Title: Lost In Darkness

Authors: Sita/T'eyla

Genre: Angst/Drama

Rating: PG-13

AN: Thanks to Exploded Pen, Reedie (*huggles from Sita&T'eyla* - glad to hear you're enjoying the story so much :-)! ), Ocean, Aeryn Lavanthia, Drogna, Gabi (e-mail gekriegt? Super-Story!), csifan2000, The Libran Iniquity (of course revenge is low and demoralising... but we are just two nasty bitches *laugh insanely and fall off their chairs*), ally, Les1(yes we got your point... save Malcolm Reed! Malcolm shall live! Join the foundation! ;-) ), tnickel and cryogenie (cliffhangers are wrong? Well, maybe you're right, but they're FUN *eg*) for reviewing. Here's Chapter 8 - please r&r!

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Chapter 8

Three hours later Archer was on his way to sickbay, feeling rather nervous at the thought of what might await him there. When the med team had taken Trip and Malcolm away after they'd returned from the planet, Phlox had told him he'd contact him as soon as he'd finished the operation on Trip, making it quite clear that Archer would only be in the way in sickbay now.

Archer hadn't liked staying behind, not at all, but he had seen Phlox' point all the same, and had followed T'Pol to the bridge instead. Telling her to run some scans of the planet's surface to try and see if she could find anything unusual down there, he'd retreated to his ready room, leaving it to T'Pol to explain to Hoshi what had happened.

What they'd found down there on that planet had shaken him up to the core. When they'd returned to V'nera, Archer had expected to find his officers sound and healthy, eager to get back to the ship to evaluate the data they had gathered. Of course, there was a risk to every away mission, but this time Archer had been quite confident that everything would go smoothly. Up until the moment they'd left orbit five days ago, there had been no complications at all, and in the face of Trip's and Malcolm's enthusiasm about that observation mission Archer had felt almost obliged to give in and let them behind. The V'nerans were not a hostile people, after all.

And Archer still couldn't understand what had happened. He didn't understand why Malcolm and Trip had been fourhundred miles away from their shuttlepod or any inhabited settlement, how they'd sustained all those injuries and where the strange substances in Malcolm's blood came from.

He didn't understand any of these things, but he had every intention of finding out about them. And soon.

Archer pressed the panel on the wall, and the big double doors of sickbay slid aside. Phlox was standing next to a bio bed on the other side of the room. When Archer entered, he raised his head.

"Ah, Captain." The Denobulan wasn't wearing his usual smile and his voice sounded rather subdued as he spoke. "You'll be glad to hear that Commander Tucker will survive. He is suffering from severe hypothermia, and the operation has weakened him considerably, but he'll pull through."

Quickly, Archer crossed the room, coming to stand next to the bio bed as well. In the bright light of the sick bay lamps Trip was even paler and weaker-looking than before. His face seemed sunken, his cheekbones prominent, and there were dark smudges under his eyes that told Archer his friend had reached the point of total physical exhaustion. As his eyes fell on the bruises on Trip's face, some of which were already fading, Archer felt his chest contract. He knew that Trip wasn't going to die, but something in him still refused to feel relieved. Trip looked so... fragile, lying in that bed, surrounded by all the medical equipment.

Archer raised his head, meeting Phlox' eyes. "Will he... will he be okay?"

Phlox nodded. "There will be no permanent damage. He's been lucky, though. Without medical treatment the Commander wouldn't have survived much longer."

Archer looked back down at Trip. "What about Malcolm?"

Phlox sighed. "He's on life support in the IC Unit. The computer is still working on the analysis of those substances in his blood."

"Will he survive?" Archer urged. Phlox pressed a few buttons on the monitor above Trip's bed, avoiding to meet the Captain's eyes.

"I cannot say yet. He seems to have lapsed into a coma-like state, probably induced by the chemicals he's been injected with."

Archer bit his lip. "Are you saying someone... someone did this on purpose? That someone injected him with these substances?"

Phlox looked back at him, his usually kind features hardening with anger as he continued. "Captain, it is quite obvious that Lieutenant Reed and Commander Tucker have been tortured. Not only once, but several times during the last five days. Their injuries show certain... deliberate patterns..."

Phlox trailed off. Archer stared at him, seeing his own feelings mirrored on the doctor's face. He had suspected this all along, but now that he heard his suspicion being confirmed, it still came like a shock to him.

"The V'nerans?" he asked, his voice sounding hoarse. Phlox shook his head.

"The substances that I detected in Lieutenant Reed's blood are of synthetic origin. The V'nerans have not yet reached the level of technological development to synthesize these kind of chemicals."

"But who was it then?" Archer started to pace. "We scanned the planet. There is no one else down there."

"I can't tell you that, Captain. The only thing I can say for sure is that they have to be quite advanced to be able to resequence these kind of toxins." Phlox turned back to the bed, readjusting the tube that was attached to Trip's left arm. "I am sure T'Pol's scans will shed some light on that matter, though. At the moment, the only thing we can do is wait and see." He looked up at Archer. "Captain, when was the last time you had something to eat?"

Archer shook his head. "Thanks doc, but I'm not hungry at the moment. I'll stay here until-"

Phlox interrupted him. "Captain, it will be at least five hours until Commander Tucker wakes up. I suggest you go and eat something, and maybe lie down for a while. I'll contact you immediately if there are any changes."

Archer knew he would neither be eating nor sleeping anytime soon, but all the same he realized it would do no good, staying here breathing down Phlox' neck while the doctor was trying to find a way to help Trip and Malcolm.

He was already on his way to the door, when something came to his mind and he stopped in his tracks, looking back at Phlox once again.

"If you find out anything about those substances, doc, then please notify me immediately."

Phlox nodded. "Of course, Captain."

The doors slid shut behind him, and Archer headed down the corridor towards the turbolift. His determination to find out what exactly had happened had even grown during his short visit to sickbay, and Archer knew he had to find the people who had done this. Two of his officers had been tortured, had almost died, and Archer had no intention of letting whoever was responsible for this get away with it. Pressing the panel to call the turbolift, Archer decided to pay another visit to the bridge. Maybe T'Pol had been able to find out something new in the meantime.

-###-

At a distance, there was a noise, a faint but persistent beeping that penetrated the silence around him, bringing his reluctant mind slowly back to consciousness. The first thing Trip noted was that he was warm again, warm and actually comfortable. The pain was gone.

When he opened his eyes, there was a sudden onslaught of bright light and he blinked, turning his head away. After a moment his eyes adjusted to the light, and around him things gradually began to take shape. He seemed to be somewhere he knew, surrounded by some kind of equipment whose small lights flashed steadily, each blink accompanied by a faint bleep. Sickbay. He was lying in a bed in sickbay, the white curtains surrounding the bed hiding the rest of the room from view.

Trip blinked again, trying to drive away the haze that was clouding his vision, but still, he found he somehow couldn't seem to focus. He felt drowsy, his brain refusing to formulate clear thoughts, and as Trip struggled to concentrate on the fleeting images and incoherent fragments of memories that were flitting through his mind, a dull pain began to throb behind his forehead, and he gave up, simply letting his thoughts drift. Distantly, he was aware of an uneasy feeling at the very edge of his consciousness, but he couldn't seem to focus on it as he couldn't seem to focus on anything right now, and so he simply let it go.

Closing his eyes again, Trip savoured the feeling of warmth and not being in pain, something he didn't seem to have felt in a very long time. Just as he was about to slip back into slumber, there was the sound of footsteps coming nearer and a rustling of the curtains being drawn aside. Trip's eyes flew open and he tensed, feeling a sudden surge of terror as he saw a dark shape bending down over him. They'd come back-

"Commander?"

He heard a soft tone, not the harsh raspy voice he'd been expecting, and slowly realized that this was not one of them. It was someone he knew.

"Commander Tucker? Can you hear me?"

Trip blinked a few times, and the face came into focus. Phlox was looking down at him, his eyebrows drawn together in a worried frown. Trip opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out, and he cleared his throat, trying again.

"Doc... what... "

Now Phlox' lips curved up in a smile, and he took a quick glance at the monitor above Trip's head, nodding in satisfaction.

"It's alright, Commander. You're in sickbay." Phlox paused, looking at the monitor again. "How do you feel?"

Trip shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "What happened?"

The doctor was still smiling at him, speaking in a calming tone of voice as he answered. "We found you just in time down on that planet. You had us quite scared there for a few hours, but I'm sure you're going to be just fine. The Captain will be glad to hear you're awake, he's been quite worried about you. If you'll excuse me for a moment, Commander..."

Pushing the white curtains back into place, Phlox walked off. Trip stared after him, the meaning of what he'd just heard slowly sinking in. They'd been down on that planet. And they'd found them. Enterprise had found them. They were safe, both he and Malcolm...

Malcolm. Trip's memories fell back into place and the one thing he'd known all along but hadn't been able to grasp until now came back to his mind. Malcolm was dead. He'd died down there in the snow while Trip had been holding him, down there in that cold place and the darkness...

Trip closed his eyes, trying to make the memory go away, at the same time feeling an overwhelming despair rise within him. They'd come too late, too late to save them both, and now Malcolm was dead, for he, Trip, hadn't been able to keep him alive long enough. He'd tried, he'd really tried to keep him warm, to carry him as far as he could, but in the end he simply hadn't had the strength left to keep going. And so Malcolm had died and he was here, back on Enterprise, safe-

Swallowing hard past the lump in his throat, Trip felt something hot rise behind his closed eyelids. He knew that there was no way to escape this, but at the moment he felt he just couldn't stand these thoughts. He wished he could go back to sleep, simply think of nothing, and at the same time knew it would still be there when he woke up. Malcolm would still be dead.

Hearing the curtain being pushed aside again, Trip opened his eyes. There was Jon, a smile spreading on his face as he came up beside the bed.

"Trip! How're you feeling?"

Trip opened his mouth, but couldn't speak. His throat constricted, and he felt something warm running down his temples as he blinked to clear his vision.

"Jon..."

Archer's face changed, taking on a worried expression, and Trip felt Jon's hand close around his as Archer stepped up closer.

"You okay, Trip?" he asked, and Trip turned his head away, not able to look at Jon at the moment. He felt a sob rise in his throat and gritted his teeth. He didn't want to cry now.

"Is he alright, Phlox?" he heard Archer's voice say. Closing his eyes shut, he tried to hold back the tears that were burning there. Phlox' voice sounded subdued as he answered.

"He's probably still a little confused, Captain, due to the medications I gave him. He seemed to be quite out of it when I talked to him before, so we might just have to give him a little time."

Trip felt Archer give his hand a slight squeeze.

"Hey, Trip, it's okay," he heard him say quietly. "Come on, look at me. Everything's okay now."

Slowly, Trip turned his head, not caring anymore if Archer saw his tears.

"I tried," he said, hearing his voice crack as he spoke. "I tried, but it was so cold, and I just couldn't go on... I'm so sorry..."

Archer's eyebrows drew together. "What did you try?"

"Malcolm... I tried to get him out of the cold, but there was just nowhere to go to, and then I fell..."

Archer frowned down at him, but then something like understanding dawned on his face. Squeezing his hand even tighter, he put a hand to Trip's shoulder.

"Trip," he said gently, "Malcolm's not dead. Do you hear me? He's alive."

Trip stared at him for a moment, then shook his head. "He wasn't... he wasn't breathin' anymore. I couldn't feel a pulse."

"Dr. Phlox found some kind of drug in his blood that has been impairing his vital functions. At first we couldn't even pick up his bio sign on the scanners, but he's alive. Malcolm's not dead."

Trip tried to grasp the meaning of what Archer was telling him, but found that he somehow just couldn't. It was simply too much, and even though he knew that he was supposed to be relieved now, happy or ecstatic or anything, he only felt fresh tears forming in his eyes and turned his head away again. Archer had said Malcolm wasn't dead, but how could that be? Malcolm had died down there, he had stopped breathing, and even if what Archer was saying were true, then why hadn't Trip noticed? He didn't know what to think or feel anymore, and the only thing he really wanted to do now was simply close his eyes and make it all go away.

A warm hand settled on his shoulder, shaking him gently.

"Trip, do you understand what I'm saying?" Archer was beginning to sound worried. Trip kept his eyes closed and concentrated only on taking slow and even breaths, trying to get a grip on himself.

Malcolm's not dead, he told himself, he's not. Jon said so, and why would he lie to me? We made it back to Enterprise, both of us. He's not dead.

"Captain," he heard Phlox' voice, "I believe Commander Tucker is not quite up to this kind of conversation yet. He probably doesn't understand what you're saying, and I don't think it's advisable to upset him any further. Your questions will have to wait."

"I need to talk to him, doctor," Archer said. "I need to know what happened. Can't you give him something..."

Before Phlox could answer, Trip turned his head, opening his eyes again. There were still all those confused thoughts and feelings swirling through his mind, but at least he was finally able to keep these stupid tears at bay.

"No," he said, "that's okay. I'm fine, don't need any more medications." He swallowed, looking up at Archer. "So... so Malcolm's really not dead?"

"No, he's not." Smiling, Archer took a seat on the edge of the bed. "He's in the IC Unit at the moment. Dr. Phlox is taking good care of him." He paused, studying Trip's face, and some of the worry returned into his voice as he continued. "So... how do you feel?"

Trip made a faint attempt at a shrug. "Okay. A little tired, I guess."

Jon's expression told him that the Captain didn't believe him for one second, but all the same Archer nodded, giving him a slight smile.

"That's good to hear. It's really good to have you back, Trip. You had me quite worried there for a few hours."

"It's good to be back," Trip said quietly. For a while there was silence, only interrupted by the beeping of the monitors. Finally Archer spoke up again.

"Trip," he began hesitantly, "I know I should wait asking you this, but... I need to know what happened."

Trip looked away again. He'd known Jon would ask this, but he didn't really know what to tell him. There were all those fragmented memories in his mind, voices and images, but they were strangely blurred, like scenes of a dream you recall clearly only for a few seconds after waking up, and which then quickly fade away, leaving but a faint impression of what was in your mind only a few moments ago.

"There... there were these people... I don't know who they were. They were not V'nerans. They... I don't exactly remember. Suddenly we woke up in that place, that cell..."

He trailed off. Archer shifted on the edge of the bed. "What happened then?"

"They..." Trip hesitated. He knew that if he was to go on, all the blurred fragments would merge together again, bringing back the exact memories of what had happened, and he was afraid of that. Still, Jon had to know.

"They wanted to perform some kind of tests on us. They... they said they needed our cooperation..."

Again, he couldn't go on. He remembered now, he remembered how he'd felt when the guard had taken him back to the cell, when he'd told him that Malcolm had decided to cooperate. But there were no words to express these kind of things, and so he simply shrugged, shaking his head a little. Archer put a hand on his arm.

"It's alright, Trip. We don't have to talk about that now. Do you remember how you came to be out there?"

Trip nodded slowly. "At some point Malcolm... he decided to cooperate. When... when they were done, that guard... he said he had orders to kill us, but wouldn't do it. He just left us out there, tellin' us to try and reach that town..."

Archer frowned. "What town?"

"He said there was..." Trip broke off, suddenly feeling very tired. He met Archer's eyes. "There is no town, is there?"

Archer shook his head. "No. T'Pol's still scanning the area, but I know for sure that you were not near any town or settlement." He paused. "This place... do you know if it was underground or something?"

"No..." Trip frowned. "I think it was some kinda building... it was pretty big. There were these endless corridors with all those doors... but it wasn't underground. I saw it when that guard kicked us out."

"Are you sure?" Archer asked, but when he opened his mouth to continue, the curtain was being pulled aside again, and Phlox appeared, a disapproving frown on his face.

"Captain," he said reproachfully. "I told you Commander Tucker isn't up to your questions yet. I must insist that you go now. The Commander needs to rest."

"Of course." Archer got up, patting Trip on the shoulder. "Well then, see you later, old buddy. I'll be back soon."

Trip nodded, watching drowsily as Phlox put a hand to Jon's arm, all but dragging him away from the bed. The curtain slid back into place. Shifting slightly, Trip let out a small sigh. He'd never felt so tired in his whole life, and while talking to Archer had brought up quite a few memories he'd rather have kept suppressed a while longer, his mind simply refused to deal with them now. He knew that Malcolm wasn't dead, and that was enough for the moment. The rest would have to wait.

Closing his eyes, Trip allowed his mind to slip back into oblivion, and the last thing he knew before he fell asleep was the reassuring beeping sound of the instruments that told him he was in sickbay, on Enterprise. Safe.

-###-

"Really Captain." Phlox still sounded rather disgruntled. "You could have shown a little more consideration for Commander Tucker's condition. He just woke up from a major operation, after all."

"I know that." Archer felt slightly guilty at the doctor's words, but at the same time knew he'd had no other choice than bothering Trip with these questions. He had to find out what had happened. Following Phlox over to the counter, he threw a glance at the computer screen that displayed the current status of the analysis Phlox was running of those substances he'd found in Malcolm's blood.

"Anything new?" he asked. Phlox pressed a few buttons, frowning at the screen.

"The analysis is almost completed. I'm quite confident that after a few more scans I'll be able to begin filtering Lieutenant Reed's blood."

Archer bit his lip. "So he's going to make it?"

Phlox took another look at the screen. "The odds are definitely in his favour. These are chemical toxins, not very complex in their structure, so they should be quite easy to extract. With a little luck, I'll have completed the procedure in less than forty-eight hours."

Archer let out a sigh of relief. This was better news than he had expected, and he felt the worry that was weighing down on his mind lessen a bit. At least he knew now that both of his officers were going to make it.

"Well doc," he said, "I'll be on the bridge. Please call me if there are any changes."

Phlox nodded absentmindedly, his attention focused on the screen again. Taking one last glance at Trip's bio bed that was now hidden from view by the white curtains, Archer turned to go.

As he headed down the corridor towards the turbolift, he thought about the things Trip had told him. There was something fishy about the whole business. Who were these mysterious "people", as Trip had called them, and what kind of tests had they been performing? Remembering the look of fear on Trip's face when he'd mentioned those tests, Archer felt a sudden surge of anger. No matter who those people were, if he ever got hold of them they would need a damn good reason for him not to just blast them off the surface of that planet. Or wherever they were hiding.

Pushing these thoughts away, Archer was just reaching out for the panel beside the turbolift door when the bulkhead slid aside.

"Captain." T'Pol stepped out onto the corridor, an eyebrow raised. "I was just on my way to see you about the results of my scans."

"Are you done?" Archer raised an eyebrow, matching T'Pol's expression. "Why didn't you call me over the comm?"

T'Pol clasped her hands behind her back. "I... thought I'd also pay a visit to sickbay to inform myself about the condition of Lieutenant Reed and Commander Tucker."

Archer felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. "Ah. Well, they are not in immediate danger anymore, and Phlox informed me that he'll probably be able to extract those toxins from Malcolm's blood. I just talked to Trip, and he told me a little about what happened. He said something about a place where they were being held..."

"What kind of place?" T'Pol looked at him with a rather strange expression on her face. Archer frowned.

"Trip mentioned a building of some kind, a pretty big building, he said, not too far from where we found them."

The strange expression on T'Pol's face didn't change. "Captain, you might want to take a look at these scan results."

She handed him a padd and Archer scrolled through the data displayed on the small screen. His eyebrows drew together and he looked up at T'Pol again, shaking his head.

"This can't be," he said. "They must be using some kind of cloaking device or something..."

T'Pol took the padd back from him. "No, Captain. I have thoroughly scanned the area above and under the surface. In a plain terrain like this, any kind of power-driven device would cause energetic fluctuations which would show on the scanners." She raised an eyebrow. "There is nothing down there, Captain."

TBC...

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