Chapter Three:
"What's going on?" an alarmed Hoshi asked as she stepped onto the bridge and made her way to her post.
"Away Team C was kidnapped while they were on the surface of the planet," the grim-faced armory officer answered.
"The inhabitants?" Hoshi (asked) wondered.
"We have already ruled that out, I believe it is the alien ship we saw disappear behind the planet. They flew by us and sent a small craft to the planet. We warned the away team about them and then all we could hear was static," T'Pol replied.
Hoshi nodded, trying to absorb what had happened while checking the comm logs at the same time. She too believed that the vessel that they had seen earlier had kidnapped the away team. Hoshi wondered if it the kidnappers were just lucky when the picked the captain's team to grab.
"I'm hailing them again" she said.
"They will not respond to hails," T'Pol answered.
"We will be sending an away team to the planet to speak with the inhabitants to complain," Malcolm said calmly. His eyes, however, flashed a look that Hoshi would call typically pissed-off Reed.
"Good idea," Hoshi nodded.
***
Archer covered his eyes to protect them from the blinding light that poured into the cell. The crewman sitting next to Archer had to turn and face the wall. Archer peeked at the open door and saw a tall alien with dark hair and eyes standing there. He looked incredibly fierce, especially with the large gun he was totting by his side.
The alien sneered and muttered something before snapping his whip over his head and striking the starship captain with it. Archer screamed in pain as the whip bit into his skin. Archer got a better look at the whip as it came crashing on his face again. The weapon had spines on it, much like the plant they had been collecting.
Crewman Jack Saunders swore at their captor, earning a lashing for his efforts to get the alien to stop whipping the captain.
"You will tell me what planet you are from and where it is, or I will be forced to cause you more pain," the creature replied, showing grungy teeth as his mouth twitched in a gruesome parody of a smile.
The crewman spat out, "Go to hell!"
"Crewman," Archer started to say.
"We won't!" Saunders yelled at the alien and spat on him again.
"So be it," their captor said and then whipped them both again.
The two other crewmen huddled in the corner, trying to hide themselves from the alien. Crewman Gretchen Stromberg turned to her hiding companion and covered her mouth with her hand to keep her from screaming in horror. They went unnoticed and the alien left, slamming the prison doors.
Stromberg ran to the captain and looked at his bloodied face. He grunted to the crewman who stood over him.
"Gretchen," Saunders called out.
The woman bent over to peer at her fellow crewmembers face. She helped both men take care of their wounds and then tended to the timid Crewman Hannah Olde. She had been beaten when they had been captured because she tried diplomacy with the aliens who came to the surface.
The crewman told them they were explorers and were just heading back to their ship, but that their captain would love to speak to them when they returned to the vessel with their prospects. The group of shady, dark-looking aliens laughed at her and then whipped her across the face, causing her to lose balance and fall over.
They then grabbed the four and threw them into a mucky, old prison that smelled of death aboard the alien's ship.
"Is she all right?" Archer asked, ignoring his wounds.
Stromberg looked at the gash that covered the blonde's once childish-looking face.
Olde cussed as Stromberg touched the gash across her face.
"She's in about the same shape as the rest of us," was the reply.
"You're better off than us, Olde," Archer coughed.
"We could break out," Saunders suggested.
Archer thought about the idea, but knew he was in hardly any shape to help after being repeatedly whipped.
"Captain," Gretchen said alarmed. "Olde's face looks sickly. I'm not sure if it's because of the loss of blood or what."
"How bad?" Hannah managed to say.
"I'm not a nurse like you, so I honestly can't say specifics. The gash looks infected though."
"I think the whip had a poison on it; maybe the plants from the planet. Phlox said that the spines on the plants carried a poison, when I was hit the whip seemed spiny," Olde explained.
"Shit," Saunders cursed.
Any other time and Archer would have told the crewman to watch his language, but they were all badly off and a few swear words wouldn't hurt them any worse.
Archer thought about their predicament. It would probably only be a matter of time before Saunders and he would start to feel sickly as well.
"What will the poison do to us exactly?" the captain asked Olde.
The young nurse shook her head.
"They're looking for us, no doubt," Archer reminded his cellmates. "We've got to hold on."
"What's going on?" an alarmed Hoshi asked as she stepped onto the bridge and made her way to her post.
"Away Team C was kidnapped while they were on the surface of the planet," the grim-faced armory officer answered.
"The inhabitants?" Hoshi (asked) wondered.
"We have already ruled that out, I believe it is the alien ship we saw disappear behind the planet. They flew by us and sent a small craft to the planet. We warned the away team about them and then all we could hear was static," T'Pol replied.
Hoshi nodded, trying to absorb what had happened while checking the comm logs at the same time. She too believed that the vessel that they had seen earlier had kidnapped the away team. Hoshi wondered if it the kidnappers were just lucky when the picked the captain's team to grab.
"I'm hailing them again" she said.
"They will not respond to hails," T'Pol answered.
"We will be sending an away team to the planet to speak with the inhabitants to complain," Malcolm said calmly. His eyes, however, flashed a look that Hoshi would call typically pissed-off Reed.
"Good idea," Hoshi nodded.
***
Archer covered his eyes to protect them from the blinding light that poured into the cell. The crewman sitting next to Archer had to turn and face the wall. Archer peeked at the open door and saw a tall alien with dark hair and eyes standing there. He looked incredibly fierce, especially with the large gun he was totting by his side.
The alien sneered and muttered something before snapping his whip over his head and striking the starship captain with it. Archer screamed in pain as the whip bit into his skin. Archer got a better look at the whip as it came crashing on his face again. The weapon had spines on it, much like the plant they had been collecting.
Crewman Jack Saunders swore at their captor, earning a lashing for his efforts to get the alien to stop whipping the captain.
"You will tell me what planet you are from and where it is, or I will be forced to cause you more pain," the creature replied, showing grungy teeth as his mouth twitched in a gruesome parody of a smile.
The crewman spat out, "Go to hell!"
"Crewman," Archer started to say.
"We won't!" Saunders yelled at the alien and spat on him again.
"So be it," their captor said and then whipped them both again.
The two other crewmen huddled in the corner, trying to hide themselves from the alien. Crewman Gretchen Stromberg turned to her hiding companion and covered her mouth with her hand to keep her from screaming in horror. They went unnoticed and the alien left, slamming the prison doors.
Stromberg ran to the captain and looked at his bloodied face. He grunted to the crewman who stood over him.
"Gretchen," Saunders called out.
The woman bent over to peer at her fellow crewmembers face. She helped both men take care of their wounds and then tended to the timid Crewman Hannah Olde. She had been beaten when they had been captured because she tried diplomacy with the aliens who came to the surface.
The crewman told them they were explorers and were just heading back to their ship, but that their captain would love to speak to them when they returned to the vessel with their prospects. The group of shady, dark-looking aliens laughed at her and then whipped her across the face, causing her to lose balance and fall over.
They then grabbed the four and threw them into a mucky, old prison that smelled of death aboard the alien's ship.
"Is she all right?" Archer asked, ignoring his wounds.
Stromberg looked at the gash that covered the blonde's once childish-looking face.
Olde cussed as Stromberg touched the gash across her face.
"She's in about the same shape as the rest of us," was the reply.
"You're better off than us, Olde," Archer coughed.
"We could break out," Saunders suggested.
Archer thought about the idea, but knew he was in hardly any shape to help after being repeatedly whipped.
"Captain," Gretchen said alarmed. "Olde's face looks sickly. I'm not sure if it's because of the loss of blood or what."
"How bad?" Hannah managed to say.
"I'm not a nurse like you, so I honestly can't say specifics. The gash looks infected though."
"I think the whip had a poison on it; maybe the plants from the planet. Phlox said that the spines on the plants carried a poison, when I was hit the whip seemed spiny," Olde explained.
"Shit," Saunders cursed.
Any other time and Archer would have told the crewman to watch his language, but they were all badly off and a few swear words wouldn't hurt them any worse.
Archer thought about their predicament. It would probably only be a matter of time before Saunders and he would start to feel sickly as well.
"What will the poison do to us exactly?" the captain asked Olde.
The young nurse shook her head.
"They're looking for us, no doubt," Archer reminded his cellmates. "We've got to hold on."
