Part 12 Reunited
Trip and Tucker dropped to the ground and rolled, turning to face the new, and much closer threat, as leaves and twigs rained down on them from the trees above. All of the shots went high going well over their heads.
Reed looked behind him. "They're not shooting at us," he shouted across over the noise. "They appear to be firing at them." He inclined his head back towards the clearing.
"Yeah." Trip shouted, "But why?"
"Because they're trying to help us?" Reed suggested.
"So I ask again, why?" Trip replied
"I think I know," Hoshi shouted.
Both men turned to look in her direction and saw what she had seen. "T'pol?" Trip shouted.
"This way quickly," T'pol instructed. The situation was too dangerous to risk any form of explanation.
Trip looked at Reed. "Is it really her?" he asked.
"The amount of pain I'm in?" Reed replied. "Yes it's definitely the real T'pol."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Trip asked and began to scramble across towards T'pol's position.
Hoshi and Phlox followed his lead as another hail of fire covered their retreat.
"Actually," Reed said, Trip turned to look at him. "I was waiting for a little assistance."
Trip reproached himself for forgetting his friend's injury and moved back to help him.
As they drew level with T'pol, again she did not waste time with words or explanations, much as all of them would have appreciated it. "This way," she said turning and moving quickly off.
"Good to see you too." Trip muttered beneath his breath.
Without another word the group made it's way through the forest. T'pol appeared to be following another young woman, who moved quickly between the trees. She seemed to know exactly where she was going although there was no discernible path. As they moved the sound of weapons fire became more and more distant until they could hear it no more, but none of them were sure whether that was because they were too far away, or because the gun battle had stopped.
Reed did his best not to slow them down, biting his lip against the pain, he tried not to lean too much of his weight on Trip who, when he glanced across, was looking a little green himself, probably still suffering the after effects of the knock on the head. Phlox tried a couple of times to get them to slow down but each time Reed waved him away. After about half an hour of moving quickly across rough ground, frequently changing direction, the fatigue began to show and they found themselves dropping off the pace.
The doctor had finally had enough, they seemed to be reasonably safe and he needed to check on the condition of the two officers. "T'pol," he shouted forward, coming to a stop. "Please if we are away from the worst of the danger then I think we should take a break," he continued, as both T'pol and the young woman stopped and turned, moving back towards them.
T'pol quickly assessed the situation. "Lieutenant Reed needs medical attention?" She asked.
"I didn't think you'd noticed," Reed, panting heavily with the exertion of limping so far, couldn't stop the sarcasm as it left his lips.
"There was little we could do whilst we were under fire," T'pol stated. She turned to look at Tetia. "Will we be safe to rest here for a while."
Tetia nodded. "We would be, but we are not far from the edge of the forest, another few minutes. We will be much safer when we get back to the base."
"Lieutenant?" T'pol asked, clearly leaving the decision of whether they rested now, or continued to safety, to him.
Reed wiped away the sweat and looked apologetically at the doctor. "I can make it." He forced a smile. "A few more minutes isn't going to make a lot of difference."
The doctor shook his head in exacerbation, not bothering to voice his objections knowing that it would be futile. "All right," he acquiesced, "but I'll support you for the rest of the journey," he stated, firmly enough to leave no room for argument, he too had noticed Trip's pallor.
There were a myriad of questions that they all had for each other, that they could not ask until they reached safety but, arriving in the courtyard Trip finally voiced the one question that had been uppermost in his mind ever since T'pol had appeared in the forest "T'pol." He waited until she turned to look at him. "Where's the Captain?" He asked his voice quiet as he became gripped by a fear that he did not want to hear the answer to this particular question.
T'pol looked at him curiously, there were many questions that needed answering and that one was not a logical place to start, but she had been around people long enough to know it was a very human place to start.
"He is in a room upstairs." T'pol answered the question literally. Trip released the breath he had been holding, at least the Captain was alive, but he noticed that T'pol hesitated before adding more and turned to look for their host.
Tetia had dropped back behind them as soon as they had reached the courtyard and now waited, anxiously watching the forest, for the return of the rest of her companions. That left the Starfleet officers alone, although there were other people in the courtyard, apart from the odd curious glance, they ignored their visitors.
"Why didn't he come with you?" Trip asked
"I'm afraid the Captain is extremely sick," T'pol replied.
"So who are these people," Reed asked also looking across to where Tetia waited. He had not listened to Trip's question or the subsequent answer, he was too busy assessing their new situation. T'pol obviously trusted these strangers but it was in his nature and his training to be suspicious. In the current circumstances, he trusted no one.
"I do not know," T'pol replied to the new line of questioning. "I only know that thus far they have tried to help us. Your arrival interrupted any explanations."
Trip was still too preoccupied with his thoughts of his friend to consider anything else. They were temporarily safe, explanations could wait. He needed to see Jon. "Can we see him?" Trip asked, impatient with the change in direction of the conversation.
T'pol switched her attention back to the Commander. "Yes," she said, "I believe it would be a good idea if we took the Doctor to him as soon as possible."
She moved across to where Tetia stood and the others watched as she said something to the young woman, who nodded in response. Then she returned. Again she did not waste time on any preamble. "This way," she said leading the group across the courtyard.
Hoshi took her turn at helping Reed. "You know I'm beginning to feel like the parcel in a game of pass the parcel," He muttered.
"Well just hope I don't try and rip the wrapping off when the music stops," Hoshi replied mischievously, glad of an opportunity to relieve some of the tension. Her efforts were rewarded as Malcolm turned to look at her, a horrified expression on his rapidly blushing face. He couldn't believe that Hoshi had made such a comment. She grinned at him. "Don't worry I'm joking," she added.
Reed turned away from the grin as he felt his skin colour and concentrated on his walking. He was clearly struggling now and Hoshi's comment had almost stopped him in his tracks. Realising that they may lose sight of the others if they fell behind any further, he did his best to speed up.
Meanwhile, Trip, T'pol and the doctor had entered the building and T'pol led them to the room where she had left the Captain. Trip was trying to control his fears for his friend. The possibility that there might be something seriously wrong was a feeling he'd managed to suppress since this whole thing began, but ever since he had seen T'pol and realised that the Captain was not with her, he had to acknowledge that his fears must be based in reality. He had known then that something was badly wrong, knowing Jon as well as he did, he knew that if he were able, then he would have been part of the rescue party.
Not even his worst fears, however, prepared him for what he saw when he entered the room and saw his friend.
Jonathan Archer was lying, pale and still, on the bed, his upper torso covered in already colouring bruises and his arm strapped and splinted. Trip rushed over to him and dropped down to his knees next to the bed "Jon," he said quietly hoping for some sort of response. When his friend did not stir he turned to look at T'pol. "What happened?" he asked.
Phlox moved in and gently shifted Trip out of his way. "Excuse me Commander," he said softly, recognising the younger man's concern. "But I believe the Captain needs my help."
Trip did not resist. In the mass of mixed emotion that he suddenly experienced, relief at finding his friend alive, concern at his condition, fear that he would not recover and anger at those responsible, it was anger that now took precedence. He stood and moved towards T'pol. "What happened to him? How did he end up like this?" In the absence of the people who had done this there was only one person he could direct his anger at.
T'pol looked at him. "I will explain," she said calmly, meeting his anger with her usual detachment "But right now I believe our priority is seeing if we can be of any assistance to the doctor."
Trip's anger quelled as quickly as it had flared up and he turned back to look at the doctor who was busy assessing the Captain's condition. "How is he doc? Is he gonna be all right?" Trip asked.
Reed and Hoshi arrived in the room just in time to hear his pronouncement.
"He has an extremely high fever and is suffering from dehydration and shock," the Denobulan said. "Not to mention his injuries." His next sentence confirmed what T'pol had feared earlier. "I'm afraid that we may have arrived too late."
Trip and Tucker dropped to the ground and rolled, turning to face the new, and much closer threat, as leaves and twigs rained down on them from the trees above. All of the shots went high going well over their heads.
Reed looked behind him. "They're not shooting at us," he shouted across over the noise. "They appear to be firing at them." He inclined his head back towards the clearing.
"Yeah." Trip shouted, "But why?"
"Because they're trying to help us?" Reed suggested.
"So I ask again, why?" Trip replied
"I think I know," Hoshi shouted.
Both men turned to look in her direction and saw what she had seen. "T'pol?" Trip shouted.
"This way quickly," T'pol instructed. The situation was too dangerous to risk any form of explanation.
Trip looked at Reed. "Is it really her?" he asked.
"The amount of pain I'm in?" Reed replied. "Yes it's definitely the real T'pol."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Trip asked and began to scramble across towards T'pol's position.
Hoshi and Phlox followed his lead as another hail of fire covered their retreat.
"Actually," Reed said, Trip turned to look at him. "I was waiting for a little assistance."
Trip reproached himself for forgetting his friend's injury and moved back to help him.
As they drew level with T'pol, again she did not waste time with words or explanations, much as all of them would have appreciated it. "This way," she said turning and moving quickly off.
"Good to see you too." Trip muttered beneath his breath.
Without another word the group made it's way through the forest. T'pol appeared to be following another young woman, who moved quickly between the trees. She seemed to know exactly where she was going although there was no discernible path. As they moved the sound of weapons fire became more and more distant until they could hear it no more, but none of them were sure whether that was because they were too far away, or because the gun battle had stopped.
Reed did his best not to slow them down, biting his lip against the pain, he tried not to lean too much of his weight on Trip who, when he glanced across, was looking a little green himself, probably still suffering the after effects of the knock on the head. Phlox tried a couple of times to get them to slow down but each time Reed waved him away. After about half an hour of moving quickly across rough ground, frequently changing direction, the fatigue began to show and they found themselves dropping off the pace.
The doctor had finally had enough, they seemed to be reasonably safe and he needed to check on the condition of the two officers. "T'pol," he shouted forward, coming to a stop. "Please if we are away from the worst of the danger then I think we should take a break," he continued, as both T'pol and the young woman stopped and turned, moving back towards them.
T'pol quickly assessed the situation. "Lieutenant Reed needs medical attention?" She asked.
"I didn't think you'd noticed," Reed, panting heavily with the exertion of limping so far, couldn't stop the sarcasm as it left his lips.
"There was little we could do whilst we were under fire," T'pol stated. She turned to look at Tetia. "Will we be safe to rest here for a while."
Tetia nodded. "We would be, but we are not far from the edge of the forest, another few minutes. We will be much safer when we get back to the base."
"Lieutenant?" T'pol asked, clearly leaving the decision of whether they rested now, or continued to safety, to him.
Reed wiped away the sweat and looked apologetically at the doctor. "I can make it." He forced a smile. "A few more minutes isn't going to make a lot of difference."
The doctor shook his head in exacerbation, not bothering to voice his objections knowing that it would be futile. "All right," he acquiesced, "but I'll support you for the rest of the journey," he stated, firmly enough to leave no room for argument, he too had noticed Trip's pallor.
There were a myriad of questions that they all had for each other, that they could not ask until they reached safety but, arriving in the courtyard Trip finally voiced the one question that had been uppermost in his mind ever since T'pol had appeared in the forest "T'pol." He waited until she turned to look at him. "Where's the Captain?" He asked his voice quiet as he became gripped by a fear that he did not want to hear the answer to this particular question.
T'pol looked at him curiously, there were many questions that needed answering and that one was not a logical place to start, but she had been around people long enough to know it was a very human place to start.
"He is in a room upstairs." T'pol answered the question literally. Trip released the breath he had been holding, at least the Captain was alive, but he noticed that T'pol hesitated before adding more and turned to look for their host.
Tetia had dropped back behind them as soon as they had reached the courtyard and now waited, anxiously watching the forest, for the return of the rest of her companions. That left the Starfleet officers alone, although there were other people in the courtyard, apart from the odd curious glance, they ignored their visitors.
"Why didn't he come with you?" Trip asked
"I'm afraid the Captain is extremely sick," T'pol replied.
"So who are these people," Reed asked also looking across to where Tetia waited. He had not listened to Trip's question or the subsequent answer, he was too busy assessing their new situation. T'pol obviously trusted these strangers but it was in his nature and his training to be suspicious. In the current circumstances, he trusted no one.
"I do not know," T'pol replied to the new line of questioning. "I only know that thus far they have tried to help us. Your arrival interrupted any explanations."
Trip was still too preoccupied with his thoughts of his friend to consider anything else. They were temporarily safe, explanations could wait. He needed to see Jon. "Can we see him?" Trip asked, impatient with the change in direction of the conversation.
T'pol switched her attention back to the Commander. "Yes," she said, "I believe it would be a good idea if we took the Doctor to him as soon as possible."
She moved across to where Tetia stood and the others watched as she said something to the young woman, who nodded in response. Then she returned. Again she did not waste time on any preamble. "This way," she said leading the group across the courtyard.
Hoshi took her turn at helping Reed. "You know I'm beginning to feel like the parcel in a game of pass the parcel," He muttered.
"Well just hope I don't try and rip the wrapping off when the music stops," Hoshi replied mischievously, glad of an opportunity to relieve some of the tension. Her efforts were rewarded as Malcolm turned to look at her, a horrified expression on his rapidly blushing face. He couldn't believe that Hoshi had made such a comment. She grinned at him. "Don't worry I'm joking," she added.
Reed turned away from the grin as he felt his skin colour and concentrated on his walking. He was clearly struggling now and Hoshi's comment had almost stopped him in his tracks. Realising that they may lose sight of the others if they fell behind any further, he did his best to speed up.
Meanwhile, Trip, T'pol and the doctor had entered the building and T'pol led them to the room where she had left the Captain. Trip was trying to control his fears for his friend. The possibility that there might be something seriously wrong was a feeling he'd managed to suppress since this whole thing began, but ever since he had seen T'pol and realised that the Captain was not with her, he had to acknowledge that his fears must be based in reality. He had known then that something was badly wrong, knowing Jon as well as he did, he knew that if he were able, then he would have been part of the rescue party.
Not even his worst fears, however, prepared him for what he saw when he entered the room and saw his friend.
Jonathan Archer was lying, pale and still, on the bed, his upper torso covered in already colouring bruises and his arm strapped and splinted. Trip rushed over to him and dropped down to his knees next to the bed "Jon," he said quietly hoping for some sort of response. When his friend did not stir he turned to look at T'pol. "What happened?" he asked.
Phlox moved in and gently shifted Trip out of his way. "Excuse me Commander," he said softly, recognising the younger man's concern. "But I believe the Captain needs my help."
Trip did not resist. In the mass of mixed emotion that he suddenly experienced, relief at finding his friend alive, concern at his condition, fear that he would not recover and anger at those responsible, it was anger that now took precedence. He stood and moved towards T'pol. "What happened to him? How did he end up like this?" In the absence of the people who had done this there was only one person he could direct his anger at.
T'pol looked at him. "I will explain," she said calmly, meeting his anger with her usual detachment "But right now I believe our priority is seeing if we can be of any assistance to the doctor."
Trip's anger quelled as quickly as it had flared up and he turned back to look at the doctor who was busy assessing the Captain's condition. "How is he doc? Is he gonna be all right?" Trip asked.
Reed and Hoshi arrived in the room just in time to hear his pronouncement.
"He has an extremely high fever and is suffering from dehydration and shock," the Denobulan said. "Not to mention his injuries." His next sentence confirmed what T'pol had feared earlier. "I'm afraid that we may have arrived too late."