Chapter 3

Roger showed Trip to a room he could use, then left him alone to get settled in. Trip shivered at the cold air in the room and was happy to have found an extra blanket. He didn't like the thought of wearing his uniform to sleep in, but even with the extra blanket, the room was still cold and it made him even more willing to get this ship's system back on line for the crew.

Trip slept for a little over 2 hours, but felt more rested than he had felt since...well...a long time. When he woke, he realized how hungry he was, since he had skipped breakfast that morning and hadn't eaten all day. He figured that on Enterprise, it must be close to dinner time and wondered what chef had made that day.

He didn't see any of the other crew as he found his way to the galley, and figured he'd find them there having their meal. He was a little surprised that the dining room was empty and dark...in fact, it looked like it hadn't been used in quite some time. He started to look around for something that might have been prepared as a "grab and go" meal, as chef would often do on his ship.

Just as he got to the door to the kitchen, he was startled by the voice that came from behind him, as he didn't hear the main door opening or anyone walking in. "Can I help you with something?"

He turned to find Kelly looking at him slightly perplexed. "Uh...I wasn't sure what time y'all have your meals here. Will it be soon, or did I miss it? I don't hear your chef in the kitchen or smell any food cooking."

Kelly gave a small smile. "Chef? Well, you live pretty luxurious on that starship of yours, don't you? No. We don't have a chef or cook or anything."

Trip nodded. "Oh. Ok then...guess I'll just go and fix myself a sandwich or something. If that's alright."

He turned back to the door and started to open it when Kelly stopped him. "Actually...we all just eat MRE's. Um..."

Trip shook his head and blew out a breath. "Let me guess...Ferengi took your food too."

Kelly looked down a moment with slight embarrassment before looking at Trip again. "I have some extras in my room you're welcomed to."

Trip held up a hand. "I appreciate the offer, but I never take another person's rations. We keep an emergency pack on the shuttle, I'll just use the rations from that. Thanks anyway."

Trip made his way to the shuttle and rummaged through the emergency bag until he found the ration packs. He couldn't understand why these people chose to live off of MRE's, perhaps they hadn't yet made it to a port where they could stock up on their food supply. Perhaps they didn't have anything worth trading for food. Perhaps they just simply didn't trust alien food. Whatever the case may be, he added this to the growing list of things he'd ask Archer to help them with when he got back.

As he sat in the shuttle choking down his meal pack of meatloaf, that was quite bland and dry, he was startled again by Sam's voice. Damn! What is it with these people sneaking up on me? He thought to himself.

"I'm glad to find you here, Trip." Sam said with excitement.

"Oh? What's going on?" Trip asked as he swallowed hard to get the hunk of meatloaf down his throat.

"We have your ship on an intercept course. I already spoke to your Captain and told him that you're on board. He'll be here in less than 5 minutes to pick you up. Uh...there might be an issue with a ship-to-ship dock, will you be ok to disembark in your shuttle until Enterprise picks you up?"

Trip got a little excited as he shoved his ration pack to the side. "Yeah! Yeah, I'll be fine out there. You will wait with me, won't you? I mean, once Enterprise gets here, we can help you out with your problems, get you the injectors you need, and maybe some food so you don't have to live off of your rations. I'm sure Cap'n wouldn't mind...hell, he'll probably send over an entire team to help you get things straightened up over here."

Sam gave a smile. "Of course we'll wait with you. We would never leave anyone stranded."

~ooOoo~

Trip sat in the shuttle as it drifted, waiting for Enterprise. He couldn't see the Sparrow from the window anymore, but figured that they had moved back to allow room for Enterprise to maneuver while picking up the pod. He let out a sigh of relief when the comm channel crackled at him.

"Shuttle pod one, Commander Tucker...do you read?" Archer's voice came through.

"Reading you, Cap'n. Sure am glad to see you!"

"Likewise, Trip. Are you alright?"

"Other than the power loss...no worse for wear."

"Can you maneuver in, or do we need to hook you?"

Trip chuckled. It was the second time today he was asked that question. "I think I can manage...thanks."

Trip got the shuttle into dock and gave a wide grin as he got out to see Archer and Travis standing in the bay waiting on him. "Boy are you guys a sight for sore eyes!"

Jon gave his friend a big hug. "I was just thinking the same. I was getting worried that we would never find you. I'm sorry it took so long, but you drifted off course."

Trip crinkled his brows. "So long? What are you talking about, Cap'n? Sam figured it would take at least a day to get to the rendezvous, but you found us in hours."

Jon gave Trip a puzzling look. "Sam? Whose Sam? Hours? Trip...you've been missing since yesterday."

Trip shook his head. "Wait...what? No. I've only been aboard the Sparrow, Sam's ship, for about 6...7 hours. Are you trying to screw with me?"

"Commander." Travis started. "We waited at the rendezvous for 2 hours. When you didn't show, we set a course to the conference along your flight path. Once we got there, without seeing you along the way, they told us you left on schedule. We doubled back along your course, taking it slower and widening our scan. We picked up your signal here. The shuttle drifted off course by 40 kilometers. What's this about the Sparrow?"

Trip jumped a little at Jon as he started to explain. "Oh! Cap'n...the cargo ship! They're in bad shape over there. They got boarded by Ferengi and ripped off good. Their anti-matter injector is missing, along with the long range communication array. That's why we couldn't hail Enterprise until you were closer. The little bastards even stole their food! We have to help them."

Jon put his hands up in front of him. "Whoa, whoa. Trip? What the hell are you talking about? What cargo ship?"

"The cargo ship I was just on!" Trip's eyes got wide. "Oh no! I told them we would help! They couldn't have just left like that!" Without another word, Trip bolted from the docking bay towards the bridge with Jon and Travis on his heels.