the top and down the side to make sure no one escaped. Archer noticed many prisoners curled up on the cement floor sleeping. Archer gazed up at the bunks. Every single one of them was occupied. Archer heard Trip from behind him sigh. Archer looked at the floor and raised an eyebrow. Well, it's not Enterprise, but it'll have to do. Archer thought, and sat down on the cement and let his head lean back against the wall. Trip sat next him and did the same. "So, uh, you got any idea as to how we're going to get out of here?" Trip asked.
Archer shook his head reluctantly. "To tell you the truth, Trip," Archer said, "I haven't a clue."
Trip was silent. Archer closed his eyes and dreamt of Earth.
***
T'Pol crossed her arms and thought about plans for escape. Nothing came to mind. The compound was heavily guarded and they would be shot on sight. Fences made of barbed wire surrounded the entire area. It seemed almost impossible to escape. Technically, they had a 4.6% chance of escaping. And that only chance was to negotiate with the leader and work something out. But the possibility of the Colonel releasing them was very slim; too slim. The young girl called Vian sat next to T'Pol on the cement ground. She'd stopped crying a little while ago. Vian had said, "Her tears ran out." T'Pol didn't fully understand what she meant, so she didn't comment on it. T'Pol did not engage in conversation with the girl. It was irrelevant. T'Pol's main focus was their means of escape. She did not have the time to be sociable. The girl didn't talk either. Instead, Vian gazed about the room, studying it. Sometimes staring at a particular window or prisoner for more than three minutes. T'Pol found these actions odd. But, again, she didn't comment on it. T'Pol thought about Enterprise and what they must be doing. Lieutenant Reed was most likely acting erratic and illogical. Hardly what a commander of a vessel should be like. Not one member of the Enterprise crew would know what had happened to their officers.
Which means they might try to come down and help them only to become caught themselves. The number of officers here greatly exceeded the amount of people that could fit in a shuttle pod. The results would be devastating. T'Pol pondered the thought of how they'd gotten out of many dangerous situations throughout Enterprise's journey. Would this be included? Vulcan's didn't believe in luck, so T'Pol dismissed the idea and concluded that they would probably die here in what Captain Archer and Commander Tucker would refer to as "Hell."
"Why did you come here?" Vian spoke for the first time in seventeen minutes. T'Pol turned her head slightly, but didn't speak.
Vian expressed a sad smile. "I know better than to say we're alone in the universe, Sub-Commander. When I asked my father why there were so many different species here, he just said it was a result of the evolutionary process," Vian hugged her knees to her chest and frowned at the floor, "I didn't believe him."
"How did you know I was a Sub-Commander?"
Vian tucked her wavy brown hair behind her ear. "I heard your captain call you that. So what are you doing here?"
"We came on a peaceful research mission."
"Couldn't your gadgets and stuff tell you that not exactly anything down here is peaceful?"
"Our ship is damaged badly. Many of our tools are offline. I had advised that we stay on our ship, but the captain is ambitious and curious."
"There isn't anything wrong with that."
T'Pol bristled softly. "The captain's inquisitiveness is what led us to this prison. If he'd listened to me, we'd be out of your planet's atmosphere by now."
"But you would never know what was going on down here and how Earth is involved."
"The Humans had no way of knowing about-"
"No, they couldn't have, but it's their fault whether they knew about it or not."
T'Pol couldn't reply to this. The girl was correct. Vian remained silent and soon let her head lie lazily to her shoulder and fell asleep. T'Pol couldn't think about sleep. She simply wasn't tired and had too much on her mind. So, instead, she crossed her legs, and silently meditated.
***
Ensign Sato sat idly in her chair. There was nothing she could do to help find their missing officers. She'd tried hundred upon hundreds of times to contact the surface. Nothing would go through. Sato could hear Lieutenant Reed from behind her tapping his fingers on the command chair. He was having a hard time sitting still. Sato suddenly experienced some déjà vu. Back when the same three officers were prisoners of Andorians. Lt. Reed had been acting just as he was now.
Lt. Reed got up and went to the communicator on the wall. "Reed to Engineering."
"Go ahead, Lieutenant."
"Is someone working on the camera?"
"Not presently, Sir. The warp naccelle has been the necessity."
"Get someone to work on that camera. I want to see what's going on down on that planet."
"Yes, Sir."
Reed cut the channel and resumed his place in the command chair. He seemed somewhat satisfied with his order. Satisfied that he could do something.
"Sir?" Hoshi said.
"Hm?" Reed worked on his console and didn't look up.
"I think you should eat something." Reed nodded in acknowledgment but didn't seem to hear her.
"Lieutenant?!" Hoshi said, a bit louder.
This time, Reed looked up and in different directions before he settled his gaze on Hoshi.
"What is it, Hoshi, what's wrong?"
"There's nothing wrong, Sir. I just said before that you should eat something."
"Thank you, but I'm fine."
"Sir, you're pale and you won't stop twitching."
Reed scoffed. "I don't twitch."
Hoshi lowered her gaze to Reed's tapping foot. Reed looked down and immediately stopped tapping. "I was doing that on purpose."
"Sure," Hoshi said with a twinkle in her eye, "but really, Lieutenant, you're commanding this vessel at the moment and you should be in top working form. That includes having a meal every once and awhile."
Reed sighed but still didn't seem that convinced. He longingly glanced around the bridge.
"Don't worry," Hoshi said, "I'll call you immediately if anything happens."
Reed was obviously fighting with himself and he started to tap his fingers again. Hoshi couldn't stand it.
"Sir!"
Reed stopped tapping and looked up. Hoshi nodded her head toward the turbo- lift.
"Go on."
Reed grumbled and stood from the comfort of the command chair and walked slowly to the turbo-lift.
"You have the bridge, Ensign." ***
Morning came all too quickly. Though, from what it looked like outside, the word "morning" was an understatement. The sun had barely begun to rise from the horizon when Commander Tucker had hastily awoken Archer.
"What is it?" Archer asked sleepily.
"Get up, Sir."
Archer was used to getting up at 0700, but it felt like about 0400 hours. Archer looked around the room and saw the prisoners all but running as fast as they could into a line. Archer stumbled over to the line, sleep still claiming him, and tried to stand as straight as possible. Several guards were holding lanterns because of the lack of electricity in the barrack. Only a moment later, an officer in his mid-thirties stepped into the barrack. He walked with his chin up and hands behind his back. He took his, believe it or not, riding crop and rapidly tapped their heads taking attendance. The officer nodded to the guards and left the barrack.
"Who came in last night? Wer kemmen? Step forward!" One of the guards said.
Archer and Trip exchanged glances, and took one step forward. Eight other prisoners did the same.
"The rest of you may go to your duties, you ten, come mit mer."
Archer and the rest did as ordered and followed the guard out the doors. A crisp, chilly breeze whipped past Archer and he shuddered from the sudden cold. The bitter night weather was obviously still in control this early in the morning. And it probably wouldn't warm up for another hour or so. But despite the cold, prisoners were up and working. Past the barracks, there was a hill where prisoners worked with shovels, leveling the ground for construction. Guards stand around them, weapons drawn, and whips in their hands. Further into the camp, Archer recognized mining equipment and soon saw the large tunnels that led deep underground. Archer heard screams from the dark depths of the mine every once and a while. It made Trip uneasy and kept his head down. Archer suddenly remembered a scene from a movie he watched on Enterprise not too long ago. What was it called.Temple of Doom? Yeah, that's right, it was a part of some series of Indiana Jones movies.
The scene had contained slave children working in mines. Part of the sound effects contained blood-curdling screams. It sounded too similar to these shrieks of pain and torture. Only now, it was real.