My sincerest thanks goes out to Lattelady for the suggestion to write a prequel to 'High Tide'. Hope you all enjoy it! Oh yeah! Xanny says 'Hi!', to all of you and wishes you all a bright New Year!
PART 2
T'Pol awoke with a start as she glanced around, it had been the sound of a slight groan from the Captain that alerted her. Leaning towards him, she quietly asked, "Captain, are you awake?"
Without opening his eyes he very faintly replied, "What happened?"
"We crashed, but do not worry yourself with that now."
He gave a slight laugh which turned into a ragged gasping cough. His eyes opened and he focused on her. His words were barely a whisper as he spoke, "Aren't you going to say 'I told you so'?"
Fighting back the urge to scream, she calmly responded, "It would serve little purpose considering the seriousness of our situation Captain."
His head turned as he closed his eyes, his next words sent a chill down her back. "When they find us, ask Trip if he'd take care of Porthos."
Struggling to control the emotions that threatened to break free, she managed to keep her voice calm as she said, "Captain, you told me once that you would be there if I needed you. I am asking that you now try to stay with me."
With the barest hint of a nod, he rocked his head in her direction his sentence broken by gasps as he fought for air, "How long?", "Since, we left?"
"5.2 hours approximately."
"Trip will have", "organized a rescue team", "by now."
"Captain, you must not exert yourself." She gently placed her hand on his chest to reassure him and felt how fast his heart was beating, the uneven pace of which raised her concern for his chances of surviving.
How long could a Human heart keep so frantic a pace before failing?
Noticing that it had been several minutes since he last spoke, she leaned close over his face and quietly enquired, "Captain, you must stay with me. The lethargy you feel is due to internal bleeding, if you lose consciousness now you will die."
The Captain coughed weakly as he tried to speak, he waited till it passed before continuing. "Trying to keep", "awake.", "So tired."
"I understand, but you mustn't fall asleep." She paused while she examined his face, her voice dropping to a mere whisper as she continued, "I need you to stay with me Captain."
Reaching down, she took his cold hand in her's and laid it in her lap in an attempt to distract and stimulate his attention enough to prevent him from passing out. With firm gentle strokes she massaged the palm between her hands and was rewarded with a twitch as he tried to automatically pull back. Their eyes met as she looked up at him, an anguished expression was on his face.
Uncertain how to comfort him, all she could do was offer him words of encouragement and hope that help would soon arrive, the sound of her voice seemed to give him strength to hang on. It was while she paused to take a sip from the water rations that a faint thrum caught her attention. Sitting erect, she cocked her head to one side as she tried to define the noise. Her pulse began to race as she recognized the sound of thrusters braking, she fairly flew as she leapt through the gaping hole left by the shattered fairing.
Waving her arms over her head, she had never felt such a sense of relief before as she watched the shuttle land nearby. Commander Tucker was the first to jump clear and race over to her, the anxiety he was feeling eased a little when he realized at least one person had survived. He ran right up to her and grabbed a hold on her shoulders as he looked her up and down before speaking.
"Are ya all right Sub-commander? Where's the Capt'n?"
His hands dropped from her as she turned and led him through the wreckage, speaking in a low voice. "He has sustained critical injuries Commander, I have done what I can, but we must hurry and get him back to the ship."
Trip's face noticeably paled when he caught sight of Archer, he had to clear his throat before turning to her and saying, "You can go ahead and wait in the shuttle while we get the Capt'n."
As she walked towards the waiting craft, the other members of the rescue party came out carrying medical equipment. Lieutenant Reed gave her a respectful nod as he hurried by, Ensign Mayweather paused as she passed him, he looked like he wanted to say something but wasn't certain if she'd even respond. He shook his head as he turned and jogged the rest of the way, stopping as he entered to let his vision adjust to the dim interior. Trip and Reed already had the Captain strapped into the stretcher with a cervical collar and EEG/EKG device in place. Malcolm glanced up, then pushed several buttons on the monitor and waited for a series alarms to finish before giving a satisfied nod. With a quick glance at Trip, he said, "I'll go inform the ship that we've located the Captain and Sub-commander, and to have the Doctor standing by."
The armory officer stood and picked his way through the rubble, the anxiety that he felt echoing in his movements.
Tucker sighed as he stood and glanced over to Mayweather, "Mind taking the other end for me?" Travis marched over and bent down, taking a firm hold of the handgrips as he looked at Trip and waited for him to signal when he was ready. The two of them had to lift, turn, and angle their burden slowly around obstacles before they finally emerged into warm twilight.
Once Trip was sure the Captain was safely secured, he quietly walked over and sat next to T'Pol. He realized he was still carrying the bag that contained the dirty clothing he had removed from the Captain, he glanced around and shrugged, setting the sack down in the space between them. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared out the port while he spoke, "You did a pretty good job on keepin' him alive till we got here Sub-commander, I just wanted ta thank ya. When I saw what was left of the shuttle, I thought sure our rescue had turned into a recovery mission."
Her weary response reminded him that she had also been hurt, "I did what I could." she closed her eyes as she continued and rested her head on the wall behind her. "Is it normal Commander, for Humans to make sarcastic comments when they sustain traumatic injury."
He looked at her a moment before commenting. "No, not really. Sometimes when a person's under a lotta stress, they say things to see if the rest of us were payin' attention to 'em in tha first place. Other times, they say stuff to let us know they were payin' attention too."
With the merest nod, she acknowledged his explanation. She could no longer fight off the fatigue that had seeped into ever molecule of her body, her exhausted mind shut down and the sanctuary of sleep gave her respite from the confusing turmoil inside her head.
Trip watched while T'Pol drifted off, glad that he hadn't been forced to order her to rest. After a couple of minutes, he got up and checked on Jon. They'd be back on board Enterprise shortly where the Doctor was waiting in surgery. When he turned around, a soft smile crossed his face. Sub-commander T'Pol was laying on her side, curled up with the bag he'd left under her head.
It was the absence of noise that woke her, with her head still slightly fuzzy from sleep, she sat up and looked at the Captain. She flinched as a shrill alarm went off, bringing an immediate response from the crew. While Trip dashed in, Malcolm released the seals on the hatch and called out as he shoved it open, "Doctor, hurry!"
Phlox bustled in, he ran a couple of short scans while directing his assistants as they prepared to deliver their patient directly to surgery. In moments they were gone, leaving behind several amazed, astonished, appreciative Humans, and one stunned Vulcan. She rose stiffly from the bench and absently thanked the Lieutenant before turning to exit, watching her step as she placed her feet on the shuttle bay's deck.
Knowing that it would be hours before any news on the Captain's condition being released, T'Pol headed for her quarters and hoped that no one stopped to question her about the accident. Thankfully most of the passages were deserted, allowing her to gather her thoughts into some semblance of order. A faint sigh fluttered from her lips as she closed her door and leaned on it a moment, with only one thing on her mind she climbed into her shower and stayed there till she was fairly certain not a trace of grime could possibly remain. She dried then wrapped a light robe about her body and sat on her bunk, staring out the window, wondering how the surgery was proceeding.
Nearly 4 hours had passed when the Sub-commander answered the buzz from the comm. The relief filled voice of Commander Tucker was a welcomed sound.
"Sub-commander, Doc says the Capt'n's gonna be all right! He should come round in little while once the anesthesia wears off. I'll talk ta ya later, Tucker out."
She closed her eyes, grateful that the Denobulan physician proved to be such a resourceful medic. With a fluid motion, she rose from the bed and crossed the room. Once she was dressed, it took her only minutes to make her way down to sick bay, the smell of antiseptics as she entered made her nose wrinkle and her step to falter. She wondered if the Doctor had spilled some.
Phlox's smile deepened when he noted who it was that had entered, he came around the pulled curtain that concealed his patient from her view.
"Sub-commander. I assume you're here to check on the Captain's recovery?"
"Yes, Doctor."
"Well, the damage was severe, the worst being the rupture to the diaphragm which was the cause of his labored breathing. Fortunately the Human liver regenerates itself, so. As for the spleen, mmm, they seem to be able to get by with just a portion of it. Quite amazing really, fascinating to think some organs in the Human body aren't even vital anymore, holdovers from their more primitive beginnings. Truly astounding!"
One brow arched slightly as she replied, "Yes, interesting. When do you expect him to regain consciousness Doctor?"
"Hmm? Oh, shouldn't be too much longer. Would you like me to contact you when he does?"
"That is generous of you Doctor, I would appreciate it."
His eyes twinkled as he watched her leave, his head shaking from side to side as he considered the profound actions she must have taken to prevent the Captain from dying. His only clue was slight elevations in the Seratonin and L-dopa levels in the brain, along with an unusual neural firing pattern that indicated recent telepathic contact.
Carefully checking the I.V. lines before retiring to his office, Phlox paused to study the bio-readings a moment. As he began to turn he stopped and look at the Captain. His head wagged as he ambled to his office, Archer was most fortunate that their Science officer had, for whatever reason, been willing to risk herself by forming a mind melde with him. It was most likely that if she hadn't, he wouldn't be with them now. The Doctor settled into his chair and briefly toyed with the notion of calling her on it, but mentaly chided himself for trying to meddle in what he knew was strickly a private matter.
Sitting back, he put his curious notions aside as he picked up a PADD and reviewed the record, keeping alert for any signs that Captain Archer was stirring, glad that this time everthing turned out in their favor.
PART 2
T'Pol awoke with a start as she glanced around, it had been the sound of a slight groan from the Captain that alerted her. Leaning towards him, she quietly asked, "Captain, are you awake?"
Without opening his eyes he very faintly replied, "What happened?"
"We crashed, but do not worry yourself with that now."
He gave a slight laugh which turned into a ragged gasping cough. His eyes opened and he focused on her. His words were barely a whisper as he spoke, "Aren't you going to say 'I told you so'?"
Fighting back the urge to scream, she calmly responded, "It would serve little purpose considering the seriousness of our situation Captain."
His head turned as he closed his eyes, his next words sent a chill down her back. "When they find us, ask Trip if he'd take care of Porthos."
Struggling to control the emotions that threatened to break free, she managed to keep her voice calm as she said, "Captain, you told me once that you would be there if I needed you. I am asking that you now try to stay with me."
With the barest hint of a nod, he rocked his head in her direction his sentence broken by gasps as he fought for air, "How long?", "Since, we left?"
"5.2 hours approximately."
"Trip will have", "organized a rescue team", "by now."
"Captain, you must not exert yourself." She gently placed her hand on his chest to reassure him and felt how fast his heart was beating, the uneven pace of which raised her concern for his chances of surviving.
How long could a Human heart keep so frantic a pace before failing?
Noticing that it had been several minutes since he last spoke, she leaned close over his face and quietly enquired, "Captain, you must stay with me. The lethargy you feel is due to internal bleeding, if you lose consciousness now you will die."
The Captain coughed weakly as he tried to speak, he waited till it passed before continuing. "Trying to keep", "awake.", "So tired."
"I understand, but you mustn't fall asleep." She paused while she examined his face, her voice dropping to a mere whisper as she continued, "I need you to stay with me Captain."
Reaching down, she took his cold hand in her's and laid it in her lap in an attempt to distract and stimulate his attention enough to prevent him from passing out. With firm gentle strokes she massaged the palm between her hands and was rewarded with a twitch as he tried to automatically pull back. Their eyes met as she looked up at him, an anguished expression was on his face.
Uncertain how to comfort him, all she could do was offer him words of encouragement and hope that help would soon arrive, the sound of her voice seemed to give him strength to hang on. It was while she paused to take a sip from the water rations that a faint thrum caught her attention. Sitting erect, she cocked her head to one side as she tried to define the noise. Her pulse began to race as she recognized the sound of thrusters braking, she fairly flew as she leapt through the gaping hole left by the shattered fairing.
Waving her arms over her head, she had never felt such a sense of relief before as she watched the shuttle land nearby. Commander Tucker was the first to jump clear and race over to her, the anxiety he was feeling eased a little when he realized at least one person had survived. He ran right up to her and grabbed a hold on her shoulders as he looked her up and down before speaking.
"Are ya all right Sub-commander? Where's the Capt'n?"
His hands dropped from her as she turned and led him through the wreckage, speaking in a low voice. "He has sustained critical injuries Commander, I have done what I can, but we must hurry and get him back to the ship."
Trip's face noticeably paled when he caught sight of Archer, he had to clear his throat before turning to her and saying, "You can go ahead and wait in the shuttle while we get the Capt'n."
As she walked towards the waiting craft, the other members of the rescue party came out carrying medical equipment. Lieutenant Reed gave her a respectful nod as he hurried by, Ensign Mayweather paused as she passed him, he looked like he wanted to say something but wasn't certain if she'd even respond. He shook his head as he turned and jogged the rest of the way, stopping as he entered to let his vision adjust to the dim interior. Trip and Reed already had the Captain strapped into the stretcher with a cervical collar and EEG/EKG device in place. Malcolm glanced up, then pushed several buttons on the monitor and waited for a series alarms to finish before giving a satisfied nod. With a quick glance at Trip, he said, "I'll go inform the ship that we've located the Captain and Sub-commander, and to have the Doctor standing by."
The armory officer stood and picked his way through the rubble, the anxiety that he felt echoing in his movements.
Tucker sighed as he stood and glanced over to Mayweather, "Mind taking the other end for me?" Travis marched over and bent down, taking a firm hold of the handgrips as he looked at Trip and waited for him to signal when he was ready. The two of them had to lift, turn, and angle their burden slowly around obstacles before they finally emerged into warm twilight.
Once Trip was sure the Captain was safely secured, he quietly walked over and sat next to T'Pol. He realized he was still carrying the bag that contained the dirty clothing he had removed from the Captain, he glanced around and shrugged, setting the sack down in the space between them. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he stared out the port while he spoke, "You did a pretty good job on keepin' him alive till we got here Sub-commander, I just wanted ta thank ya. When I saw what was left of the shuttle, I thought sure our rescue had turned into a recovery mission."
Her weary response reminded him that she had also been hurt, "I did what I could." she closed her eyes as she continued and rested her head on the wall behind her. "Is it normal Commander, for Humans to make sarcastic comments when they sustain traumatic injury."
He looked at her a moment before commenting. "No, not really. Sometimes when a person's under a lotta stress, they say things to see if the rest of us were payin' attention to 'em in tha first place. Other times, they say stuff to let us know they were payin' attention too."
With the merest nod, she acknowledged his explanation. She could no longer fight off the fatigue that had seeped into ever molecule of her body, her exhausted mind shut down and the sanctuary of sleep gave her respite from the confusing turmoil inside her head.
Trip watched while T'Pol drifted off, glad that he hadn't been forced to order her to rest. After a couple of minutes, he got up and checked on Jon. They'd be back on board Enterprise shortly where the Doctor was waiting in surgery. When he turned around, a soft smile crossed his face. Sub-commander T'Pol was laying on her side, curled up with the bag he'd left under her head.
It was the absence of noise that woke her, with her head still slightly fuzzy from sleep, she sat up and looked at the Captain. She flinched as a shrill alarm went off, bringing an immediate response from the crew. While Trip dashed in, Malcolm released the seals on the hatch and called out as he shoved it open, "Doctor, hurry!"
Phlox bustled in, he ran a couple of short scans while directing his assistants as they prepared to deliver their patient directly to surgery. In moments they were gone, leaving behind several amazed, astonished, appreciative Humans, and one stunned Vulcan. She rose stiffly from the bench and absently thanked the Lieutenant before turning to exit, watching her step as she placed her feet on the shuttle bay's deck.
Knowing that it would be hours before any news on the Captain's condition being released, T'Pol headed for her quarters and hoped that no one stopped to question her about the accident. Thankfully most of the passages were deserted, allowing her to gather her thoughts into some semblance of order. A faint sigh fluttered from her lips as she closed her door and leaned on it a moment, with only one thing on her mind she climbed into her shower and stayed there till she was fairly certain not a trace of grime could possibly remain. She dried then wrapped a light robe about her body and sat on her bunk, staring out the window, wondering how the surgery was proceeding.
Nearly 4 hours had passed when the Sub-commander answered the buzz from the comm. The relief filled voice of Commander Tucker was a welcomed sound.
"Sub-commander, Doc says the Capt'n's gonna be all right! He should come round in little while once the anesthesia wears off. I'll talk ta ya later, Tucker out."
She closed her eyes, grateful that the Denobulan physician proved to be such a resourceful medic. With a fluid motion, she rose from the bed and crossed the room. Once she was dressed, it took her only minutes to make her way down to sick bay, the smell of antiseptics as she entered made her nose wrinkle and her step to falter. She wondered if the Doctor had spilled some.
Phlox's smile deepened when he noted who it was that had entered, he came around the pulled curtain that concealed his patient from her view.
"Sub-commander. I assume you're here to check on the Captain's recovery?"
"Yes, Doctor."
"Well, the damage was severe, the worst being the rupture to the diaphragm which was the cause of his labored breathing. Fortunately the Human liver regenerates itself, so. As for the spleen, mmm, they seem to be able to get by with just a portion of it. Quite amazing really, fascinating to think some organs in the Human body aren't even vital anymore, holdovers from their more primitive beginnings. Truly astounding!"
One brow arched slightly as she replied, "Yes, interesting. When do you expect him to regain consciousness Doctor?"
"Hmm? Oh, shouldn't be too much longer. Would you like me to contact you when he does?"
"That is generous of you Doctor, I would appreciate it."
His eyes twinkled as he watched her leave, his head shaking from side to side as he considered the profound actions she must have taken to prevent the Captain from dying. His only clue was slight elevations in the Seratonin and L-dopa levels in the brain, along with an unusual neural firing pattern that indicated recent telepathic contact.
Carefully checking the I.V. lines before retiring to his office, Phlox paused to study the bio-readings a moment. As he began to turn he stopped and look at the Captain. His head wagged as he ambled to his office, Archer was most fortunate that their Science officer had, for whatever reason, been willing to risk herself by forming a mind melde with him. It was most likely that if she hadn't, he wouldn't be with them now. The Doctor settled into his chair and briefly toyed with the notion of calling her on it, but mentaly chided himself for trying to meddle in what he knew was strickly a private matter.
Sitting back, he put his curious notions aside as he picked up a PADD and reviewed the record, keeping alert for any signs that Captain Archer was stirring, glad that this time everthing turned out in their favor.