Chapter Three

Despite their initial scepticism, Sub Commander T'Pol and Commander Tucker worked well together. They slowly manoeuvred across the landscape examining the different types of fauna and rock strata, studying the exotic striations showing on numerous rock faces, while performing a geological analysis of them.

At first T'Pol would indicate which pieces she wanted Trip to photograph, while she took scans with her scanner, but as time wore on, a non verbal communication formed between them and she was able to accomplish this with a certain look, flick of her eyes, fingers or head.

Despite his early misgivings, Trip was actually enjoying himself, although he wasn't willing to admit it to his companion just yet. He thought the day would have been boring, full of Vulcan put downs about how humans were too emotional and how they lacked the intelligence to understand the complexities needed to complete a successful mission such as this. But he couldn't have been more wrong. She seemed to enjoy his company, even open to his input on deciding which strata or formation they were to examine next.

"Why don't we rest here for a while," said T'Pol, noticing they that he seemed to be tiring. "We've covered quite a lot of ground. A break and some nourishment should do us some good before proceeding further with our scans."

"Sounds good," replied Trip, sitting down on a nearby outcropping. He pulled his backpack off and took out a flask of water, which he drank heartily from before offering it to T'Pol. "Want some?"

"Thank you," she replied, taking the flask from him, and taking a delicate sip as he looked into his backpack for something to eat.

"Damn … ration bars. Remind me next time to ask Chef to prepare something more filling."

"They contain all the adequate nutrition your body needs to fulfil its requirements."

"Still taste like crap though," replied Trip, pulling a face while chewing on another morsel. "I'm surprised you went along with the Cap'n."

"His suggestion of using visual scans had merit," she answered. "Your assistance in this endeavour hasn't been as pointless or as meddlesome as I first feared."

"Apology accepted," smiled Trip. It wasn't quite an apology but it was probably as close as he was going to get for one. "So, where now? I think we've covered all the unusual looking formations in this area. Why don't we head over to that mountainous region in the distance? It looks like there might be some caves we can explore."

"I agree," replied T'Pol. "Are you adequately rested?"

"I'm fine. Come on, let's get movin'. The wind is picking up."

"Maybe we should return to the shuttle craft," said T'Pol, showing some concern. "It would not be wise to get stranded out here during a weather front."

"It's only a slight breeze, T'Pol," replied Trip, walking off. "There's no need to panic."

"I am not panicking, Commander. Just stating facts," she answered, catching up to him.

"This is no worse than the good ole Florida breeze I grew up with."

"As you are aware, Commander, we are a long way from Florida. Even though this is a Minshara-Class planet, there are significant differences between this world and Earth. It is unwise to compare the two."

"Enterprise will be able to pick up any weather fronts heading our way. They would have told us by now if there was anything to worry about. Come on, it shouldn't take us long to reach those mountains."

T'Pol checked her scanner once more. There were no indications that the wind was getting any stronger to be a danger to them, so she nodded her head to confirm her agreement in the matter and carried on forward.

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They had travelled about forty minutes and were nearly upon their destination. The wind had picked up slightly, enough to make it more than a gentle breeze, but they hadn't received any further word from Enterprise or the other crew members on the mission, so T'Pol and Trip pressed on ahead.

"Hey, T'Pol, look at that," said Trip, as they came upon the remains of what looked like an extremely large, downed tree from a bolt of lightning. The trunk had more or less been sliced in two causing the main body to lie stretched out upon the floor like a rotting corpse. "Looks like storm damage. Can you tell if it's from any recent activity?" he asked; as T'Pol knelt down to examine the tree with her scanner.

"I can't be certain, from the rate of decay I estimate that it happened up to five to ten years ago."

"This tree must be hundreds of yours old, at least," exclaimed Trip. "It must have been a hell of a storm to cause damage like this."

"Storm fronts like tornado's or hurricane's are not uncommon on Earth, Commander. They would be capable of inflicting this type of damage."

"Maybe, but these trees are a hell of a lot bigger and older than anything we have back on Earth, T'Pol. I doubt even a class five could inflict this type of damage."

While the wind whipped around their faces, they were both quiet as they pondered just how bad a storm front could get on this planet and what it would mean to them.

"If these are similar to the types of trees that we have back home, then these rings would indicate a tree's lifespan, wouldn't it?" said Trip.

"You're correct, Commander. Every ring represents a season of growth. They record the history of rainfall and climate."

"So I wonder what this one would represent?" asked Trip, pointing to a green tinged circle enclosing one of the tree's inner rings.

"I'm uncertain," replied T'Pol. "I have never seen anything like this before. I'll take a core sample so we can examine it more closely back on Enterprise." T'Pol took out a sample jar from her case. She inserted a metal disc over the green ring and pressed her pad twice. A spike shot out from the disc deep into the porous wood, then sprang back upwards. She placed this disc into her specimen jar, closed it and then placed it back inside her case. "Shall we continue, Commander?" she asked, when she'd finished. Commander Tucker had been taking pictures of the tree and surrounding area with his camera and she didn't want to leave until he had finished.

"Yeah, I'm finished up here. Let's see what surprises further up has in store."

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