Disclaimer: see Chapter 1

A/N: I've changed the formatting for the comm traffic as suggested. I had included those arrow symbols to indicate it but hadn't realized they don't show. Sorry about that! When I'm feeling brave I'll re-format Chapter 1 as well. (Done but absolute nightmare.)

Chapter 2

It was different, mused Trip as he monitored the accumulating data, surveying your own planet. He had always enjoyed exploring new worlds, but this was downright creepy. Familiar yet not quite right.

The shuttlepod soared over a recognizably Earth-like landscape - a rare sight in the Universe. Trip had visited more planets than he had ever dreamed of and with a few notable exceptions they were eerily distinct. Unmistakably alien. But this was Earth. There was no getting away from the matter. It just wasn't the Earth he knew.

His attention was pulled once more back to the image of Florida. This was also an Earth that no Xindi probe had attacked.

He shivered. T'Pol's analysis of their situation was quite incredible but he could come up with no scenarios which were any more believable. But then, given what he had seen in his time on Enterprise, it wasn't safe to assume anything was impossible.

Trip tried to abandon the pondering on what might be and concentrate on the immediate requirements.

Shuttlepod 1 had completed the sweeps over the North American and Eurasian continents. The passes had not shown any signs of activities at high or mid level altitudes. The surface of the planet was well populated. Towns and cities largely corresponded to those with which the Enterprise crew were familiar, that is, if one accepted that the ravages of the last world war had not happened. However, on a detailed level the mismatches were obvious. And there was the fighting they saw. Battlefields.

Trip and Travis debated their next move. Any sensor grid matching the aircraft's era of technology wouldn't see them - or so they thought. But there were too many unanswered questions to be certain of that. They couldn't fly any lower without risking detection.

Trip said thoughtfully, "So - do we return to the ship or land?"

"If I'm careful, I'm reasonably sure I could put down without being spotted from the ground," said Travis, studying the data. If he went in on a steep approach path and they scanned the landing spot to ensure there was nobody nearby, it was possible.

Trip gazed pensively at him. "I don't know, Travis. We don't want to make contact with anyone, at least until we know what we are dealing with." Then he gave a short laugh. "On the other hand, we won't know what we are dealing with unless we land. We've got lots of data but I don't think it's enough."

Travis said, "What about here? Eastern North America? There's cover in this area - low hills, wooded." He pointed to a dark colored part of the map. "We could conceal the shuttlepod here, and survey this area on foot."

Trip made his decision. "Okay - we'll land. We'll keep a constant lookout. Our scanners will pick up anyone well before they see us. If we put down near that town, there, we could observe from a distance... hide in these trees here."

Travis nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

Trip wondered if T'Pol's logic would agree with his. He opened a comm channel to Enterprise. "Tucker to T'Pol."

"Go ahead, Commander," said T'Pol.

"We're going to land."

"That may not be wise."

"We need to see what's going on down there from close up. We need all the information we can get. Our scanners will make sure we stay out of everyone's way. I'm sending the landing co-ordinates now."

There was a pause as T'Pol considered the plan. "Very well. Stay in communication with Enterprise."

"Understood." Trip took a deep breath. "Take us down, then, Travis."

-------------------------

Jonathan Archer became conscious, creeping awareness drawing him to a higher level. He was having trouble seeing clearly and his throat was raw sandblasted agony. He noted sounds... people talking... but couldn't distinguish individual words in the white noise that filled his ears.

He realized he didn't know who he was, what had happened... panic engulfed him. What was happening? He tried to move, to discover...

Calm. Stay calm. Concentrate on seeing, he told himself. It'll be okay....

He screwed up his eyes and made out human forms around him, wearing uniforms. They gave him an uneasy feeling, somewhere deep down inside found this disturbing. Why? He didn't know.

Another shape resolved itself more fully as it stepped towards him. An alien, he noted, without surprise. Wearing the same uniform.

They were talking to him.

"What?" he tried to say. "What are you saying? Who are you?" His struggle was useless. No words emerged. Exhausted, he collapsed back down onto the bed, fighting panic.

----------------------

Everyone on Enterprise's bridge was feverishly working at their assigned tasks.

Hoshi bit her lip in frustration. She was still shaky and at inopportune moments she found her mind reaching back to those terrors suffered on the Reptilian ship. Then she would come to with a start. She hated that. Hated that now, when she was needed most, she found it impossible to direct her full potential onto the problem.

She changed the frequency band, sharpened it, boosted the gain, and tried again. It was odd. From the information that had been relayed back to the ship, there was a certain level of technical expertise on the planet. From her understanding of their historical period corresponding to this new reality, there should have been plenty of signal traffic of all kinds flooding the ether. But there was next to nothing.

She slammed her hand down on her console, not really caring any more what anyone else might think.

T'Pol said, all too calmly for Hoshi's liking, "Is there a problem, Ensign?"

Yes, Hoshi wanted to shout. Yes, there damned well is. I'm useless. I can't do it anymore. There's nothing left.

Instead, she merely gulped, dropped her head and drew her open palm into a fist.

"Ensign Sato," repeated T'Pol. "Hoshi - What progress have you made?"

Hoshi sat up and turned to face her, conscious that most of the others on the bridge were also waiting for her reply. She said, "I've tried everything I can. There are some transmissions, but at extremely low power. There appear to be broadcast signals but not much two-way traffic. And it's all audio." She shook her head. "It's not what I would expect. I'm worried I might be missing something."

From his station on the other side of the bridge, Malcolm said meditatively, "It may not be all your fault."

Hoshi rolled her eyes. She thought sarcastically, 'Thanks for that vote of confidence, Lieutenant!'

Malcolm carried on, oblivious to Hoshi's expression, "There is something out of kilter with the weaponry too."

"Explain," said T'Pol as he gathered his thoughts.

Malcolm grimaced at her unnecessary prompt. "Well, these people appear to be using World War 2 era aircraft, armaments and so forth, yet we think that they are contemporary with us. The shuttlepod's scans showed some regions of active warfare. Have they been fighting the second war for all that time?"

T'Pol gave a grave nod. "That is possible."

"Then," pursued Malcolm, "why is their weapon development stuck at that one point in time? Normally, wartime sees rapid development in arms and associated technology. All efforts go into it. It has top priority. In our own timeline, World War 2 yielded for example, radar, sonar, long range rockets, jet aircraft and the first atomic weapons. Why haven't we seen this and beyond?" He frowned at the conundrum.

"Possibly they have this technology but we haven't detected it," said T'Pol, considering the point.

"But the aircraft that intercepted the shuttlepod - Travis said they were piston driven. If these people have been at war for over a two hundred years, they surely would have progressed beyond that?"

"Perhaps their infrastructure has deteriorated, or they have materials' shortages."

"Perhaps," repeated Malcolm, not convinced.

"Commander Tucker may find some reason for this from his investigations on the surface."

Malcolm gazed thoughtfully into space then returned his attention to his station.

Feeling a little less stupid, Hoshi returned to her task also, determined to make the most of what sparse data she could obtain.

-----------------------

Travis brought the shuttlepod down in a cautious approach, circling above cloud cover over their chosen landing area to allow thorough scans.

"Nothing," confirmed Trip. "No human bio-signs or other activity. We should be okay here. Take us in."

"Aye, Commander," acknowledged Travis, setting the nose on a downward path to aim for a conveniently shuttlepod-sized depression. The small craft settled with the slightest jolt nestling in some low bushes.

Trip reported back to Enterprise and then pulled out a pair of scanners and phase pistols from a locker. "We better set the scanners on maximum range."

"What happens if we do actually bump into someone?" asked Travis as he checked the charge on his weapon. "Should we stun them?"

"You sound like Malcolm! No - let's play it by ear. We might be able to bluff our way out. We'll say we are on a hiking trip or something."

"Uh huh. What about our uniforms?"

"Mmm. Good point..." mused Trip. They hadn't got a change of clothes. Perhaps they should return to the ship to get changed into casual gear? He was impatient to get going, though. Speed could be vital.

"We could say that 'Enterprise' is a wildlife project?" offered Travis. "We could say that we are Rangers."

Trip looked at him speculatively. That was inventive. Plausible? Possibly. He had seen Rangers dressed in similar gear on his last trip to a national park. It was likely to be a moot point, in any event. "Yeah. That might work. The best method would be to steer clear of any people. If we're careful, that shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay."

"All set?"

"Yes, Commander."

"Let's go then!"

The two men stepped out of the shuttlepod onto the ground of what, possibly, could be the home planet of one of them and the spiritual home, at least in part, of the other. Trip wanted to feel relief at finding himself on Earth, an Earth saved from the Xindi attack, but he couldn't. This was not his home, whatever Travis' star charts said.

Trip cautiously scanned the immediate surroundings while Travis secured the shuttlepod. Clear - no human lifesigns for some distance. He squinted up at the sky. The clouds were breaking up and the afternoon daylight brightened, although it was cool for a summer's day. Travis had cut a leafy branch using his phase pistol and pulled it over the nose of the craft. Trip joined him in camouflaging the shuttlepod and soon it was hidden from any casual passer by.

They set off towards the nearest settlement, a small sized community on the far side of the wooded area. Lifeforms were plentiful along their route but none were human, only deer, squirrels and other animals that hid from their approach.

After ten minutes walk from the landing site, Trip and Travis reached the edge of the woodland. The vegetation thinned out ahead of them where there was a small gently sloping hill. The two men checked their scanners, a task which they had been doing regularly. It was still clear. They crept up the rise and dropped down on their fronts at its summit.

The other side of the hill fell gradually away to a plain. The township was mainly comprised of low-rise buildings distributed in blocks. They could see several roads. Trip saw a truck and several jeep-type vehicles, but there was little traffic. A few youths cycled across an intersection. It was difficult to believe that this was the year 2154.

Trip grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Travis, this is just like it would be hundreds of years ago. There are no signs of any progress at all." He grunted and tweaked his scanner to alter its setting. "I've got no readings that would indicate technology. We should see some signs of technological development. How are they generating their power?"

Travis checked his own scanner. Still no nearby human signs. "Perhaps we just can't detect anything from here?"

"We should detect something at this range." Trip frowned at the peaceful scene before them. He changed his scanner mode back to lifesigns with a small shake of his head.

Travis followed the progress of an old fashioned bus as it pulled out of a bay. "These vehicles seem to be driven by internal combustion engines. That ties in with the aircraft we saw, doesn't it?"
"Yeah." Trip, shifting to find a more comfortable position. He had never been that strong on general history, but engineering advancements were another matter. "We won't find out anything from here," he said, watching as a woman left a store and walked down a street. "We'll circle around and come in from the east. There's more cover there. I'd like to get a closer look at that engineering place on the edge of the town."

Trip flipped his communicator open to report back to Enterprise, checking his scanner as he did so - still no sign of potential contacts. Then he heard a rustling behind them. Strange... no animal registered on his scanner. He twisted around to check it out visually.

He had the barest instant to gasp in astonishment before he was rendered unconscious. Travis didn't even have time to notice anything was amiss before he joined his fellow officer, slumped on the ground.

TBC