The charge had done its job and got them freedom, at least from the narrow confines in which they had been locked. Malcolm peeped out of the room, hoping the small explosion had not alerted their captors. There was a corridor, which ended in a widening on one end and against a door on the other. No one was in sight.

"Coast seems clear," Malcolm whispered back to Archer. He turned to give the man a hand, but the Captain made a dismissive gesture.

"I'm okay for the moment. Scout ahead, Malcolm, I'll follow you."

Malcolm gave his C.O. an assessing look. The man was a bit pale but seemed to be holding up. Then again, Archer was not only stubborn but also his superior officer, so he didn't have much choice in the matter. With a nod, he started stealthily along the corridor, in the direction of the widening. Having been knocked unconscious, he did not know what part of the compound the Shinxes had brought them to, namely where they stood with regards to their Shuttlepod. The place seemed silent and empty. If only he had his communicator… He had been wondering why Trip had not beamed them out of there yet, and he had concluded that the place must be shielded. They had to get out into the open; he was certain that as soon as Hoshi picked up their lifesigns, they would get an instant ride home.


The transporter room generally made people rather nervous, but Müller was the picture of serenity. Trip had decided to send him down alone, and the man had agreed that one person would be less conspicuous than a party. Trip was only hoping that the transport would not be detected. The Ensign climbed on the pad, phase pistol hanging from his side, determined green gaze straight ahead.

"Just find our men and contact us, Bernhard," Trip said tautly, for he felt tenser than Müller looked to be, "and we'll transport you all back to Enterprise. I'll be putting you down just outside the compound structure."

Müller's gaze strayed to him for a brief moment. "Yessir," he replied with a military nod.

"Good luck." After all, if an Admiral had said the words…

A small smile appeared on Müller's lips. "Thank you, Commander."

Trip shifted the levers, and Bernhard disappeared before his eyes.


They were proceeding slowly, but so far, they had not encountered anybody. Malcolm kept glancing over his shoulder, to check on the Captain's progress. The man was holding the arm of his wounded shoulder close to his body, and his breathing had become somewhat laboured. Malcolm bit his lower lip. The wound was not serious, but the bullet was still inside and Archer had lost a bit of blood; Malcolm was pretty sure that he was in pain and was developing a fever. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do for him, other than try and get him to Phlox as quickly as possible. He waited until the Captain had caught up with him.

"How're you holding up, Sir?" he whispered.

"Don't worry about me," Archer replied in a pained whisper.

"Begging your pardon, Captain, but I am supposed to worry about you," Malcolm commented with a wry smile.

Archer pulled a face. "You know what I mean…"

Returning to focus on the job at hand, Malcolm proceeded for another few metres. Now they were nearly at the widening, and he could see that it was a junction from which other corridors departed. No windows could be seen, no way to determine which corridor or door would lead them to the outside.

"I think I recognize that marking on the wall," Archer panted, jutting his chin up towards what looked like some writing beside a door. "If it is what I think it is, that's the room where we were holding the negotiations, which means-"

"Hush," Malcolm interrupted him in an urgent whisper. He could hear voices. He pulled Archer back a couple of steps, to the closest door. He opened it and took a quick peek inside. Some light was filtering through a high window: maps on the wall, charts, desks, chairs… A tactical room? The important thing was that no one was there. They slipped inside and Malcolm put the door ajar, leaving a tiny gap. Through it he watched the two Shinxes approach, deep in conversation; fortunately, they veered down another corridor and after a few moments had disappeared from sight. Malcolm let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Are they gone?"

Malcolm turned to a wobbly Archer. He quickly lent a supporting hand. "Yes. But I heard them speak of ships approaching," he said in concern. "We'd better find our Shuttlepod."

"If that's where we were holding the negotiations," Archer began, but something had caught Malcolm's eye. "Hold on, Sir," he said. He left the Captain leaning back on a desk and went to study a diagram that was hanging from a wall across the room. "I believe this is a map of the compound."


Bernhard rematerialized beside Shuttlepod One. He crouched, studying his surroundings first with his gaze and then with his scanner. He could detect no lifesigns, human or otherwise. Yes, they must be shielded, he thought. Well, so far so good. Bernhard let out the breath he had probably taken when still on Enterprise's transporter pad. Now for the difficult part. He jogged, still in a crouch, towards the entrance to the compound, relieved to know that, at least on paper, there were only two Shinxes to contend with on the premises.


Supporting a person who was taller than him was not fun. Malcolm had silently passed his arm around Archer's waist and the Captain had accepted that without a word, leaning on him to find his balance. Like this they were proceeding towards what, thanks to the providential map they had found, they now knew would be the exit to the landing strip, when Malcolm's vision blurred. He stopped abruptly in his tracks, a foul word escaping his lips. "Malcolm?" he heard Archer wonder, but under the powerful influence of what he was experiencing, he found it impossible to reply. It wasn't so much a vision, this time, for his sight was swimming in a sort of fog, as an irresistible urge to…

"Lieutenant?"

The word had been spoken with enough concern to shake him. Malcolm blinked and fixed his gaze on the door that stood to their left, feeling a strange urge to open it.

"Is it happening again?" Archer asked.

Malcolm tightened his lips. What was wrong with him? He must get himself and his C.O. out of there and back to their ship! "Nothing, Sir," he muttered. He dragged Archer for another couple of steps but was blinded once again, and almost physically drawn to follow some mysterious force that prompted him to open that door.

"Captain, I'm sorry," he heard himself say, "but I must do this."

"Do what?"

He heard Archer grunt in pain as he released him, but there was nothing he could do to resist the pull that was being exercised on him. With his heart racing, he went to the door, put his hand on the handle and tried it. The door was locked, but that did not discourage him, he would have knocked the thing down, so strong was the drive to go inside. Fortunately, he did not have to, for feeling around the door frame, he found a locking mechanism, and he released it with a clang. The scene that appeared before his eyes was something that he would probably remember for a long time.


Bernhard was now at the compound entrance. The military structure was large and had a complex layout. One storey high, the place extended like a strange, multi-limbed creature. One could easily lose oneself in such a labyrinth of corridors, but Bernhard had downloaded a map of the place. He had, moreover, his scanner, although he ought to be careful using technology that the Shinxes might pick up.

The interior was in semi-darkness, because the compound only had a line of high-set, narrow windows to illuminate it. Bernhard looked around, then briefly studied his scanner. Two dots appeared, Archer and Reed. Another two were in another wing: the Shinxes. Sehr gut. Then he caught sight of what read like another set of lifesigns, near his shipmates, which were not recognizable. He frowned.


Three creatures were huddling together in a corner of the semi-dark room. They were, to all intents and purposes, naked, in the sense that they wore no clothes. Their skin, if it was skin, was a translucent blue-grey-green, and aside from the fact that one of them was much smaller in size – giving the impression that it was a child – there were no distinctive features that might tell you whether they were male or female. In fact, the most distinctive feature about them was that their legs ended with what resembled flippers more than feet. They had no hair, no ears that one could see; their eyes were large and elongated, their noses just a small, rounded ridge, and their mouths… Well Malcolm could not tell whether they had one, until one of them spoke.

"Thank you for coming, Lieutenant Reed," the creature said in a quivering voice. "I wasn't sure that with the poor strength I have left I could reach you."

Malcolm blinked and almost took a step back. "How do you know my name? Who are you?"

"Please help us," the other creature of similar proportions pleaded, stirring. The small one held on to it for dear life.

"Help you?" Malcolm wondered. He heard laboured breathing behind him and turned to glance at Archer, who had joined him inside the room. There was the man he was sworn to help and serve. He shook his head, and in a deep voice said, "My first responsibility is towards my Captain."

"I know," the first creature almost whined. He seemed in a bad way and close to despair. "I am sorry for what I did," the alien moaned, "but I was forced to collaborate, or my family would die, and my species would be endangered."

Realization came in a flash, and with it a surge of anger. "It was you," Malcolm said threateningly. "You messed me up!"

"I'll explain everything, but please," the creature urged, "my family and I need to get to the water, or we'll die!"

"Who are you?" Archer breathlessly asked.

"My name is Xrey. We are Thers. We dwell in the underwater caves of this planet, and have lived undetected until now, until my son Xrollit wandered to the surface alone; we went searching for him and were captured."

At the words, the small creature, who was clinging on to… his mother? held on even more tightly, and Malcolm surmised that he was the son in question. He looked terrified.

"The Shinxes have since discovered our existence and our powers, which you have experienced," Xrey went on in a hurry. "They wanted to use me to scramble your Captain's mind, so they could easily overpower him during the negotiations." He stopped, out of breath; and with a visible effort concluded, "I knew that if the Shinxes got their way and conquered our world, our species would be enslaved forever, so I did what I could to thwart their plans and targeted you, Lieutenant Reed."

"Bloody hell," Malcolm cursed under his breath.

Xrey laboriously got to a standing position, and he tottered perilously. "Things didn't go the way I had expected, it's complicated," he said, leaning against the wall. He was short and thin. "We need to be in water to live," he insisted. "Time is running out for us…"

"You manipulated my mind," Malcolm spat out, "give me one good reason for helping you now."

Xrey wiped a hand over his brow. "Didn't I try to save your Captain?" he said weakly. "Didn't I forewarn you of the Shinxes' attack on him?"

Malcolm was about to reply when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "There is no time for this, Malcolm," Archer said, for his ears only. "We should take them with us."

Malcolm clenched his jaw. Right as Archer might be, here he was, with his C.O. to bring to safety and three seemingly defenceless people begging for help, one of them looking like he might faint from one moment to the next. Too much for one person to handle.

"Sir," he began; but he quickly cut himself off and, gesturing Archer to keep silent, dragged him away from the door, which he softly closed.

There wasn't much light in the room. Malcolm looked around for something he could use as a weapon; all he could see was a chair with straps and a table. He grabbed one of the straps and tested it for strength. Then flattened against the wall, ready to pounce on whoever might enter. Xrey was directly in his line of sight. He saw him close his eyes and bring his hands to his temples. He began to quiver, and his wife – for at this point it seemed clear that that was who she was – hurried to his side. This is not the right moment for a fainting fit! Malcolm silently prayed. But to his dismay Xrey, instead, suddenly opened his eyes and began to speak.

"Lieutenant," he shouted, blinking, "It's not who you-"

He could not finish his sentence. The door opened, and Malcolm wasted no time. He jumped on the person who put his head in, pulled him roughly inside, passed the rope around his neck and tightened it. A moment later, however, he was flying over the person's head and landing painfully on his back. He quickly turned around, ready to fight, only to find a beam of light pointed at him. He raised an arm against it, blinded.

"Sir, are you alright?" a well-known voice asked.

Müller lowered the light and offered him a lift-up, and Malcolm gratefully accepted it. "Did I teach you that move, Ensign?" he quipped, adding right after, "Bless you, you've come at the right moment. Are you alone?"

"Yes, we thought one person would be less conspicuous."

"Well done," Archer wheezed out.

Müller turned to him and frowned. "Captain, you, on the other hand, don't look very alright."

"I'll be fine once Phlox patches me up. Let's get out of here."

Müller took stock of the situation and questioned Malcolm with his gaze. "Long story," Malcolm said, hurrying to Archer's side.

"What about us?" Xrey asked. "Are you going to leave us here to die?"

"We'll get you on Enterprise," Archer said, starting for the door while supported by Malcolm. "Come on, time's a-wasting."

Xrey brought both hands to his head and cried out, "We need water, Captain! And with our physiology, we can't use your transporter!" He tottered again, quickly putting a hand to the wall to stop himself from falling. "Go," he added resignedly. "You're right, this is not your battle."

Archer stopped. "Malcolm?"

That one word was rather eloquent. Malcolm grimaced. This creature had made him go mad for the past week, but could he, in good conscience, condemn an entire family to die without trying to help them? Making a quick decision, he beckoned Müller to take his place and faced his feverish C.O. "I'll join you just as soon as I've taken them to the nearest shore," he said.

"Lieutenant, you ought to know that there are a number of Ravaja and Shinx ships on the way here. There's going to be fighting in a few hours," Müller warned.

"I'll be out long before then," Malcolm reassured. "The shore is not far; I saw it on our landing approach."

Archer spared him a long look. "Make sure you do," he said, reaching to give him a fatherly squeeze of the shoulder.

Müller unzipped his arm pocket. "Take my communicator, Sir, and contact us as soon as you are ready for transport. We'll get the Shuttlepod. The exit to the landing strip is close by."

They left the room, Müller supporting Archer, Malcolm supporting Xrey, Xrey's wife with their son in her arms. They had made good progress and were nearly at the exit, when at the far end of one corridor the Shinxes appeared. Without a warning, as soon as they realised what was going on, they began to fire. A couple of bullets ricocheted off the wall a bit too close for comfort.

Müller grabbed his phase pistol. "Give it to me, I'll cover you," Malcolm urged him, crouching. "Get the Captain out of here."

With a grimace of unhappiness, Müller obeyed and handed him the weapon. Then nodded a military nod and left the compound, dragging Archer with him.