Once again Archer pressed the white COMM button and began to speak.

"Archer to Lieutenant Reed"

"Reed here sir." Came the voice of the British tactical officer.

"Malcolm, we have a slight problem. Our guest has gone missing. Do you think you can try and find her?"

"I'll try sir."

"Don't use phase pistols. She's scared enough as it is… I don't want her to be completely afraid of us."

"Understood." He replied.

The young girl was stumbling along corridors, finding it very hard to walk. She looked behind her to see if anyone was following her. When she turned her head back round she came face to face with Lieutenant Reed.

"Stay away from me!" She cried, stepping back a bit.

"It's all right. We're not going to hurt you. We want to help. What's your name?" Malcolm calmly spoke, hoping she wasn't going to be frightened.

"You're English." She replied. This certainly proved to him that she had been brought up on Earth.

"Yes that's right." He replied. The young girl took a step back, but her legs became weak and she nearly fell over, luckily Malcolm was able to get to her and catch her, helping her to stand. "Why don't you tell me your name?"

"Alexie." She replied. She was beginning to find it hard to stay awake. Her eyelids began to droop slightly as she fought her tiredness.

"All right, Alexie. Let's get you back to sickbay. The doctor there won't harm you, he wants to help you."

"I don't want to go back there." She replied as she tried to pull away from Malcolm's grasp, but she didn't have the strength to do it.

"Why not?" Malcolm was a little concerned as to why she didn't want to be treated. At that moment Trip walked round the corner. Upon seeing the other man Alexie became a bit frightened and tried to get away from him, but Malcolm kept her close to him, supporting her, as she could no longer walk on her own. "Hello Commander."

"Hiya Malcolm." Before Trip had the chance to greet Alexie her body went limp and crumpled onto a heap. Malcolm kept hold of her and quickly put one arm under her knees so her could carry her. Both men quickly took off getting her to sickbay as quickly as they could.

As they entered sickbay and placed Alexie on a bio-bed Archer was a little surprised.

"I suppose Alexie's the girl you wanted me to talk to?" Trip asked as he stood back to allow Phlox to the side of the bed with his scanner.

"Yeah, it was. We were having problems talking to her. At least it seems you managed to get her talking." Archer turned to Phlox. "Do you know why she passed out?"

"Malnutrition. She needs to eat." Phlox replied as he placed his scanner in his pocket.

Archer turned to Malcolm. "We'd better be prepared if they try to attack us again for more medical supplies or anything else."

Malcolm smiled a little as he thought of which reply he would use. "I'll see what I can do." And with that he left sickbay.

"Cap'n. Do you want me to stay here? She didn't seem too scared of me when I was with Malcolm."

"What about the EPS conduit?" Archer turned to face his engineer.

"Finally managed to get it open with Rostov's help... We discovered the power links had overheated a little and cause the metal to glue itself in place."

Archer nodded and smiled a little. "Good. I need everything in working order. Especially if we have another run in with those Nausicaans."

"So, you want me to stay here with her?"

Archer nodded. "Yeah. Thanks Trip."

A couple of hours passed and Trip had stayed by her side the whole time. During the past few minutes it was obvious that she was having a nightmare. She kept tossing and turning and kept calling for someone called 'Eliza'. The tossing increased and suddenly she woke up. She sat bolt upright screaming.

"Hey, it's all right." Trip immediately brought her into a hug to calm her down and comfort her. Phlox rushed out from behind an area as he heard the scream.

"What happened?" He asked getting his scanner ready.

Alexie pulled out of the hug with Trip so that she could answer any questions they had. "It was just a bad dream… about my sister, Eliza." She breathed deeply, trying to get her pulse back down to normal. Phlox placed the scanner back into his pocket as he realised it wasn't needed in this situation.

"Where is your sister?"

Alexie looked at Trip, sadness in her eyes. "She was killed… by Nausicaans, two years ago."

Trip brought her into another hug to give her more comfort.

Phlox took a few steps over to a COMM panel and pressed the white button. "Phlox to Captain Archer."

After a couple of seconds Archer replied. "Archer here. What is it Phlox?"

"Alexie has woken up."

"I'm on my way." After a few minutes Captain Archer entered sickbay. "How is she?"

"Commander Tucker has finally managed to get her talking which has helped me a lot."

Archer nodded and moved over to where Trip and Alexie were sitting. "How are you feeling?"

Alexie looked at the man. She could tell that he was a kind and gentle man, just by looking into his eyes. "Hungry." She said as her stomach growled.

Archer and Trip smiled. "Let's get you some food then." Archer glanced over at Phlox who responded with a nod. Together Trip and Archer helped Alexie off the bed and they left sickbay, making their way to the Mess Hall… for the time of day that it was, the mess hall was nice and quiet. After taking some food and getting themselves a couple of drinks they sat down at a table near a window. "We should get you back to your family as soon as possible."

"Good luck trying to find them." Alexie took a mouthful of food and began to eat.

"What do you mean?" Archer asked after taking a sip of his coffee. He gently placed the cup back down on the table and waited for Alexie to finish her mouthful so she could answer.

"I've never gotten on well with my step dad… and I don't know where my real dad is… my mum went missing 3 years ago and my half sister was killed two years ago. I haven't got any other family."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Archer picked up his coffee again and took another sip.

"How exactly did the Nausicaans get their hands on you?"

Alexie knowing that what she was going to say next would take a minute or two she placed her fork on the plate. Seeing her actions the two men knew what was coming.

"My mum was an astrologer. One day she went off to explore the stars leaving me at home on my own with my step dad. She said she would only be gone two weeks, but after 6 months she still hadn't returned. I was optimistic that she was still alive, although Eliza never believed me, but she wasn't the brave one. We went off looking for her, a ship kindly agreed to help us. We soon found debris from the astrology ship she was on. That's when the Nausicaans attacked. I was able to hide but they slaughtered the whole crew and Eliza. I'll never be able to forget that day. I spent weeks on my own with not much food, but soon a rescue ship came along and took me back home. After I had recovered I was determined to go and look for her again. The E.C.S Horizon agreed to take me so that I could ask anyone we came across. Again the Nausicaans attacked and because that time I was fighting them, they took me prisoner."

Archer and Trip just stared blankly at Alexie. They couldn't believe what she had been through. "Did the horizon survive the attack?"

"I think so… I'm not really sure." Alexie picked up her fork and began to eat again.

Archer gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "We'll do our best to help find her."

Alexie looked at Archer and smiled. "Thank you sir."