Restless, Jonathan tried to study the file on his viewscreen. Sensing it was feeding time, Porthos trotted over to Archer's chair and stared at him intently. Finally, he gave a small yip.

"Quiet, Porthos."

Porthos yipped again, louder this time.

"I said be quiet!" Archer caught himself. Why was he so angry? "Sorry, fella. I guess I lost track of time." He rose and filled the food bowl, setting it down on the floor. Porthos trotted up and began eating. "I'm going for a walk, boy. I can't concentrate." He left Porthos to his dinner and headed out in the direction of engineering. He'd check and see how Trip was coming with his latest system modifications. That might settle him down.

As he rounded the next bend, he saw Trip coming towards him. "I was just coming to see you, Cap'n." Trip said.

"And I was coming to see you. How are you coming with realigning those injectors?"

"Realigning the injectors, sir?" Trip asked, puzzled. "Where did you get the idea I was doing that? I came to report on--"

"I ordered you to realign the injectors according to Dr. Mallory's specifications!" Archer interrupted, his temper rising. Didn't anyone know how to follow orders anymore?

"Cap'n, I did that weeks ago. You asked me to look at the main sensor array."

With a cry of rage, Archer sprang at Trip. He grabbed Trip by the front of his uniform and slammed him against the bulkhead. "When I give you an order, I expect you to follow it!"

Trip grabbed at Archer's hands, trying to force a release, but Archer hooked a foot around his leg and pulled. Trip went down hard, Archer on top of him. "If I can't get discipline one way, I will another!" Archer hissed, raising his fist.

"Jonathan!"

Fist poised, Archer looked up to see who had called his name. Jordan and Phlox were standing in the corridor. "Let him go, Jonathan!" Jordan exclaimed.

Archer looked down, surprised to find he was on top of Trip. He got up, Trip rising slowly behind him. "What happened?" Archer asked in confusion.

"You attacked me, sir," Trip replied. "What the hell was that about?"

"I don't know," Archer responded shakily. "Did I hurt you?"

"Nah, I'm alright."

Archer extended a hand and pulled Trip to his feet.

"Captain, in view of what's happened, I'd like you to come with me to sickbay," Phlox said.

"Sickbay? Why?"

"It's possible that you weren't completely clear when you left decon. I need to conduct further tests."

"Very well," Archer replied, straightening his shoulders. "Let's make this quick, I have a lot to do." He turned back to Trip. "Sorry, Trip."

"Ah, forget it. Just get well."

The medical scans were the longest he had ever experienced. Yet, each time Jonathan thought he'd snap under the weight of his impatience, Jordan would be there. She seemed to sense when he was the most restless, and would relieve his anxiety with flippant comment. As the tests wore on, and Archer began to feel truly frightened, she held his hand. It was if they were on the same wavelength. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand, releasing her as Phlox came back to the examination table. He looked concerned.

"What is it?" Archer asked.

"Captain, have you noticed recently any emotional disturbances, before your encounter with Commander Tucker?" Phlox asked gravely.

"Emotional disturbances? No, of course not," he lied. "What's this about?"

"It appears that something is affecting the neurotransmitters in your brain. As a result, some rather specific neurons are not firing."

"Doc, what are you saying?"

Phlox paused, deciding how best to break the news. "The area of your brain that controls your emotions is disintegrating. As a result, you are reverting to primitive behavior. Unless we can stop the process, you will be increasingly unable to control your impulses. Instead, you will react to stimuli in a way more closely resembling animal behavior."

Archer felt himself go cold. "What are you going to do?"

The answer was a long time coming. "I'm not sure, Captain," Phlox said gravely. "Your brain is literally self-destructing. You will find that, over the next few days or even hours, you will be increasingly unable to control your emotions. And even if I find a way to halt the progress," he broke off.

"What will happen?"

"It is possible that you may never recover from this type of brain injury."

Archer tried to absorb the news. His brain was disintegrating? He noticed that Phlox had walked over the communit and activated it. "Sub-commander T'Pol?"

"Yes, Doctor?" T'Pol's voice replied over the speaker.

"The Captain has become medically incapacitated. Therefore, I am using my authority to relieve him of command immediately."

There was a barely perceptible pause before T'Pol responded. "Understood, Doctor. Keep me informed."

"Captain, you may as well be as comfortable as possible," Phlox said, his concern showing plainly in his eyes. "Dr. Mallory, will you settle him in the first bunk? He will need to be confined here."

Jordan shook herself. "I'll, I'll see to it, Doctor," she stammered.

As he settled on the first bunk in sickbay, Archer heard T'Pol's voice over the ship-wide comm. "This is Sub-commander T'Pol. By order of Dr. Phlox, Captain Archer has been relieved of command effective immediately. Therefore, I hereby take command…."