Chapter Two: The Unexplored Planet

Trip smelled pecan pie and licked his lips in anticipation. The day just kept getting better and better; first, he and Rostov had managed to purge the impulse manifolds without igniting the thrusters, thereby not instigating a cataclysmic explosion like last time. And now, the mess hall had pecan pie. This was quickly becoming one of the greatest days of his life.

And speaking of the greatest day of his life, he noticed T'Pol sitting off to the side, immersed in the PADD she was holding and daintily sipping her tea. He grabbed a couple slices of pie and made his way through the sea of tables to join her.

He sat down without an invitation, but he hardly thought he needed one at this stage in their relationship. After everything they had been through together, not being asked to sit down seemed like a paltry thing to argue about. Besides, she often sat with him without being invited, so he didn't think anything of it. And she didn't even acknowledge his presence, apparently engrossed in whatever it was she was reading.

One slice of pie was gone before T'Pol even glanced at him. She gave him a nod in greeting and returned to the PADD, and by then he was dying to know what was so fascinating.

"What're you reading?" he asked, placing the empty plate under one of the others that still contained a slice of pie.

T'Pol glanced at him briefly, but when she spoke, her attention had returned to the PADD. "I visited the ship's library this morning, seeking information on insomnia."

He stopped mid-gesture, leaving his fork suspended above his second slice of pie, and raised his eyebrows. This was news to him. "You having trouble sleeping?"

She shook her head, still not looking at him. "No. This is for Kamea."

He took a bite of pie and furrowed his brow in confusion. Apparently, he was out of the loop on this subject. "I thought you were teaching her how to meditate. I thought meditation was just as good as sleep."

This time T'Pol's brown eyes met his blue ones. "I don't believe I ever said that. When performed properly, meditation can energize the body in the way that sleep can, but it is not quite as effective, and it is not intended to be used for long periods of time."

Trip couldn't help but notice the way T'Pol had emphasized "properly", nor could he ignore the frustration that was radiating off her in waves. He raised an eyebrow. "It's not working, then?"

The muscles in T'Pol's jaw tightened, the only outward sign of her frustration. "Kamea was correct in stating that she is not good at meditation. She does not believe it is alleviating her symptoms, and I must concur. She refuses neuro-pressure, so I was searching for alternative methods of curing insomnia."

He resisted the urge to sigh. He had tried to get Kamea to confide in him about the nightmares he knew she had, but she simply would not open up. And he didn't want to pry too much, because he knew how much Vulcans – apparently even half-Vulcans – valued their privacy, and also because he knew that T'Pol was jealous of how much time he spent with Kamea. But he knew he wouldn't be able to hide his concern, because T'Pol was just as adept at interpreting his moods as he was of reading hers. It was highly unnerving, and though he wanted to know what the hell was going on, he knew better than to ask. T'Pol would never admit anything.

"I am concerned for her as well," T'Pol said, confirming Trip's suspicion that she knew what he was thinking. "She will not be able to keep this pace much longer."

Trip nodded, thankful at least that T'Pol had mentioned it first. "I've tried to talk to her, but she won't talk to me." He paused, his fork halfway to his mouth. "Maybe she'll talk to you."

T'Pol slowly shook her head. "She is not willing to speak with me. I asked Lieutenant Reed to speak with her – "

Trip groaned and rolled his eyes, effectively cutting off T'Pol's statement. "Don't do that, T'Pol. Girls hate it when you do that."

"I beg your pardon?" T'Pol asked, looking slightly put out.

Sighing, Trip set his fork down. Now he was going to have to do damage control. "Women don't like it when people – especially guys, and especially guys they're attracted to – only try to talk to them because someone asked them to."

A raised eyebrow was T'Pol's only response, but he could tell that she was not pleased with his comment. He shrugged apologetically and picked up his fork.

"I'm just saying," Trip said, finishing his second slice of pie, "if you want Kamea to open up, there's better ways to do it."

"I do not want Kamea to open up," said T'Pol. "I merely believe that it would be beneficial for her to talk about what happened to her parents, since that is clearly the root of her problems."

Trip could tell that T'Pol was unhappy with the current topic of conversation, so he decided to completely switch gears. He took a bite of his third slice of pie and looked up at her as he chewed. "Know anything about this planet the captain wants to see?"

The mood at the table lifted instantly. T'Pol set the PADD aside and angled her body to face his. "The Vulcan database does not contain much information, only that it is an O-class planet."

He grinned. That was the scientist in her, so excited about exploring a new planet. He loved that about her. Well, he loved most everything about her, truth be told. "So the rumors are true, then?"

She nodded. "The captain is very eager to visit this planet. There are very few known O-class planets, and even fewer that have been explored. None of those are inhabited, and I believe Captain Archer is hopeful that this planet is."

Trip scraped his fork along his plate, catching the last crumbs of his third and final piece of pie. "So, what's the name of this place anyway?"

T'Pol finished her tea and set her mug gently on the table next to the PADD. "Altara."

He sat up, pursing his lips. For some reason, that name sounded familiar. "And it's never been explored?"

She cocked an eyebrow. "There has been no record of any reconnaissance mission. Why do you ask?"

He coughed to clear his throat and stacked his plates. "No reason." But he knew she could tell that he was lying. Whatever kind of warped connection they had, it went both ways, and even though he tried to prevent her from sensing his moods, he wasn't quite sure how to do so.

"Are you familiar with this planet?" she asked.

Trip stood abruptly, gathering his plates and his fork. He couldn't tell if the unease that he felt was T'Pol's or his own, and the fact that he couldn't distinguish his own moods from hers was very upsetting – more upsetting than the fact that he could sense T'Pol's moods at all. And he didn't know why he was feeling uneasy; all he was sure of was that he'd heard that name before. "I don't think so," he said, trying to remain calm, if only to pacify T'Pol.

"But you are uncertain," T'Pol said. It was a statement, not a question.

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Name sounds familiar, is all." He used his head to gesture at her mug. "Want me to take that up for you?"

She said nothing, but handed her mug to him. He placed it on the top of his stack of plates and deposited all of the flatware at the counter for Chef to clean. He glanced back at T'Pol, to wave goodbye, and found that she was once again engrossed with the PADD. He sighed and turned to exit the mess hall, running smack dab into Malcolm as he did so.

"Sorry about that, Mal," Trip said, rubbing his forehead gingerly, where Malcolm's head had hit it. "Wasn't paying attention."

Malcolm grunted a reply and pushed past Trip to the beverage dispenser. Anxious to see what the hell Malcolm's problem was, Trip followed him. He waited until Malcolm had ordered his coffee – two sugars, same as always – before asking, "What exactly is your problem, Lieutenant?"

Malcolm sighed and shook his head. "Sorry, Commander," he said. "It's Kamea."

Trip nodded his head thoughtfully. Most of Malcolm's recent problems stemmed from Kamea, and Trip couldn't help but make a correlation between the two of them and himself and T'Pol. He grinned before he could stop himself but wiped it from his face before Malcolm noticed. "You talk to her this morning?"

Malcolm nodded, making a noise of disgust in the back of his throat. "That woman is…" He trailed off and took a sip of his coffee. "Well, I can't think of the correct descriptive term at the moment, but whatever it is, she's that."

Trip bit his cheek to keep from laughing. "Very informative, Malcolm."

"She's infuriating," Malcolm said, practically spitting it out. "She doesn't seem to care that she's running herself into the ground. She absolutely refuses my help and – "

"She's just got too many people all up in her business," Trip said. He leaned against the side of the beverage dispenser and watched Malcolm blow on his coffee to cool it – one long exhale, same as always. "I know how she feels. And with the meditation thing not working – "

"Meditation isn't working?" Malcolm asked, his coffee forgotten. His eyes narrowed. "She failed to mention that."

Trip pursed his lips, sensing that he had inadvertently wandered into the middle of an argument between Kamea and Malcolm. "Well, I get the sense it's not something she wants to discuss."

Malcolm looked, if possible, more upset at this statement. "But she'll discuss it with you."

Once again, Trip had to resist the urge to grin. Oh ho, he thought. So that's it. Malcolm's jealous. He could have fun with that, but now was not the time. He would save that for later. "Actually, T'Pol told me. Apparently, their session last night didn't go so well."

"I figured," Malcolm said, visibly relieved by the knowledge that Kamea was not confiding in Trip. "I found her in the launch bay this morning. She'd been working on her ship all night."

Trip raised his eyebrows involuntarily. "She must have been desperate." She hadn't worked on her ship in weeks. Trip suspected that she secretly didn't want to, that if her ship remained in a gazillion pieces, she would have no choice but to remain on Enterprise.

His mind clouded over suddenly, and he turned to find T'Pol approaching him and Malcolm. "Lieutenant," she said, "I believe we're due to start our shift on the bridge in seventeen minutes."

Malcolm nodded, not even bothering to check his watch. T'Pol's internal clock was better than any man-made time device. "I'm aware of that, Commander. I was hoping to get something to eat before heading up. I had a rough morning."

T'Pol nodded her head once, turned to Trip and nodded once more, then left the mess hall, carefully avoiding all contact with Trip as she did so. Ordinarily, he would have been offended, but he was too wrapped up in his conversation with Malcolm to really notice.

"If you'll excuse me, Commander," Malcolm said, "I really do need to eat something before my shift."

Trip furrowed his brow, but nodded. "All right. See you later, Malcolm." He paused, running his tongue along the inside of his cheek and debating if he should say what was on the tip of his tongue. Ultimately, he decided it couldn't do any harm. "Don't worry about Kamea. She'll come around."

He left immediately after Malcolm shot him a confused glance.


Archer stared out the view port at the planet before them. He couldn't take his eyes off of it. He'd never seen an O-class planet before – not up close, at least, only in pictures – and it was simply fascinating. It actually looked a little like Earth, except with a lot more water. There was one giant land mass that seemed to rest directly along what would have been called the equator on Earth. It was surrounded by a fairly thick atmosphere, which according to his science officer was composed mainly of oxygen and nitrogen – the same as Earth's. And that meant that they could send down a landing party without using the EV suits, which were highly uncomfortable. T'Pol also, much to Archer's extreme excitement, detected biosigns, but due to some sort of interference was not able to determine to which species they belonged. They could be humanoid, but then they could just be insects or small mammals. Still, according to T'Pol, none of the known O-class planets were even inhabited by the smallest forms of life, so this was already a first.

He couldn't wait to go down to the planet at start exploring. This was without a doubt his favorite part about being captain of the Enterprise.

"So this is Altara," Archer said, unable to keep the grin off his face. He turned to T'Pol. "And you're positive the Vulcans have never been here?" He absolutely loved going places the Vulcans had never been; it was very vindicating for him.

T'Pol nodded and said, in a voice of forced patience, "Yes, Captain. Vulcans are not accustomed to the high humidity present on O-class planets. Living on a desert planet has almost made us physically incapable of dealing with it."

Archer rubbed his hands together. "Excellent." He deliberately ignored the scathing look he knew was present on T'Pol's face and turned to Hoshi. "Any technology readings?"

Hoshi nodded. "I'm detecting a significant level of technology."

He widened his smile. "Hail them."

Hoshi's fingers flew across her console, but after several minutes, the view screen was still blank. She looked at him, her expression almost sheepish. "There's no response, Captain. I don't think the technology readings are coming from the planet."

Archer glanced back at T'Pol. "Could this interference be screwing with the communications?"

T'Pol cocked her head to the side. "That is always a possibility. From what I can tell, the interference is natural – something in the atmosphere."

"I thought you said it was oxygen and nitrogen."

She raised her eyebrows. "I said it was mostly oxygen and nitrogen. There is apparently something in the atmosphere that is interfering with our sensors. We will be unable to obtain any accurate readings so long as our sensors have to penetrate the atmosphere."

Archer's heart was beating a mile a minute. "So we should send some people down there to do a little exploring."

T'Pol pursed her lips, obviously reluctant to agree with the captain, but he could tell that was where the conversation was going. "It is the logical decision. However, I would advise you not to send anyone until we have attempted to determine the source of the interference. It is not wise to travel to a planet about which so little is known."

Archer's grin threatened to split his face. He walked over to his companel. "All senior staff report to the bridge."

As he released his finger from the button, he realized what a stupid announcement that had been, because the only member of his senior staff not currently present on the bridge was Trip, and Archer knew where he was. He shook his head; he was in too good a mood to care about his slip, and as soon as the door to the bridge slid open to reveal Trip, Archer started talking.

"All right, people," he said, though he was really only talking to Trip, who'd just arrived, "we have an unexplored planet with signs of life and technology readings, but no other information. What do we do?"

T'Pol cleared her throat. "It is customary to remain in orbit for several days, taking scans of the ship. Going down to the surface with the little information we have is not advisable."

"But if our scanners aren't working…" Malcolm said. He trailed off, leaving the rest of his sentence to the imagination.

"Whoa, hold on," Trip said, holding up his hands, "the scanners are working fine. Just ran a diagnostic not two hours ago."

"The scanners are functioning perfectly, Commander," T'Pol said, in an unusually soothing voice that made almost everyone on the bridge raise his or her eyebrows. "What Lieutenant Reed was attempting to say is that we are receiving some sort of interference that is preventing our sensors from taking accurate measurements."

Trip nodded thoughtfully. "So if our sensors can't take any readings, what good will it do to stay in orbit trying to take readings?"

T'Pol cocked an eyebrow. "It is illogical to land on a planet about which we know nothing."

"Hang on," Trip said. He crossed his arms and turned to face Archer. "Did you say something about life signs?"

Archer nodded enthusiastically, still grinning from ear to ear. "T'Pol's detected biosigns."

"But without the sensors, we are unable to determine the species," said T'Pol. There was a hint of impatience in her voice. "For all we know, the Altarans that the captain is so excited to meet could be nothing more than rodents."

Trip furrowed his brow and put a hand to his forehead. "I know I've heard that name before."

Archer just looked at Trip. "This is an undiscovered planet, Trip. Even the Vulcans have never been here before."

"I didn't say I'd been here," said Trip, more than a little annoyed. "I just said I've heard the name." He began muttering to himself, apparently trying to remember where he had heard the name before, which Archer thought was a pointless exercise. There were no records of any space-faring species having ever been to Altara before, so Trip could not have heard of it.

Archer turned his back on Trip and glanced around at the rest of his senior staff. "What do you guys think?"

Hoshi lifted one shoulder in a barely perceptible shrug. "It couldn't hurt to stay in orbit for another day, at least. Just to make sure that whatever's down there isn't hostile."

"I agree, sir," said Malcolm. Archer resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course his tactical officer would be cautious. If Malcolm had his way, every landing party would be required to go down to the surface in EV suits and with a fully armed escort. "Going down without any knowledge is suicide."

Travis, on the other hand, seemed just as excited as Archer. Having spent the vast majority of his young life on a ship in space, Travis loved being on landing parties and getting to explore new planets. He swiveled in his chair to look at Archer. "We could send a shuttle pod down inside the atmosphere, and try and take some readings from above the surface."

Trip suddenly snapped his fingers, causing Archer to turn around. His chief engineer was smiling. "I remembered." He pointed out the view port to the planet hovering before them. "Kamea's been there. She was talking about it. Got her pod there."

"Impossible," T'Pol said, shaking her head so violently Archer feared it would become separated from her neck. "There are no reports of any contact with this planet."

Trip shrugged. "Just because she didn't report it doesn't mean she's never been there." He looked at Archer. "Call her up here. She'd probably be a big help."

Against his better judgment, but because his chief engineer was so emphatic, Archer walked back over to the companel. "Archer to Kamea."

Kamea's voice echoed across the bridge. "Captain?"

"I need you to report to the bridge," Archer said. He stepped away from his chair and began to pace the area directly in front of it, chewing on his fingernails until the door to the bridge slid open and Kamea stepped through it. He turned to look at her.

She nodded her head shortly to acknowledge him and opened her mouth to speak but stopped suddenly, her eyes riveted to the view port behind him. Her eyes widened noticeably, and her bottom lip began to tremble. She took several deep breaths in what was apparently an attempt to calm down before saying, "Altara," in a voice that could barely be considered a whisper.

Then she passed out.


A/N: A class-O planet is also called pelagic. Liquid water covers more than 80 percent of the surface, and the life-forms are mainly aquatic plants and animals. Thank my "Complete Atlas of Star Trek" for that bit of information.