Chapter 8:

The shuttle, T'Pol had sent to get them, had taken them back to the ship and Phlox took Trip with him to sickbay. The young Talian woman however – who had seemed absolutely unimpressed by the shuttle, the entire flight and the fact that she was aboard a Starship – asked Jonathan to prove his words about Trip being a crewmember.

He had personally taken her to a guest quarter of the ship opening the computer terminal and allowing her to have a look at Trip's personal file. He had left her alone with it and apart from that he had given her permission to move around the ship freely – except for Armory, Engineering and the bridge.

She hadn't thanked him, neither had she showed any other sign of emotion towards him – apart from suspicion and distrust... But at least she had convinced her to allow them to help and he was hoping to gain even more of her trust by allowing her to stroll around. The last thing he wanted her to was feeling like a prisoner. Right now he was on his way to Phlox.

Jon entered sickbay, having a searching look around the room. But before he even got a chance to cross the room and get to his friend's bedside, he was held back by doctor Phlox. He gave a short, assuring smile to him and took him by the arm – further away from Trip.

"You can't do anything for him right now, Captain – I have him sedated, he will be sleeping for the next couple of hours."

"Why's that? He was asleep when we found him down there and he didn't seem to be in any pain."

"That's right, but he awoke during my treatment and he reacted highly agitated..."

"Due to the injuries? What is he suffering from anyway? You didn't tell us down there."

"His system has been poisoned – probably due to a substance that is contained in the planet's atmosphere. The young Talian seemed immune to it and for a low timespan, even for a few months the substance wouldn't do any harm to the human body. But the Commander had been down there for more than a few months. The substance was slowly poisoning him to death."

"Will he be alright?"

"Giving it the right treatment and some time of rest – yes, he will fully recover."

"That's good? Isn't it?"

The cheerful smile, Phlox had kept up for the whole time of their conversation, vanished now. He took Jonathan even more aside, having another look at Trip for a moment and lowering his voice then.

"I need to talk to you, Captain. There are a few things I want you to know."

Jon couldn't help it, but frowned. Phlox sounded serious, pretty serious. From what he had seen down on the planet and just moments ago - as he had entered sickbay and had a look at Trip - he had looked alright to him. But he wasn't a doctor... He just wanted to know if his friend was okay.

"Alright then – tell me."

"As I already said: the poisoning due to the planet's atmosphere luckily hasn't been that severe. I have been able to treat it and the Commander is recovering nicely. It's a local phenomenon, but as long as he doesn't get back to the planet's surface there's no more danger for his health.

His mental state on the other hand is a completely different kind of thing."

"Is that why he reacted 'agitated' as you put it? Wasn't he able to communicate with you?"

"Yes Captain, it is. He doesn't know your language any more... that may be due to the fact that he and the young woman were possibly communicating in the Talian tongue. But that's not it – there are even more disturbing news, I'm afraid. He doesn't remember, he doesn't seem to remember anything. He seemed afraid when he woke up aboard. The only person he really seems to trust in is the woman that was with him. He repeatedly asked for her."

Jonathan felt his emotions rush through him, which caused his head to swirl. What was this supposed to mean? Why would Trip be afraid of a place he was supposed to know? Jon had wished for this situation to end for good, he had wished for no further complications. But some higher power had obviously decided it wouldn't be that easy for him...

"I just don't understand this. Why doesn't he remember us, why doesn't he remember anything about his past – what happened to him?"

"I'm not sure by now, Captain. The Commander hasn't been speaking to me so far, he doesn't seem to trust me. I would like to speak to the woman – maybe she can tell us some more about how the Commander came to that planet and what had happened to him. From what I know so far, I believe he suffers from amnesia."

"Amnesia... May I see him, try to talk to him?"

"I don't consider this a good idea. He's pretty scared by the situation he's in right now and he needs some time to rest and heal his injuries. Give him some time, Captain."

He didn't want to, but he knew Phlox was right. There was no reason for pushing this whole situation. It was just that frustrating – he had been happy to find his friend and now new and severe problems were occuring. But there was no use in forcing Trip into anything. He needed some more information about what had happened, what had possibly caused the amnesia and right now, there was only one person who would be able to tell him.

Alright, doctor – I guess we should see the young woman then. Let's hope that she can give us some answers."