The vegetation on this planet was thick and difficult to manage. But Xaya – he had since learnt the woman's name –seemed unmindful of the scratches that the thorny bushes were leaving on their limbs: she was forging ahead with the determination of despair, though her species' feet were not really made for running on dry land. Malcolm's uniform was being shredded to pieces, but that was the least of his problems. The thing that worried him was that the Shinxes were still after them.

After repelling the Shinxes and giving Müller and Archer enough time to get to the pod, Malcolm had rushed his party out of the compound, with Xrey over his shoulder in a firefighter's grip. He had let the woman take the lead, for she undoubtedly knew the place better than he did, and this left him better able to protect their backs. He had known the Shinxes would not give up the chase. Having lost the Captain, they would want to recapture him and Xrey. He could hear them in pursuit, though for the moment they were at a reassuring distance.

"How long to the water?" Malcolm shouted to Xaya, a couple of meters ahead of him.

"I don't know," Xaya shouted back in a shrill voice, without stopping, "I'm not sure any more…"

"You mean we might be going in the wrong direction?" Malcolm, who was starting to feel all the exhaustion of this complicated mission, cursed under his breath. He was beginning to regret paging Hoshi to tell her that she should keep an eye on his lifesigns but not transport him out until he said so.

"We hardly ever come to the surface," Xaya justified herself. "I was certain that… Wait!"

She stopped abruptly and Malcolm almost bumped into her. "What?" he tautly enquired, turning to check on their pursuers. From his vantage point, he could see the vegetation being disturbed as they advanced. They were still quite far away, but Malcolm knew they should waste no time.

Xaya moved some tall weeds aside. "There!" she exclaimed. "I see the shimmering!"

There was such emotion in her voice that Xrey stirred and asked to be let down. At the sight of water, he seemed to recover some of his strength. They resumed as quickly as they could, but as they got to the shore, they found themselves on a flat cliff, with the water a couple of meters below. A bullet flew past Malcolm's head. "Go," he said, putting a knee to the ground and aiming his phase pistol.

With his peripheral vision, Malcolm saw Xaya and her son jump off the cliff and heard the splash as they entered the water. "Go!" he urged Xrey once again. The alien crouched on the cliff edge but seemed hesitant.

Another bullet whined past. There was nothing there that could offer Malcolm cover. Well, he'd done his duty, time to get out. He reached for Müller's communicator, but as he flipped it open, a searing pain in his arm made him drop the device. With a plop, it hit the water surface and sank, forever out of reach. Malcolm's heart sank as well. Forget what I said, Hoshi… Clenching his jaw, he raised his pistol again, prepared to fight to the bitter end.

"Take a deep breath," he heard Xrey shout.

A deep breath? Realization of what the words meant came as he suddenly felt weightless. He hit the water locked in the embrace of the man he had just been carrying on his shoulder, his heart now in his throat. This could not be happening to him…


The relief of seeing Archer emerge from Shuttlepod One was soon replaced by a hard knot of concern. The Captain looked in a bad way, even though he bravely gave Trip a would-be reassuring smile and croaked out "I'll be okay." Trip heard Phlox give curt orders to his medics, and their C.O. was soon whisked away on a gurney to Sickbay.

Trip turned, expecting to see Malcolm, but only Müller was there. "Where's Lieutenant Reed?" he asked him, that knot getting tighter.

"He has remained behind to help some aliens, Commander," Müller replied. "They needed to get to the water and one of them was very weak."

"What?" Trip grimaced, puzzled. "What aliens? There were supposed to be only the six negotiators down there, and the planet is supposed to be uninhabited."

Müller shook his head. "I don't know anything more than what I've just told you, Sir. There was no time for explanations. But I left Lieutenant Reed my communicator, so that he can contact us as soon as he's ready for transport."

"Alright. Thank you, Ensign," Trip muttered. He walked to the comm. link. "Bridge, how long till those ships are here?"

"The first ones will arrive in little more than four hours," Mayweather's voice replied.

"The Capt'n is back, he's in Sickbay," Trip informed them, "but Malcolm is still on the planet. Hoshi, he should be contacting us to be beamed out any time now."

"He paged me a few minutes ago, saying to wait until he gave the order, Commander," Hoshi replied, "but now I've lost his lifesigns…"

Trip raked a nervous hand through his hair. That didn't sound good. "I'll be right up," he said, and he cut the link.


Malcolm kept his eyes closed but knew all the same that they were travelling in the water at extraordinary speed. His ear drums were hurting, and his lungs were about to explode. This is it, he thought, all that effort and family conflicts to serve in Starfleet, just to end up drowning on an alien planet anyway.

And then, unexpectedly, they broke to the surface. Lungs burning, he gulped in air and moved his legs to keep afloat, though he was still in Xrey's firm grip. After a moment he cracked his eyes open and, blinking away the water that dripped from his face, was stunned to find himself in an amazing environment. This must be the largest cave he had ever seen, open somehow to the outside, for light filtered through some cracks up high, and in it was a village of large proportions, made of low houses and narrow alleys. He could see people, many people. And as he turned around, he realised there were also several Thers in the water.

Still avidly taking in air, Malcolm clamped down hard on the panic that always threatened to overpower him when he was in deep water. Grateful for Xrey's presence beside him, he let him lead him towards a slanted rock used to climb out of it.

"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" Xrey asked as Malcolm found his footing. His voice was strong and positive, a stunning contrast to what it had been just moments before, above water. "Forgive my abruptness," he added, "but you'd been wounded, and your life was in peril."

Only then did Malcolm remember. He looked at his left arm; it was bloodied but did not hurt – yet. He'd have to take a closer inspection, but the bullet seemed to have gone right through it, above the elbow. "I suppose I should thank you," he muttered to his rescuer, "but now let's get out of the water, it's not my favourite element."

They clambered up the incline and got to dry ground, and he dropped to sit on a bench, trying to ignore the crowd that was quickly gathering around him. He hated being the centre of attention.

Xrey kneeled by him and gently touched his wound. "Is it serious?" he enquired. "I'm afraid I cannot tell."

"I don't think so." Malcolm checked it. The bullet had gone in and out without touching the bone or any important blood vessels, thank God. He tore away the arm of his uniform, which was already tattered after their run through those thorny bushes, and tried to use it as a makeshift bandage, to stop the bleeding. Xrey helped him, tying the improvised pressure bandage tight, till Malcolm's quick intake of breath told him that perhaps he should stop.

"This is my home," Xrey said after a moment waving an arm out. "These are my people."

Malcolm lifted his gaze. Curious eyes seemed to lay him bare. Many of these Thers had probably never seen an alien before. He was still dazed by the events of the past minutes. Probably recognizing his discomfort, Xrey dispersed the crowd and said, "My house is not far. Let me help you."

"I thought I was helping you," Malcolm quipped. Xrey laughed out loud, a funny, mechanical sound. Malcolm frowned and wondered, "You did need the water to feel better, didn't you? You seem to have fully recovered your strength and good spirits."

"I have a few bruises, but those will heal, just like your arm."

Xrey put a hand to Malcolm's elbow to help him up, but Malcolm drew back. "Look, I'm grateful for what you did, believe me, but I need to return to my ship," he said resolutely. He was wet and cold, and all he wanted was to find a way to get out so that Hoshi could pick up his lifesigns.

"And you will, Lieutenant. All things in due time," Xrey said gently. "There are hot rocks in my home, come and warm up."