Hi guys. Thanks for the reviews. Keep 'em coming!!

Have you figured it out yet?

If not, you'll have to wait a little bit longer. (I know. I'm really, really evil.) [hehehehe]
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"Human? How is that possible?" Archer demanded.

Trip piped up from his station. "I thought we were the first humans out this far"

"Run the scans again" Archer ordered T'Pol.

"I have run them four times sir." T'Pol answered. She seemed exasperated, if that was possible. "The readings are not going to change. There are 48 humans on that vessel"

Malcolm, the voice of reason, said "Maybe the scanners are off line, or malfunctioning."

T'Pol turned her cool gaze to Malcolm.

"I ran a diagnostic two days ago, Lieutenant." She informed him. "They are fully functional"

"Sir" Hoshi interrupted. "We are within hailing distance."

"Open a channel" Archer ordered.

Hoshi glanced at her controls. "Audio only" she informed him as she hailed the ship. Archer nodded in acknowledgement as the channel opened.

"Unknown vessel" he began. "This is Captain Jonathan Archer of the Earth Starship Enterprise. We've picked up your distress call. Can we be of assistance?"

Silence greeted them for a moment, a silence only broken by static.

Suddenly, a male voice broke the silence over the comm...

"Did you say Jonathan Archer?"

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Lisa ran the corridors in search of Alex. She wasn't in her quarters, she wasn't in engineering and she wasn't answering the comm. With a sudden burst of inspiration, she ran for the mess hall. At first glance, it looked empty, but as Lisa turned to go, she noticed a figure at a table in the corner. Alex had her head pillowed on her arms, fast asleep. A half-eaten sandwich and now cold cup of coffee sat on the table beside her sleeping form. Lisa moved these to another table, before gently shaking Alex awake.

"Hey come on. Wake up. You're missing all the excitement."

Alex murmured something in her sleep. Her husband's name, Lisa realized with a feeling of sympathy. 'Poor kid', she thought. She shook Alex harder.

"Alex. Wake up!"

Alex stirred and raised her head. She blinked until the face in front of her came into focus. Lisa. What was Lisa doing in her room? She looked around, and realized that she was in the mess hall. She groaned.

"Sorry. I fell asleep."

"Not really surprising." Lisa admonished. "You have been working for three days straight trying to fix that engine."

Silently, Alex cursed. The Engine!

"I have to get back to work. I still haven't found the source of the energy surge. I'm also working on re-configuring one of the food replicaters to manufacture machine parts. I don't even know if it can be done." She told Lisa, and stood up, only to stagger a little, and have her friend gently push her back down into her seat.

"You are not going anywhere, except your quarters. You need to rest." Concern marred Lisa's features. "You're going to collapse if you keep this up." She momentarily forgot the news in her worry for the friend she had begun to regard as her little sister.

"No. I have to go. That engine won't fix itself." Alex's bones creaked as she straightened up. "We are not going anywhere until its up and running."

"Agh! I forgot! The beacon." Lisa began to practically bounce with excitement. "We've received an answer."

Alex's head jerked up at this thought.

"A ship answered our distress call? Will they help us?"

"More than that." Lisa smiled. "The ship in question is the Earth Starship Enterprise, captained by none other than Jonathan Archer himself."

Alex didn't move for a moment. "Enterprise? Jonathan Archer? OH MY GOD!!!"

She began to jump up and down. "WE'RE GOING HOME" she yelled. Lisa and Alex hugged, tears streaming down their faces. "We're going home."

Wiping away her tears, Lisa continued to talk about what had happened while Alex had been sleeping.

"When the hail came through, everyone was stunned. Nick was the first one to speak. It turns out that Enterprise is the pride of Starfleet. It's the fastest, most advanced ship that Earth has. It's out here on a mission of exploration. We are docking with them now, and Nick Jenson and Matt Carter are headed over there to meet with them. With any luck, Enterprise can bring us home in a few months."

"Enterprise? When I was taken, it was just in the planning stages. Wait. Jonathan Archer. It wouldn't be Henry Archer's son, would he?"

"I think so. Why? Did you know him?"

"I never met Jonathan Archer, but I had the opportunity to work with his father on one occasion. He was amazingly smart and very patient with all my questions. Jonathan is a Captain? When I left, he was a Lieutenant. Mr. Archer talked almost non-stop about the Warp engines. The rest of the time he spoke about his son, in Starfleet. He must be so proud."

"I can't believe it. Home."

Tears formed in Alex's eyes again at the thought.

"We're going home."

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Archer stood at the airlock as he waited for Jenson to come aboard. T'Pol flanked him, and behind him, stood Dr. Phlox complete with gene scanner. Standing innocuously in the background were four security personnel, each toting phase pistols set to stun... 'Just in case'. Archer hadn't thought them necessary, but T'Pol had insisted.

Archer was intrigued. Why were they so far from Earth? T'Pol had searched the Starfleet database, and had found a Commander Nicholas Jenson. He had vanished without a trace 9 years ago. This should turn out to be an interesting day. He was brought out of his musings by the airlock door whirring open.

On the other side stood two men. One, (Jenson, Archer presumed), was mid thirties with dark blond hair and brown eyes. He was of medium build, and stood a little straighter than the other man, who was taller, but was too relaxed to be Starfleet. One thing Starfleet taught was respect for superior officers. If Carter had been Starfleet, his back would have been ram-rod straight when faced with a captain, as Jenson's was.

"Gentlemen." Archer stepped forward. "Welcome to Enterprise."

A huge grin spread across Jenson's face. "Believe me sir; we are happy to be here"

"Let me introduce my First Officer Sub-Commander T'Pol, and my chief Medical Officer, Dr. Phlox."

Surprise registered on Jenson's features when he saw T'Pol. She noted this, and raised an eyebrow inquiringly. A light blush stole over Nick's features in response.

"Forgive me." He asked. "It's just that the last time I was on Earth, there were no Vulcan's in Starfleet."

"It is still not common." She told him. "I am the first Vulcan to actively serve in Starfleet."

While this was going on, the security team had taken out scanners and could detect no trace of weaponry on either of the two men. They informed Archer of this, and were dismissed. They left, reluctantly. Archer knew they were dying to know what was going on. So was he. But, he would make a ship-wide announcement soon enough. They would just have to wait.

"If you'll come with me" Archer suggested, taking pity on Jenson who was still suffering under T'Pol's scrutiny. "We have a lot to talk about." Having been pinned down by T'Pol's stare himself in the past, he well understood the look of relief that passed over Jenson's features.

As he led the way to the interview room, he was aware that Jenson and Carter were looking around them in awe. He smiled at that. He was damn proud of Enterprise, and his crew. Speaking of, he noticed several crew members casting curious looks their way as they made their way through the ship.

They soon reached what Trip had dubbed 'The Interrogation Room'. The room was sparsely furnished, with only a table and some chairs. Jenson and Carter sat at one side - T'Pol at the other. He took his place beside her. Dr. Phlox chose a seat at the end of the table. Perhaps he thought that he would have to act as a buffer zone, and so chose a neutral position.

Nick was in awe. This ship! It surpassed anything he had ever imagined. He couldn't resist asking Archer...

"How fast is she, Sir?"

He could see that Archer was amused by his awe and eagerness, and smiled. When he answered, "Warp Five", Nick could hear the pride that was evident in Archer's voice.

"Warp Five!?! Wow. Crew compliment?"

"Over eighty. Mostly human, with the exception of the Sub Commander, and Dr. Phlox here. Speaking of... I mean no offence Commander. Mr. Carter. But I asked Phlox to join us because I wish for him to run a scan to ensure that you are really human."

Jenson and Carter looked surprised, but complied as Phlox ran the scanner over their bodies, and took a pin-prick sample of their blood.

"It's just that we have encountered species that can disguise themselves at will, and believe me, they are not the type you can turn your back on."

After a few minutes, Phlox told Archer "They are who they say they are, Sir. They are human."

Archer looked relieved. "Well, now that we have that out of the way..." he let the sentence trail off.

"What are we doing out here so far from Earth?"

"Exactly."

"Well, put simply" Carter spoke for the first time, "we were abducted by aliens."

Archer and T'Pol exchanged looks of surprise, and Nick resisted the urge to cringe. Matt was not known for his tact. Before Matt could speak again, and further embarrass him in front of his superiors, Nick began to talk. "It's not as crazy as it sounds, I assure you. I was a commander on the Prometheus. It was a scout ship. One day, I finished my shift, and went to bed in my quarters. I woke up, lying on a bed... elsewhere."

Matt interrupted at this point. "The same happened to me. I was in my girlfriend's house after a date, and I fell asleep on her sofa. The next thing I know, I'm on a bed in what looked like a huge hospital room. I'm surrounded by people I don't know, who were in the same situation. Then, there were these orange skinned aliens leaning over me, telling me not to worry. I don't mind telling you, I freaked out."

"I think we all did." Nick continued. "Once we had calmed down, they explained everything though. Their species are called the Barcarni. For decades, their planet had been under military rule. It was unbelievably strict. Ordinary citizens lived in fear of the police and government, as people who voiced concerns had a habit of 'disappearing'. Corruption was widespread. The government was brutal, and restrictive, and controlled everything... schools, universities, places if business, medical centres. You name it."

By this time, all occupants of the room were enthralled, even T'Pol. "Barcarni?" she thought. "I must run a search for them in the Vulcan Science Database."

Nick continued. "Then, seven years ago, there was an uprising, followed by a bloody civil war. The government was eventually overthrown, for the good of the planet. They started re-building their government, and re- structuring it. They also began looking into the records of the intelligence service. It seems that they did a little more than collect data. They originally chose humans, because they looked similar to their species. Over the space of two years, they abducted a total of 52 humans from Earth and Earth colonies. We were put into cryogenic stasis, for further study." His mouth twisted at the word 'study'. "We were found and taken out of stasis 15 months ago." he continued.

Matt spoke then. "They had abducted us to study the effects of bio-weapons on our immune systems. Thankfully though, our internal organs and nervous systems are very different to theirs, so we were useless. We were scheduled for termination when the up-rising occurred."

Dr. Phlox was curious. "Why were you and the others on your ship taken, specifically Commander?"

"I don't know" Jenson answered honestly. "Before we left Barcarnia, they gave us our files. They had found them in the computer system of the old intelligence agency. Unfortunately, they are all in Barcarnian, and as of yet, we haven't been able to translate them."

"I'll get Hoshi to look at them. Ensign Sato has a knack for languages." he explained.

"We'd appreciate that, Captain" said Matt. "I for one want to know what was going on when they picked me."

"The best we can do is guess. Sometimes, it was obvious. Jessie Hollande was eight months pregnant. They could have studied the effects of biological agents on infants. Jim Dwyer is 82. A few people stick out like that. But, we think that most of us were taken because we were relatively young and healthy."

"And perfect for experimentation" Matt muttered bitterly.

"Unfortunately, that seems to be true."

"Are there any more Starfleet personnel on your ship?" asked Archer.

"Yes. There are eight other members of Starfleet on the ship. Myself, four lieutenants, two ensigns and two crewmen. We look after the ship systems. We are also training some of the others who have an interest in engineering, etc. It's not a Starfleet vessel. We don't control the ship. We just take care of it and the crew. It's our job."

"You need a little help, though. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here. Your engine is off-line."

Nick's face darkened for a moment. "That was an accident" he informed them.

Archer gave him a quizzical look, but said nothing. T'Pol, who had been relatively silent for a time, chose now to speak.

"These Barcarni are obviously an advanced race. They have Warp technology; otherwise they wouldn't have been able to bring you back to their world so soon. Why is it that you are in so old and outdated a ship?"

"The struggle for the planet was a long and bloody one. Many people died and many ships were destroyed. They also live in a hostile area of space. Every available ship is out patrolling the borders. We woke up 15 months ago. We spent six months on the planet. We got to know the people. Don't get me wrong, they are wonderful people, and they feel so guilty about what has happened to us, even though it wasn't their fault. The leaders of the old regime either were killed in the civil war, or fled the planet. They couldn't do enough for us once they learned what had happened. They woke us up as soon as they learned how. That ship" he gestured out the window, "was the first available one that they could find for us. They knew we wanted very badly to get home. They gave us a choice. We could accept that ship, and begin the long journey home. It has limited warp capability. Very limited. It doesn't work half the time. We were lucky though. We have an engineer on board. Alex is Starfleet too, so she knows her stuff. We were also welcome to stay on Barcarnia if we wished, and wait for another ship. But the question was when we would get it. There was no guarantee that we would get one in the next five years, ten even. We voted almost unanimously to accept the ship. We renamed her Hope, and launched nine months ago."

"And you've been trying to get home ever since?"

"Yes"

T'Pol spoke up. "You said that 52 humans were abducted. I only detect 48 life signs on the Hope."

"Five people decided to stay on Barcarnia. Jim and Andy were in their 80's and felt that they would be happier on there, as it will take years to reach Earth in that ship. They wanted to live out their days in peace, not in a ship in space. Three people, Melissa, David and Richard, were younger, but had no families on Earth. They decided to stay to try to build a new life on Barcarnia. They were made most welcome. They are alright."

"But, that still doesn't add up."

"Do you remember I told you Jessie Hollande was eight months pregnant? Well, almost immediately after she woke up, she went into labour. She has a little boy, Mikey. They are on the Hope also. We are like a family sir." Nick informed Archer.

Archer understood. He knew his crew felt the same way. They were a family. He sat back in his chair. This seemed incredible, but the evidence was there before his eyes.

Archer stood. "Alright. You two, head back to your ship. Tell your crew what happened. We'll also need a crew manifest, with next of kin references. I'm sure Starfleet will want to help inform your families. If you give the files that the Barcarni gave you to Ensign Hoshi Sato, she will get to work translating them. I'll inform Starfleet Command. Dr.Phlox, I want you to prepare a schedule. I want everybody on that ship to have a check-up... make sure they are all ok. T'Pol, you inform the crew as to what has happened, and speak to Hoshi. Oh, Commander. Assemble your Starfleet crew. I wish to meet them."

"Wait." Matt interrupted. "Why do the Starfleet crew get preferential treatment?"

"They're not. They need to be briefed so I can report to Starfleet Command."

"Understood Sir" Nick added. The look he gave Matt brooked no argument. Matt sighed and left the room. Nick seemed on the verge of doing the same, but he hesitated and turned back to face the Captain.

"Sir?"

"Yes Commander."

"What date is it?"

"June 29th, 2154."

A shadow passed over Nick's face. "Nine years." he murmured to himself. "Thank you Sir." he added louder. Straightening his shoulders, he left the room.

T'Pol and Phlox left also to carry out their orders. Jon sat back down.

He had been right. It was turning out to be a very interesting day.

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I hope that clears up a few things. Sorry there wasn't much advancement on Alex's story line, but I needed to do a background.

The next chapter will develop her story more.

[Oooo. Can't you just feel the tension building? : - ) ]