Hey everyone!

Thanks for the great reviews! Here's the fourth part…maybe not much action here, but that's coming soon, I promise. I'm still setting things up here. Well, again, I might have made some mistakes…I'm not entirely sure that the Ferengei had transporters at this time, but again, I hope you can see your way to forgiving any inconsistencies.

I hope you enjoy this!

Emrys

Disclaimer: See Part I

Following Orders Part IV

The three of them waited for the Ferengei to return, each quietly immersed in their own thoughts. They had been sitting silently for some time, when Trip asked a sudden question. His voice echoed in the stark room and startled both T'Pol and Archer.



"How do you suppose they knew our names?"

The Vulcan and human stared at Trip sharply as they considered the question and recognized its significance.

"They mentioned a name," Archer began. "Krem, wasn't it?"

"Yes, I believe you are correct, Captain," T'Pol concurred dryly.

"That was the name of the Ferengei who stayed with me while the other three searched Enterprise for our vault," Archer explained.

T'Pol's eyebrow arched dangerously.

"Are you suggesting that he has mentioned us to others of his kind, Captain?"

"Makes sense," Trip said with a hint of irritation lacing his voice. "Little creep probably boasted up and down the quadrant how easily he beat us."

"They do seem to be the boasting type," Archer agreed.

"I wish I could wring that idiot's neck! We should never have let him go! We should have…" Trip's rant ended abruptly in a fit of coughing.

Archer quickly moved to his friend, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. When Trip's coughing had relented, the Captain looked at his friend pointedly.

"Getting upset about the past isn't going to help any of us, Trip. Let's just concentrate on getting ourselves out of the present mess we're in," he suggested forcefully.

Trip gulped in a breath of air before nodding his agreement. "Aye Cap'n," he slurred breathlessly before leaning back against the wall.

"But I'd still like to get my hands on him," he added petulantly.

***

The shimmer of the odd beam lingered in the moment before their eyes adjusted to the new environment. Their bodies shifted as they tried to recall mass and regain balance and bearing. An instant later, they were solid forms standing in the middle of a tropical forest.

"Everyone okay?" Archer asked as he took stock of his suddenly new surroundings.

"Yes, Captain," T'Pol answered unemotionally. Trip looked at her with a smirk on his face and wondered how she could maintain her coolness even considering her Vulcan heredity.

"Trip?" Archer asked expectantly.

"Fine, Cap'n. Considering."

"We better get moving," Archer decided. "We only have a few hours before dark."

They began walking…east. When the Ferengei had returned to the white- walled room in which the Enterprise crew had been held hostage, they had brought with them directions to the Renkans' Great City. The three Ferengei had offered little more information other than to remind them that the Renkans were a violent people. However, the aliens had also given them a communicator with capabilities limited to a link between the planet's surface and the Ferengei ship. With much insistence by Archer, and a whispered word in Gowan's generous ear by Leor, Trip had been permitted to come along. Additionally, a handheld medical device was added to their equipment supply so that T'Pol could monitor Trip's unstable condition. Then, with little further discussion, the three officers were hurried to a transporter room where they were quickly transferred to the planet's surface. The greedy aliens had used the transporter to beam the Starfleet officers outside the city since they had no wish to see their hostages killed as soon as they materialized in a very obvious way within the city limits.

They had been given no supply of food or water, and so they would have to rely upon skill and luck to replenish themselves. Trip's stomach growled loudly, and he idly speculated when it was that he had last eaten. Surely twelve hours, at least. He muffled a cough against his sleeve, and ruefully wondered if his appetite would be affected by the poison. Probably, given his luck of late. While Leor had whispered advice in Gowan's ear, the shorter Ferengei had looked directly at Trip. The engineer couldn't help but think that the little Ferengei was suggesting that having a slowly weakening officer along for the ride would be excellent motivation for Archer and T'Pol to finish the task set out before them. The thought did not bring him any hope that his luck had turned and that everything that was currently happening to him was a grim mistake.

"Why me?" Trip muttered as he trudged slowly along behind the Captain and T'Pol. His head ached, and his limbs felt like lead. His breathing sounded harsh and ragged to his own ears, and he considered the intelligence of his choice to come down to the planet's surface. It had only been a day since he had been poisoned, and already weakness was overtaking him. But he could not imagine being left alone on that alien ship, not knowing whether he would live or die with only the company of the intolerably irritating Ferengei. With determination set in his jaw, Trip picked up his pace.

"Why me?" he asked himself again.

"Did you say something, Commander Tucker?" T'Pol asked.

Trip jerked his head in her direction and realized that he had spoken out loud.

"Well, I was just wondering why it was they chose to poison me. I mean, why is my luck so bad anyway?" he sighed thoughtfully before continuing. "I dunno. I mean, it's not that I would wish this on anyone else, but I suppose it would all make more sense to me if there was a reason behind it," Trip's voice clearly expressed the bitterness he felt for the situation.

T'Pol eyed Tucker critically before replying.

"I do not believe luck had anything to do with the Ferengei choosing to poison you," she replied thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Trip asked curiously.

"Commander, you overtook three Ferengei when they last boarded Enterprise. I believe that Krem has informed our present kidnappers that you are a dangerous man," T'Pol replied.

Trip considered the Vulcan's words, and a large smile spread across his face.

"Hey, yeah! You're probably right about that, Subcommander! I've probably got a legendary reputation with the Ferengei people! I betcha they describe me to the little Ferengei kiddies as someone who will come to eat them at night if they're bad and don't earn that last piece of latinum!" Trip's pace picked up at the encouraging thought, and he even chuckled to himself.

Archer regarded his Science officer with interest, and discreetly moved to her side.

"As I recall, you played a hand in capturing those three Ferengei as well," he whispered to her covertly.

"In Commander Tucker's present state, any further aggravation, emotional or otherwise, can only affect his condition negatively," she stated calmly. "His respiration rate was increasing as he spoke of his frustration with the situation he is experiencing." She shrugged before continuing. "I simply chose to diminish his aggravation," she said and then walked past the Captain to continue their trek east.

Archer stopped momentarily to stare at her retreating form and realized that T'Pol was starting to gain significant insights into human behavior.

He could only hope that one day he would understand Vulcans as well.