FIVE

The bridge crew sat an listened as words in different languages came from the speaker. It sounded like ten words in each language, then a new string of words in a different language. The crew listened as the string of words appeared to go through the various languages in the database.

"They're numbers," said Hoshi. "It's the numbers one through ten in each language. It's almost as if whoever or whatever this is is trying to learn each of the languages."

"Can we speak to it?" asked Archer.

"Yes, sir," said Hoshi.

"I'm Captain Jonathon Archer of the Earth ship, Enterprise," said Archer, moving toward the communications console. "Our mission is one of peace. You are apparently trying to communicate with us. We would like to communicate with you."

As soon as Archer had begun to speak, the entity inside the console had stopped. It waited patiently until Archer had finished speaking. Then the crew heard several words come over the intercom.

"Archer . . . Enterprise . . . peace . . . communicate," said the translator.

"Yes," said Archer. "My name is Jonathon Archer. You're aboard the space ship, Enterprise. Do you understand?"

"Understand," responded the translator. "Peace. Hurt not. Help give. Long in nebula. Time out running. Transporter use."

"Sir," said Hoshi. "I don't think it's got complete control of the translator yet. It seems to be able to access the word database, but is having trouble with the grammatical part of the translator."

"What does it mean, 'hurt not'?" asked Archer. "Does it mean for us not to hurt it or that it won't hurt us?"

"Assuming the entity is peaceful," said T'Pol, "I would imagine it is asking that we not hurt it. Perhaps by isolating it we have inadvertently harmed it in some way."

"Sir," said Travis, "what did it mean for us to use the transporter?"

"I don't know, Travis," said Archer. "Apparently it wants us to use the transporter but for what?" He turned back to the communications console. "We won't hurt you. But we don't understand. Do you want us to use our transporter?"

"Hurt not," said the translator. "Energy low. Time gone. Transporter. Return."

"It's not making any sense," said Malcolm. "Even if we knew what it meant, we can't use the transporter. Commander Tucker hasn't even started the repairs on it yet."

Archer activated the intercom on his command chair.

"Trip," said Archer, "how quickly can you get the transporter back up?"

"About six hours for full repairs, sir," responded Trip.

"Is there any way to get it working sooner than that?" asked Archer. "Long enough to use it only once."

"I suppose I could rig something," said Tucker. "It will overload the system and require longer time for the total repairs."

"How long?" asked Archer.

"An hour," said Trip. "Maybe a little longer. But I wouldn't recommend it, sir."

"Get on it," said Archer. "I need the transporter working as soon as possible."

"I'm on it," said Trip. "I'll let you know as soon as I have it ready."

"Thanks, Trip," said Archer. He walked back to the communications console. "Our transporter is down right now. We're working on it as fast as we can. It should be working in about an hour."

"No time," said the translator. "Time gone. Energy gone."

"Captain," said T'Pol, "if this is an energy being, it is possible that by being trapped in the Enterprise, it is being deprived of the energy it needs to sustain itself."

"Can we do something to help it?" asked Archer.

"I'd advise against that, sir," said Malcolm. "We have no idea what it's intentions are. It's already demonstrated that it can control our systems."

"It's obviously intelligent," said Archer. "We can't just let it die. T'Pol, is there any way for us to provide it with the energy it needs?"

"Yes, sir," said T'Pol. "If we can get it back into the warp core, it is possible that it can utilize the energy reactions there as a source of sustenance."

"Entity," said Archer. "We're going to open a path to our warp core. That should provide you with all the energy you require. Do you understand?"

"Warp core?" questioned the entity. "Understand not."

"The warp core is our primary form of propulsion," said Archer. "It produces large amounts of energy. You can use it to sustain yourself until our transporter is working."

"Energy, understood," said the entity. "Time gone. Hurry must."

"T'Pol," said Archer, "open a pathway to the warp core. Travis, take the nacelle's offline and engage the warp engines. That should provide this entity with all the energy it needs to survive until Trip can get the transporter online."

"Aye, sir," said Travis.

"Captain," said T'Pol, "the entity is moving along the pathway. It's readings are fading. It should reach the warp core in approximately twelve point three seconds."

Archer waited as the entity made it's way to the warp core. He didn't believe this entity was a threat to them. How it had gotten trapped onboard the Enterprise, he didn't know, but he was sure that all it wanted to do was to go home.

"The entity has entered the warp core," announced T'Pol. "The readings have returned to normal. I believe it is drawing sustenance from the warp core as we theorized."

"Good," said Archer. "Close off the pathway to the warp core. Once we have the transporter operating, we'll open the pathway again to let the entity know it's working."

Archer left the bridge and headed for the transporter room to give Trip some help in rigging the transporter. They worked for an hour to get the transporter working. Archer continued to check in with T'Pol to make sure their guest was okay. The entities status hadn't changed. It seemed to thrive on the energy produced by the warp core. Finally, Trip said that the transporter was ready.

"It should hold up for at least on use," said Trip, "maybe two. Any more than that and we'll burn out every circuit in the system. Do you have any idea what this entity wants to use the transporter for?"

"My guess," said Archer, "is that it wants to use it to beam itself back into the nebula. I think that's where we picked it up. The way I figure it, that nebula is probably home to these energy creatures. That one probably got trapped aboard the Enterprise when we encountered the plasma storm."

"Makes sense," said Trip. "I'll stay here in case there are any problems with the transporter."

"Okay," said Archer. "I'll see if I can find out what this entity wants us to do. I'll let you know as soon as I find out anything."

Archer quickly headed for the bridge. When he arrived there, T'Pol informed him that the entity was sitting quietly in the warp core. Once it had entered the energy flow, it was impossible to keep track of, but there had been no further malfunctions aboard

the ship.

"T'Pol," said Archer, "open a pathway back to the communications console. The transporter is ready. Now all we have to do is learn what this entity wants next. Travis, power down the warp core. I don't want any overloads while that . . . whatever it is leaves the warp core."

Archer sat patiently in the command chair waiting to see if their guest would return to the communications console.