Title: Alone In Darkness

Authors: Sita/T'eyla

Rating: PG-13

AN: Thanks to Aeryn Lavanthia (thank you!), Les1 (sorry about all those cliffies and short chapters; this one's going to be a bit longer), Katt (we know you're not online at the moment, see you next chapter), WhtevrHpnd2Mary (so that was what you were talking about... we're very much looking forward to your story -evil laugh-), jazri (sorry, we didn't mean to gross anyone out... ;) ), Dacker Spaniel (don't cry! We didn't mean to make anyone cry! ...well, maybe just a little ;) ), shewolff (we didn't mean to be cruel! Well... did we? DID WE??), Luna (you're right... poor boys... and thanks for the compliment!), Keran (yeah, help is on their way... but is it too late???!! ;) ), Becca (hi there! You're gonna stick with the story, aren't you? ;) ), stagemanager (WHAT??! YOU DON'T LIKE THE GREAT MALCOLM?!!! ...well, not everybody can love him. (T'eyla's feeling better now) ;) ), KaliedescopeCat (Poor Trip! He's not a bastard! It's not his fault! (Sita's feeling better now) ;) ), CordeliaBlack (still sitting on the edge of the seat? ;) Well, here's the update!), Phaser Lady (more soon you get of us... but will Enterprise be in time??? Who knows... ;) ), skully (laughed our heads off at your review... keep 'em coming ;) ), Exploded Pen (Find him? Find THEM! THEM!! There's two of them, okay? There's Trip as well, dammit!! - sorry. It's just that half of this writing team can't understand why everybody's only worried about Malcolm and- T'eyla: "Get away from the keyboard, what are you doing?!" -short fight follows-), PJ in NH (hope we didn't leave you hanging for too long...), Spike26 (this AN is getting way too long again... what else is new...), Gabi2305 (Archer hat von vorn herein eine Daseinsberechtigung... wer sonst sollte schließlich Porthos füttern? ;) ), Maraschino (will they find him - sorry, them - in time? Will they? Will they?? Read on an find out... :) ) and The Libran Iniquity (would you stoop so low as to resort to blackmail? No, you wouldn't...would you? Here's the next chapter!!) for reviewing. Sorry about these freaky ANs... here's the story :). Review!!

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Chapter 8

A feeling of déjà vu took hold of Archer as the shuttlepod broke through the last layer of clouds and entered the dark skies above V'nera's snow-covered surface. Again, it was Mayweather, T'Pol, Phlox and him setting out to find Trip and Malcolm, and again it was night on the northern hemisphere of the planet, snow lashing against the window as the shuttle approached the surface on its descending course. No one had spoken since the shuttle had left the launch bay, and there wasn't much to say, either. The events of the last hour were still present in everybody's mind, and Archer still had trouble comprehending what had happened.

When he'd given the order to destroy that generator T'Pol had scanned inside the building, he'd been sceptical about the outcome. Very sceptical, to say the truth. Not only was he endangering Trip and Malcolm by blasting away half of that complex, but it was also very unsure whether destroying the generator would have any effect on the aliens' space and time cloaking field. But there had been no other options, and so Archer had watched as T'Pol calmly pressed the button that sent the phaser beam down on its way to the surface. The scanners had picked up an explosion, the force of the blast causing the field to break down for a few seconds, and T'Pol had fired again. This time, the distortions had vanished, the field seemingly disappearing into thin air, and T'Pol had looked up, announcing that the generator was down. The real surprise, however, had come a few seconds later when they'd taken a full internal scan of what was left of the building. Again, there was nothing. Nothing but two human bio signs in different parts of the building, and a few energy readings, probably the internal power sources of the complex. None of T'Pol's scans had revealed any alien bio sign, neither in any part of the building nor in the surrounding area.

But there hadn't been time to conduct more thorough scans, nor had there been time to wonder what the hell was going on down there. T'Pol's instruments showed clearly that Trip and Malcolm had survived the explosion, and the only thing that mattered to Archer now was getting his officers out of there.

As Travis piloted the shuttle through the snowstorm, the silence continued, and once more Archer glanced at the shuttle's scanners to see if those two bio signs were still there. He couldn't believe that this would go so smoothly, without a fight, without them having to take down heavily armed alien forces. That there should be nothing down there. The relief he felt at finding both his officers still alive mingled with concern. He hadn't really known what to expect when he'd ordered Travis to set course to V'nera four days ago, but it had certainly not been this. He was glad that they had found Trip and Malcolm so easily, but after all those worried hours, after all those sleepless nights something about the whole thing didn't smell right to him. Not at all.

"Initiating landing procedure," Travis voice came from the helm, breaking the silence. Archer looked out the window again, but he couldn't make out much in the stormy night outside.

"How far are we from the building, T'Pol?" he asked, and the Vulcan took a look at the displays.

"I have chosen a landing site approximately sixty feet away from the entrance of the building."

Archer nodded curtly. "Take us down, Travis."

A slight tremor ran through the shuttle as it made contact with the ground. Archer got a flashlight out of one of the storage compartments, once more experiencing that feeling of déjà vu as T'Pol and Phlox followed him to the hatch.

"Travis, you're coming with us," he said. "Keep the systems online."

"Aye, sir." Travis got up from the pilot seat, his hand automatically checking the phaser that was clipped to his waist.

Outside it was even colder than last time, and the blizzard made it impossible to see farther than a twenty feet. Travis, who'd been the last to climb out of the shuttle, had to use all his strength to close the hatch against the force of the blowing wind.

"This way," T'Pol said, setting off in a quick pace, and Archer and the rest had to hurry to keep up with her. Blinking into the snowstorm, Archer thought he could make out a huge dark shape against the white of the snow swirling through the air.

"T'Pol!" he said, grabbing her arm, and she nodded curtly.

"I see it."

Drawing his own weapon, Archer threw Phlox and Mayweather a quick glance over his shoulder. "Keep your phasers ready."

In the meantime they were close enough for Archer to make out the clear shapes of the gigantic building. T'Pol consulted her scanner again, then pointed into the dark.

"The entrance is over there."

Archer tightened his grip on the phaser. "Are you sure there are no other bio signs?"

"Positive." T'Pol took another glance at the display. "Only two humans." She looked up at Archer. "One of them is in a room quite close to the entrance."

Up close the building seemed to have something sinister about it. As they approached the door, Archer's heart sank. In the wall beside the bulkhead there were no controls, not even a panel that looked like it would open the door, and the pale red material looked quite impenetrable. Archer turned to T'Pol. "How thick is it?"

"About seven centimeters," she answered. "We should be able to cut through it."

Archer raised his phase pistol, changing it to the highest setting. "Stand back."

A red beam shot out of the phaser's muzzle, cutting a straight line from top to bottom in the middle of the bulkhead. When the smoke had cleared, T'Pol stepped forward, latched her fingers in the gap Archer had created, and pushed the door apart. Feeling his heart thumping in his chest, Archer pointed his flashlight at the opening, illuminating a dark spacious corridor behind it.

"Let's go," he said, turning sideways to step through the narrow gap. Instinctively, he raised his phaser, letting his eyes wander over the shadowy hallway. "Power seems to be down," he said to T'Pol who'd followed him into the building and was now checking her scanner again.

"In this part of the complex it is," she said, recalibrating the scanner's settings. "The life sign is three hundred feet ahead, in this direction, Captain."

Archer motioned for her to lead the way, then threw a glance over his shoulder at Phlox and Mayweather, who were looking around quite apprehensively.

"Captain..." Travis said. "I can't believe there's no one in here. Couldn't... couldn't they be cloaking their bio signs or something?"

Archer shook his head. "The building was cloaked. There was no need for them to shield themselves before we destroyed the generator."

"That corridor, Captain," T'Pol interrupted, pointing at an even broader hallway branching off to the right. As they turned around the corner, Archer stopped for a split-second, almost startling at the enormous dimensions of the building. The corridor they were in now was so long they couldn't even make out the end, and you could easily have flown a shuttle along it without grazing the walls or ceiling that was at least a twenty feet from the floor. All along both sides of the hallway there were bulkheads, an endless row of doors stretching in both directions.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, but no one gave him an answer. Holding up her scanner, T'Pol walked over to one of the doors across from them, and Archer hurried to catch up.

"In that room, Captain."

Aiming with his phaser, Archer fired at the panel beside the door. Sparks erupted, and the bulkhead gave a low hiss, then slid open. Quickly stepping through the door, Archer raised the flashlight, but the room seemed to be empty.

"Hello?" he asked, his voice echoing from the walls as he spoke. No answer. Archer let the flashlight's halo wander over the room, and stopped dead when the light fell on a crumpled figure lying against the wall in a corner, a dark substance pooling on the floor around it.

"Malcolm!" Archer crossed the room and dropped to his knees beside him, feeling his hands grow cold at the sight. There was blood everywhere, on the floor, on Malcolm's hands and uniform, and Archer could feel it soak through the cloth of his uniform pants as he knelt beside Reed.

"Doctor!" he called, but Phlox was already there, all but pushing him aside as he got to his knees as well.

"Hold up the flashlight, Captain," the doctor directed, and Archer complied, gripping the flashlight harder as he tried to keep his hand from shaking.

"Phlox?" he urged, but the doctor didn't answer, motioning for T'Pol to come closer.

"Press your hands on his wrists," he said, opening his medkit. "It'll staunch the blood flow."

With swift and skilled movements, Phlox began to apply a pressure bandage on Malcolm's left wrist while T'Pol had her hands clamped over his right one. From the corner of his eyes, Archer saw Travis' worried face.

"What's wrong, doctor?" the ensign asked, watching as Phlox pushed T'Pol's hands aside and began to bandage Reed's other wrist.

"It seems Lieutenant Reed attempted suicide," the doctor said. "His wrists are slit." Finishing his work, Phlox pulled out a hypospray and pressed it against Reed's neck, then looked up at Archer. "Captain, you need to contact the ship. Lieutenant Reed has to be taken to sickbay immediately."

"Can we transport him?" Archer asked, and Phlox closed his medkit, getting up.

"There is a risk to it, but we cannot afford any further delays. He has lost a great amount of blood, and it would take too long to use the shuttle."

Archer nodded, pulling out his communicator. "Archer to Enterprise."

"Go ahead, sir," Hoshi's voice answered.

"We need to make an emergency transport," he said. "Phlox and Lieutenant Reed to beam up. Tell Ensign Cutler to have a med team with a gurney stand by."

"Aye, sir."

Hoshi cut the connection, and Archer waved a hand at T'Pol and Mayweather. "Stand back."

Taking a step backwards, they watched as first Reed, then Phlox disappeared in the sparkle of the transporter beam. When the last glitter of light had dissipated, Archer lowered the flashlight's halo to the puddle of blood and became aware of something lying on the floor next to the spot where Reed had been sitting.

"Shards," T'Pol said, crouching down and picking up one of the blood spattered pieces. "It looks like he used them to inflict these wounds on himself."

"Maybe he didn't do it himself," Archer said, the words coming out a little snappier than he'd intended them to. T'Pol only raised an eyebrow at him, and Archer abruptly turned the flashlight away from the blood, taking a deep breath. His knees felt a little shaky, and he swallowed, trying to concentrate on the matters at hand. They had to find Trip, and they needed to hurry.

"Let's go," Archer said, turning towards the door. Secretly, he was relieved to get out of this cold dark room that smelled of blood and urine and gave the impression of the walls closing in on anybody who stayed in here for too long. Briefly pausing in the doorway, he looked at his science officer. "T'Pol? Which way?"

Without another word, T'Pol brushed past him, her eyes focused on the scanner's display as she strode down the corridor in the opposite direction from where they'd come. Archer and Mayweather both kept their phasers ready as they followed, throwing wary glances over their shoulders as they made their way down the dark hallway. Despite the fact that the complex seemed to be deserted, Archer felt nervousness build in his stomach the longer they stayed in that huge, silent building. Somehow the atmosphere in this gigantic maze of corridors gave him the creeps.

"What would they need such a huge building for?" Travis said, and even though he'd spoken in a low voice, Archer almost jumped. Before he had a chance to answer, however, T'Pol spoke up.

"According to my scans, most of these rooms are empty," she said quietly, not turning around. "They seem to serve no obvious purpose."

Letting his gaze wander over the seemingly endless row of bulkheads along the wall, Archer couldn't suppress a slight shiver running down his spine. This whole business was getting weirder every minute, and Archer felt the need to get out of here as soon as possible. This was not a good place.

"This way, Captain," T'Pol said, indicating a smaller hallway to their left. A minute later she came to a halt in front of a door, and Archer raised his phaser. Again he had no trouble triggering the opening mechanism, and the bulkhead slid aside, revealing darkness behind it. Pointing ahead with the flashlight, Archer entered, and almost immediately his eyes fell on Trip who was sitting curled up against the opposite wall. He didn't raise his head as the halo of light fell upon him, and Archer saw that he had his arms wrapped around his knees and was moving back and forth in a slow, rocking motion.

"Trip?" Archer asked, taking a careful step towards him. At his voice, the man on the floor looked up, blinking in the bright shine of the flashlight. His face was expressionless, but his voice had a dangerous undertone to it as he spoke.

"Stay away from me."

Archer hesitated for a moment, then stepped a bit closer, careful not to make any rash movements. "It's me, Trip," he said. "It's Jon. We've come to get you out of here."

Slowly, Trip pushed himself up against the wall, shaking his head. "Leave me alone. Don't come closer."

"Trip!" Without thinking about it, Archer reached out to put a hand on his friend's shoulder, and the next second Trip whose movements had been slow and awkward up until now lunged forward, shoving his arm away.

"I told you, stay away!"

For a moment, Archer couldn't move, staring at Trip's face which was contorted in fury, his eyes filled with a fear and hatred that seemed to have nothing to do with Archer's presence, coming from somewhere deep inside. He saw Trip's hands reach out for his neck, and from the corner of his eyes noticed a quick movement. A moment later Trip's eyes rolled up, and he slumped forward into Archer's arms, rendered unconscious by the Vulcan nerve pinch. Looking up, Archer saw T'Pol raise an eyebrow at him.

"This will last for thirty minutes at the most," she said calmly. "I advise we bring him back to Enterprise as soon as possible."

Gently lowering Trip onto the floor, Archer pointed the flashlight at his friend's face and cautiously pulled up one lid. "It doesn't seem to be a drug induced state," he said, feeling his chest contract as he looked at Trip's pale, thin face. T'Pol consulted her scanner.

"It isn't," she said. "Except for a slight case of malnutrition the Commander seems to be physically fine."

"Then why did he attack me?" Archer asked. "He seemed ready to kill me."

T'Pol crouched down beside him, putting a hand on his arm. "Captain. We don't know what happened here and what the Commander went through. I strongly suggest we get him back to the ship so Dr. Phlox can help him."

Still looking down at Trip, Archer nodded. "Travis," he said, raising his voice a little, and Mayweather stepped up beside him.

"Sir?"

"You and T'Pol take Trip back to the shuttle and return to Enterprise. Come back for me when you're done." He got up. "I'll take a look around."

Handing her flashlight and scanner to Mayweather, T'Pol bent down to pick up Trip. As she straightened up with the heavy weight in her arms she gave Archer one last glance.

"Do you think it is advisable to stay here alone, Captain?"

Archer pulled out his scanner. "We need to find out more about these people," he said. "I count on you to get Trip safely back to Enterprise."

T'Pol held his gaze for another few seconds, then nodded once. "Follow me, Ensign."

After they'd left, Archer took another look around the room. It was completely empty except for a small jug and a cup standing on the floor, and again he noticed that smell of sweat, excrement and hospital hanging in the air. Picking up the jug, Archer tilted it to one side and saw that it was half-filled with some colourless liquid, presumably water. Examining it more closely, Archer realized that it must have been a container like this Reed had smashed to slit his wrists with the shards. The image of Malcolm sitting in a corner of that cold room, drawing a jagged piece of that smooth grey material across his arm came to his mind, and he pressed his lips together, dropping the jug with a little more force than necessary. It shattered with an ugly, crunching sound, and water splashed onto his boots, soaking the cuff of his uniform pants.

Abruptly, he turned around and left, not looking back as he strode down the corridor. A glance at his scanner confirmed that he was indeed walking in the right direction, approaching the strongest remaining power source in the building. T'Pol had said this was probably some kind of main computer, and even though Archer had a feeling it might be impossible or at least very difficult to access the data, he knew he had to try, anyway. Walking down another dark hallway, Archer kept his eyes firmly fixed on the scanner's display and tried to concentrate on finding his way through that maze. He knew that if he kept thinking about what had happened in the last half-hour, how they'd found Trip and Malcolm, he wouldn't be able to finish this job properly. Usually, Archer wasn't that easily affected by scary, strange-looking places, but this was different. There was something wrong with this place; not with the building itself, but with how it felt. It was like he didn't belong here, as if he was trespassing and the rightly owner of this place was following his every move, watching and waiting.

Nonsense, he told himself, picking up his pace a little as he turned around another corner. This was nothing but an abandoned building with thousands of empty rooms and corridors, strange maybe, but not some kind of haunted house. Archer raised his eyes from the scanner - and stopped in his tracks. Twenty feet further down the hallway where the corridor made a bend there was an odd blue glow in the darkness, the same light he'd seen back in the forest where Trip and Malcolm had disappeared. Swallowing hard, Archer gripped his scanner tighter and forced himself to keep walking. The light didn't move, and when he had reached the bend Archer saw that the hallway he'd entered was illuminated by ceiling lamps emitting that eerie blue shine. Power seems to be working in this part of the building, he thought, checking his scanner to see how far he was from the power source. He raised his eyebrows when he realized that the energy reading was actually three hundred feet ahead behind a door at the end of that corridor. As he walked down the hallway, he switched off the flashlight and tucked it away, pulling out his phaser. After a moment's hesitation he switched its setting to "kill", keeping it ready as he approached the door at the end of the corridor.

He fired at the panel next to it on the wall, and for a moment it looked as if the door wouldn't open. Then, however, it gave a low hiss and a small gap appeared between the two double doors. Pushing them apart, Archer entered the room. It wasn't very big, lit by the same blue light as the hallway outside, and it was empty except for a small terminal standing right in the middle. Stepping up closer, Archer saw that it wasn't even a real terminal, only a grey screen embedded in some kind of blank console. Hesitantly, he reached out to touch the monitor, and as soon as his fingers made contact with the smooth material of the surface, an image sprang to life. As Archer realized what it was that he was seeing, he pressed a hand to his mouth, feeling numb. Half the screen was filled with a full-shot of one of those rooms, the image focused on someone lying on the floor in a corner. Archer didn't recognize the species, but it was clear that the person was in a great deal of pain. The other half of the monitor was filled with some kind of text written in strange, angular letters, and Archer realized that it must be some kind of protocol. As he touched the screen again, the image changed, now showing different letters and the picture of another alien. Again, Archer didn't recognize the race, but it was obvious that this alien also was a prisoner, sitting in one of those empty cells. Another touch brought up another image, and suddenly Archer understood. This was an archive, protocols and recordings of hundreds, maybe thousands of people the owners of this building had abducted and used for their tests. Both disgusted and mesmerized, Archer touched the screen again and again, calling up file after same-looking file, until he came across an image that made him stop in his tracks. This alien was clearly Denobulan, a small woman kneeling on the floor in the middle of a cell, doubled up, her arms wrapped around her midriff. She was crying.

Archer had seen enough. Feeling sick, he turned away from the monitor, fighting the urge to destroy that perverted archive with one well-aimed shot from his phaser. Suddenly, something lying on the floor next to the console caught his attention, and he bent down to pick it up. It looked like a padd, and Archer turned it over in his hands, not sure if he should even try to get it working. He was spared the decision when the padd's display suddenly came to life all by itself, apparently triggered by the touch of his fingers. Staring down at the small screen, Archer felt a hard knot build in his chest. In this file, it was Malcolm in that cell, curled up in a corner of the room, his eyes closed as he leaned against the wall. He was shivering, and there seemed to be a thin film of sweat on his forehead. Tearing his gaze away from the image, Archer's eyes fell on the text beside it, and he almost lost his grip on the padd as he saw that those paragraphs were written in English.

Time 35801

After having received the fifth injection, Subject 1 seems to have lapsed into a state of unawareness. The drugs have the expected effect on his metabolism.

Time 35815

Subject 1 has suffered a minor seizure. Result of sleep deprivation?

Archer noticed that he was closing his fingers around the padd so hard his knuckles turned white, and deliberately loosened his grip. Briefly he closed his eyes, then shoved the padd into one of his uniform pockets, pulling out his communicator. He wasn't staying here for one more minute.

"Archer to Enterprise."

"Go ahead, Captain." Hoshi's voice echoed hollowly in the empty room.

"Is Travis already on his way back down to the surface?"

"No, sir." Hoshi paused for a moment. "He was held up."

"Held up?" Archer asked, frowning. Hoshi's voice sounded deliberately professional as she answered.

"Commander Tucker woke up on the way back, and there were some small problems. The situation is under control now," she added a little too quickly, but Archer decided not to ask further at the moment.

"Tell Travis I won't need him to get me," he said instead. "I'll transport up immediately."

"Everything alright, sir?" Hoshi asked, and Archer had to suppress a grim smile at the irony of the question.

"I'm fine," he said. "But I got some work for you and T'Pol, and it needs to be done as soon as possible."

"Aye, sir. I'll notify the transporter crew. Sato out."

He flipped his communicator shut, and when a few moments later the room dissolved in the glitter of the transporter beam, Archer realized that getting away from this place was the best thing that had happened to him all day.

TBC...

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