Hello Everyone….

Again, I want to thank you all for your wonderful feedback…it keeps me writing. Special thanks to you, Amanda!

Yes, I know…this installment has taken a bit longer than the others. In the past week, I have become the proud mother of a six-week old, holy terror of a kitten, and she has unsettled the household (i.e., myself and the other two cats). She is hard to keep up with and gets into everything…in fact, yesterday her curiosity landed her in the toilet. So, it has been difficult writing this chapter and running around the apartment after her. Unfortunately, I don't see her slowing down anytime soon.

But I hope you enjoy this installment. Warning…a little more angst than in the other five chapters.

Take care, all…

Emrys

Disclaimer: See first installment.

1 Following Orders Part VI



At mid-day, Trip began to show signs of consciousness, and Archer was by his side instantly. After several moments of struggling, the engineer managed to open his eyes. His vision was blurry, but after blinking a number of times, he was able to recognize his friend.

"Jon," he rasped. It took him another moment before he realized that the look of concern on his Captain's face was directed at him. Disorientation washed over him, and he shook his head in an effort to clear it of the confusion. The movement made him dizzy, and he closed his eyes again. "Wha…what's goin' on?" he managed to ask.

"Take it easy, Trip," Jonathan said soothingly. "Give yourself a minute. You're sick."

"That part…I got," Trip replied between painful breaths. "Could ya help…me up? This ain't…particularly…comfortable."

Archer nodded in response, and helped the sick man into a sitting position. He grimly noted that Trip was too weak to remain upright under his own power, and gently positioned the younger man against a boulder that was close to the fire. Despite Jon's careful movements; however, Trip could not hold back a grunt as pain drummed throughout his muscles. His breathing quickened in response to the throbbing, and he began to cough in a way that frightened Archer.

"Trip?" Archer asked worriedly and hoped for some response.

But Trip did not have the breath to answer, and he sat with his hands clutching his chest desperately as he tried to gain control over his breathing.

"Easy, easy, easy," Archer murmured as he also put a soothing hand to the other man's chest. Trip's coughing slowly lessened to a deep gasping, and Archer pulled out the Ferengi medical device to monitor the engineer's heart rate. What the device reported did nothing to diminish his fear.

"Trip, listen to me," he said hurriedly. "You have to calm yourself down a little. Your heart rate is way too high, so I want you to slow your breathing. Just calm down a little, and you'll be all right." Jon continued to mutter quiet, yet reassuring instructions to the Commander, and Trip, either consciously or unconsciously, managed to control his breathing a bit. Archer sat back only when Trip was sitting with his eyes half-closed and breathing much more efficiently.

"I remember now, Captain," Trip mumbled after a few minutes of quiet.

"What's that, Trip?" Archer replied.

"Big-eared aliens, treasure maps, and rabbits that taste like chicken."

Archer could not hold back a chuckle as he wondered about Trip's ability to be light-hearted even under these dire circumstances.

After a while, Trip eyed the camp carefully without moving his head and was relieved when he could do so without pain or dizziness. Something seemed different from the last time he was conscious, but it took him a minute to figure out what the difference was.

"Where's T'Pol?" he asked once he identified the wrongness that he had sensed.

"She's scouting ahead. She should be back by nightfall," Archer answered simply.

"She's out there all alone?! She shouldn't be out there on her own, Cap'n," Trip took a moment to take a deep breath, and in that moment another realization hit him. "She's out there because of me, ain't she? If I hadn't held you guys up, she wouldn't be out there on her own now, would she? Damn it! I'm so selfish! I should have stayed up there with those greedy, little bastards instead of insisting on coming to the planet with you! I…"

"Trip, calm down now! That's an order!" Archer commanded sharply as he saw the engineer's respiration rate increase.

"But Cap'n…"Trip insisted.

"I said that was an order, Commander!" Archer replied strongly.

Trip's Starfleet training took over and he quieted. "Yes, Captain," he answered respectfully.

"She'll be okay, Trip," Archer said after a while and in an effort to erase the dismay that he knew his younger officer still felt. "Of all the members of my crew, I'm least worried about T'Pol being on her own on an alien planet. She can take care of herself."

Trip nodded, and the Captain saw that he had placated the Commander enough so that the sick man could close his eyes and even drowse a bit. Relieved that Trip's condition seemed to be relatively stable, Archer sat back on his heels and tended the fire.

He found himself thinking about T'Pol, and hoped that his assurances about the Vulcan's welfare were true.

***

Jonathan was still staring into the fire and contemplating their situation when Trip roused himself again.

"What are you gonna do when we find the Renkans?" the engineer asked in a breathless whisper.

"You always ask the good questions, Trip," Jonathan replied. He took a deep breath before answering. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I'm expecting that we'll be in a better position to make some sort of plan after T'Pol gets a look at what we're up against. Quite frankly, I'm hoping that we can get out of this without even disturbing the Renkans."

"What do you mean, Cap'n?"

Archer had been contemplating approaching Trip with an engineering puzzle since the engineer had last regained consciousness. He knew that the man was terribly ill and too weak to work effectively, but he also understood his friend well enough to know that he felt a great deal of guilt for not being able to help them out of the situation. At best, Archer's idea would bring Enterprise to them; at worst, it would distract Trip and return a sense of control to him.

"Well, Trip," he began. "I'm not sure how far away we are from Enterprise, but I thought it might be worth a shot trying to contact them."

Trip's eyes narrowed in response, and his thoughtful expression encouraged Jonathan to continue.

"I was wondering if you felt up to playing around with the communicator that Gorak gave us," Archer said. "I was hoping that you could adjust it so that we could hail someone other than our big-eared friends. Maybe we could contact Enterprise."

Trip thought about the pounding aches that continuously assailed his weakened body, and the dizziness and resulting nausea that assaulted him episodically. He contemplated the fact that he had no tools, and that he could barely move his hands and arms. But then he quickly pushed those thoughts aside as he began to envision the possible internal structures of both the communicator and the medical device and an idea began to blossom in his head. It was possible…. It might work….

"I'll need that medical device as well, Cap'n," he said hurriedly. "And can you bash both of them up against a rock or something? Not so hard that you damage the internal components, but I need the covers off of 'em."

Archer smiled and felt a sense of accomplishment that was akin to the one he experienced the last time he was fishing and pulled an especially large trout out of the river nearby his Earth home. Trip had taken the bait and was running with it.

***

By nightfall, Trip was still fighting with numerous circuits and complex alien components, but he was showing no signs of defeat. Archer watched the engineer's progress with a mixture of humor and awe. How Trip was managing to make progress given all of the disadvantages in front of him was beyond Jon's comprehension. But he was also relieved to see that the commander's breathing had stabilized further, and a visage of calm and contentment had replaced the panic and frustration that had been on Trip's face before he had set forth to solve the tricky engineering brainteaser.

And so, when T'Pol thankfully returned to them, she raised an eyebrow at the unexpected scene before her. She had rushed back to the camp with the intent of aiding the Commander's rapidly ailing body and was not prepared to see him calmly working. In the instant before her crewmembers saw her, she realized that had she been anything but Vulcan she would feel surprise at the situation. As it was, she could be nothing less than impressed with Captain Archer's abilities.

But all of these thoughts were hidden away within the depths of her Vulcan mind, and none of them could be inferred in the one level word that she uttered.

"Captain."

Archer stood instantly, and Tucker glanced up from his work.

"T'Pol!" Archer shouted with relief.

"Captain," T'Pol repeated by way of recognition. Her even tone continued as she reported her findings in a four-word summary.

"We have a problem."