Chapter Four

"Captain, the water that has accumulated in the chamber where our men are trapped is exercising great pressure on the debris. It would be advisable for our people to get out of the caves as soon as possible."

Archer straightened in his seat in concern. That innocent raising of the eyebrows did not fool him anymore. He knew that T'Pol could convey the most worrisome news in the most impassive voice. At the beginning of their mission, it had irritated him greatly. Now he appreciated her calm under pressure. "How long is it going to hold?" he enquired directly.

"I have no way of telling," T'Pol replied. "You must urge the rescue team to work fast."

Two rifles worked a lot better than one phase pistol.

"Enough," Trip shouted, lowering his weapon. "I think I can get a man through it now."

His communicator chirped. He unzipped his arm pocket, retrieved it and threw it to Müller. "You get it," he said as he began to climb up the rubble, fighting against the water that was now overflowing abundantly through the opening they had made.

"Trip," Archer's worried voice echoed in the tunnel, "the water pressure on that debris wall is getting critical. What's your status?"

"Müller here, Captain," Malcolm's SIC replied. "We managed to make a big enough hole. Commander Tucker is about to get our people through it now."

"Get out of those caves as soon as possible," Archer urged.

"Malcolm!" Trip called, but there was no reply. He shone his flashlight around, fighting the fear that it might be too late. He moved it across the entire chamber, cursing under his breath. No one was in sight. He was drenched and starting to feel cold.

"H—here," a faint voice said.

Trip scrambled up the debris another bit and leaned across the opening, looking right and left.

"Get this m—man to s—safety."

Malcolm was just beyond the opening. He was holding on to a jutting piece of rock with one arm, his other holding Strutt's head above the water. Trip reached out and grabbed Strutt by one arm, pushing away the thought that he and Müller had nearly used their rifles just on that very part of the wall. They would have killed their crewmates had they done so.

"I've got him. You can let go of him now, Ma- Robert," he said. But Malcolm was a statue of ice. Trip reached with his other hand and forcibly extracted Strutt from his grip. "Hold on, I'll be back for you in a moment," he told his friend.

"N—no time," Malcolm stuttered, looking much too weak and confused, "It was a hon—honour, Com—Commander..."

Trip reached out and grabbed Malcolm's shoulder tightly, stopping at the last moment from giving the man a good shake - not a good idea if he was concussed. "Don't ya dare give up on me now, d'you hear me, Lieutenant?" he barked.

"The sh—ship… it's s—sinking" Malcolm stuttered, as if saying it's not my fault.

There was no point trying to argue with a hallucinating man, so Trip got to work getting Strutt through the opening. "Damn, but he weighs a ton!" he complained to Müller, who had come up to lend a hand. "Get him and the Doctor out of the caves on the double," he urged. "We'll be right behind you." There was now a steady waterfall coming out of the aperture, and the tunnels were beginning to look like streams.

"Aye, Sir" Müller replied, always the proper officer like his chief.

Trip watched him slide down the rubble with the injured man in his arms and turned back to the opening. "Malcolm!" he called. He directed the beam of his flashlight to the spot where Malcolm had been just moments before, but he was no longer there. Trip felt his gut clench. "Robert!" he shouted. He searched the chamber and spotted him floating a couple of metres out. He was not moving.

Wasting no time, Trip wedged his flashlight in between a couple of rocks and pushed himself through the hole, diving into the water. With a few strokes he got to the spot, just in time to grab Malcolm's arm and pull him up, for he had started to sink. To Trip's relief, the man gasped and sputtered, coughing up some water.

"That's it, spit it all out, Malcolm," he told him.

"Co—commander? Is th—that you?"

"That's me alright," Trip replied, "whatever Commander you're thinkin' of."

Trip passed an arm across Malcolm's chest and started towards the opening. The water level was still rising, it was now almost above their escape way and the ceiling of the cave was closing down on them. Getting himself and Malcolm through the opening proved a difficult affair, for the man was stiff and uncooperative, but Trip was very motivated. They almost rolled down the debris, with Trip managing to break their fall. The water had now transformed the tunnels into rivers.

Without further ado, Trip heaved Malcolm onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry. Stumbling in the sloshing water, he started towards the exit. He was half-way through when he heard a loud rumbling sound. The wall of debris collapsing… He quickened his pace, but it was not easy carrying a man and walking in water. He could hear the wave coming but did not turn to look at it. When it hit, he could already see the light at the end of the tunnel. He was surprised by the force of the impact. He was swept off his feet and lost hold of Malcolm.

The next he knew, he was lying on the ground outside the caves, with Müller kneeling by his side.

"Are you all right, Commander?" the Ensign was asking in a taut voice.

Trip took quick stock of himself. He could move all limbs. "Yeah, I think so," he croaked out. "Just a bit wet." He turned and saw that Phlox was tending to Malcolm.

There was a chirping sound. Müller reached for a communicator and handed it to Trip, who took it and flicked it open.

"Tucker," Trip panted, wiping a wet sleeve over his brow.

"What's your status? We detected a large cave-in," Archer's worried voice enquired.

"We're okay, Sir." Trip took in the Doctor's quick, professional ministrations and winced. "What I mean is we're out of the caves. Strutt and Malcolm don't look too good."

Phlox lowered his medical scanner and raised compelling eyes on him. "We must get them both to Sickbay as quickly as possible, Commander. Their body temperature is critically low, and they both suffered concussions."

Tips raked a hand through his hair. "Did you hear that Capt'n? How is the transporter coming along?"

"I'm afraid it's still offline."

Archer's despondent tone had carried through the comm link.

"Then we'd better be off, Sir," Trip said. "We have a bit of a hike to get to the Shuttlepods." He cut the communication and sighed. "Give me a hand here, Ensign." He reached out with his right arm and Müller promptly pulled him upright.

Phlox had closed his case and was waiting. Müller went to lift up Strutt. Trip got a hold of Malcolm. And without another word, they were off.

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