Thank you so much for your reviews so far. More, please?

Kathy Rose was the wonderful beta for this story.

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"Commander?"

Someone was talking, and Trip felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Trip?"

Trip felt a soft hand against his face, then it moved away. Disoriented, he realised that he was lying on his back, his body cold from the - rock? He thought he was lying on a cold, smooth stone surface. That was odd; he'd just been in a forest. He sniffed in - dampness, and dirt, and -

He opened his eyes to see rock above him, torchlight reflecting from its roughly carved surface. A cave, he thought. Okay, right.

He heard a whispered voice nearby. "He's awake." Hoshi.

"I'm awake," he replied, surprised to hear how rough his voice sounded. He tried to sit up, only to feel a hand against his shoulder, pressing him back.

"One moment, please, Commander," Malcolm said, moving so that Trip could see him. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Trip replied, smiling at the expression on Malcolm's face. "Really, Malcolm, I'm good." He sat up slowly, his back stiff from the cold, hard floor. "How long have I been out?" he asked, rubbing his neck, then rolling his shoulders.

"Not long," Malcolm replied. "Maybe a quarter hour."

"What happened?"

Archer's voice came from behind him. "We were attacked -"

Trip interrupted. "Is everyone okay?"

Hoshi winced. "We're all fine, but our guide..." she let her voice drift away.

Trip nodded and tried to stand. Malcolm helped him up as Archer moved to his side. "The group who attacked us transported us to this location," the Captain said. "We seem to be underground, in a series of caves. We passed through a large cavern just before they put us in this alcove," he said, indicating the small space around them.

"Any idea who these people are?" Trip asked as he looked around the tiny space, noticing carvings along the walls. He moved closer and squatted down to see them better in the torchlight. Each drawing seemed to depict some sort of ritual. Trip saw pictures of a pit ringed by Osoba, all of them looking down into it. He ran a hand along that carving to the next image, which showed one person jumping up into the air above the hole. Another showed some sort of ethereal figure hovering while holding a four-lobed flower. He pulled out his scanner and began to take some readings.

"No," Archer replied as Trip worked. "They haven't told us anything yet."

Trip was about to ask another question when a rumble of voices and movement came from behind him. He turned with the others just a group of four Osoba, three of whom were carrying some sort of weapons, stopped in the opening of the alcove.

Before any of the Osoba could speak, the Captain stepped forward. "I am Jonathan Archer, of the star -"

"We know who you are," one of the Osoba said, cutting Archer off. He frowned, then pointed to the captain. "Archer." Then he pointed at each of them in turn. "Sato. Reed. Tucker. I am Samul." He smiled at Trip, but his smile did not reach his eyes. Nodding at the scanner in Trip's hand, he said, "You will hand over your technology."

Trip glanced to Archer, who nodded slightly, and Trip held out the device. One of Samul's counterparts reached out to take it, but missed. He got it on the second grasp.

"And the rest," Samul said coldly. "Including your weapons. We will search you afterwards."

Trip and the others handed over the rest of their devices. As Hoshi held out the translation device, Archer said, "We need to keep this. It allows us to understand what you are saying."

Samul nodded sharply. As his people moved forward and began searching them, Trip watched one of the men leave with their items, returning moments later. That meant the devices probably weren't taken far, Trip thought. As alien hands roamed over his body, Trip caught Malcolm's eye. Malcolm glanced towards the man who had just returned, then nodded.

Samul waved his hand and his counterparts pocketed their weapons. "I apologize for that," he said. "We do not usually need weapons here. The dangers of the caves are often enough to prevent unexpected visitors." He gave them a twisted smile.

"Why did you bring us here?" Archer asked sharply.

"When we heard on the newsfeeds that you were touring our most precious forest, well, we just couldn't pass up that opportunity." Samul leaned forward conspiratorially. "It was just a bit...too...good." Then he leaned back. "We are a small group, but we have big plans, eh?" The Osoba around him smiled. One of them snickered.

Trip exchanged a glance with Malcolm again. While he was no expert on the Osoba, this particular group did strike him as being a bit off.

Samul went on. "We plan to use your capture to discredit our government. After all, it was a triumph for them, meeting with humans from Earth, but they were unfortunately unable to protect you, eh?" He frowned. "So sad." His minions laughed, and one of them shoved the person next to him, who shoved him back.

Trip let out a ragged breath. There was a nervous energy in the room, an edginess that had been ramping up steadily as Samul spoke. These folks seemed kind of high-strung, almost twitchy. Whatever was wrong, they weren't acting like the others they'd met on the planet.

From beside him, Hoshi asked, "What are you planning to do with us?"

Samul smiled. "Oh, don't worry, little one. We have plans for you." He looked from her to Archer, then back. "Perhaps something very special, involving you two who are so outspoken?" He gave a slight shrug. "You can wander as you wish. Just don't go too far - these caves have a way of making people disappear." He raised one hand and blew on his fingers with a "puff." He laughed, turning his back on them and leaving the alcove, the rest of his gang following.

Once he was sure Samul was out of earshot, Trip turned to Archer. "There is something seriously wrong with those people."

"They seem rather unpredictable," Malcolm said.

Archer nodded. "Trip, Malcolm, see if you can find our communicators and weapons."

Trip said, "I think that they're stored somewhere just outside this room. That guy didn't go far."

"How much time before we are due to report back to Enterprise?" Hoshi asked, her voice shaky.

Trip gave her a weak smile. "Another three hours yet."

"So they'll probably realise that something happened by that point," she replied.

"Let's not wait," Malcolm said, striding to the alcove opening and looking out into the room beyond. After a moment he waved them forward, and they all stepped out into a large cavern.

Trip took a quick look around. There were several dozen Osoba in the space, most gathered into small groups, none paying them the least bit of attention. Trip watched as the three people closest to them said some low words in unison, splitting some sort of flower-like object into sections and eating it. As he watched, he saw one of them stumble a bit and lean against the wall. After a moment, she slid down to the floor, a contented smile on her face. One of her friends laughed.

Trip stepped to Malcolm's side. "What they're eating looks a lot like the flower in their carvings."

Malcolm nodded. "I've noticed several of the groups doing the same. I believe it has something to do with their odd behavior."

As a woman walked by, Hoshi said, "Excuse me."

"Yes?" the woman asked, stopping suddenly. Now that Trip knew to look, he could clearly see what he thought must be signs of drug use in her bloodshot eyes and slightly jerky movements.

"I'm Hoshi."

"Beata," the woman replied.

"What are those people doing?" Hoshi asked her, pointing towards one of the groups where they were splitting a flower.

"Ah, that's our narkotzowac sie." At Hoshi's obvious puzzlement, Beata smiled. "We use the zastrzyk to bring us closer to our smierc."

Hoshi made a quick adjustment to the translator and looked up. "Could you repeat that, please?"

Beata nodded, and reached into her pocket, holding out one of the flower-like objects. "We use the drug to bring us closer to our deaths..."

Hoshi blinked rapidly and made another adjustment.

"...and to our spirituality," the woman finished. "We use the drug to help us see more clearly, behind the veil." She smiled again. "To bring us closer to our death."

Hoshi frowned. "It kills you?"

Beata laughed. "No, it doesn't kill us. It just helps us prepare for the leap. Gets us closer to the death-spirits, helps us honor them, you know."

"Is it harmful?"

"What? This?" The woman asked, raising the flower. "No. Well - not really, not for most."

"Is it addictive?"

"Addictive?" Beata asked, obviously puzzled.

"Can you stop taking it if you want to?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. No one ever wants to." She held the flower towards Hoshi. "Want some?"

"Oh, no. Thank you."

As Beata walked away, Hoshi turned back to the others, eyebrow raised.

"You should have gotten some for Phlox," Trip said wryly.

Hoshi just gave him a look.

"Odd that everyone here is so focused on taking that drug," Malcolm said, his gaze taking in all the people in the room.

Hoshi nodded. "Well, what she said implied that it's an important part of some sort of death ritual. The guide had told me all about the Osoba's former focus on death. I wonder if this group is some sort of throwback?"

Trip heard voices coming closer and looked up to see Samul and his crew striding towards them. As he approached, Samul pointed first to Archer, then to Hoshi. As he walked by, the two of them were grabbed and dragged along, and Trip found himself surrounded by Osoba, holding him back as he and Malcolm struggled to reach their friends.

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