Chapter Four

Captain Archer, Mayweather and Porthos were walking along a riverbank next to a gurgling stream.

"I'm afraid my log entry isn't going to do this justice…" sighed Archer, enjoying the scenery and the tranquillity of the place.

"It's beautiful all right …" answered Mayweather, "but I couldn't call a place home unless it came with a pair of warp nacelles."

Archer shook his head. "Boomers …" he muttered playfully. Suddenly his communicator beeped. Pulling it from his inside pocket, he flipped it open to reply. "Archer."

"Captain, Lieutenant Reed has detected a storm front approaching your coordinates from the south west," stated Hoshi Sato.

"Our scanners haven't detected anything," replied Archer, as Travis pulled out his and started scanning. He shook his head to indicate nothing.

"It's still a little out of range," reported Lieutenant Reed, "but it's travelling fast. I recommend cutting your survey short and pulling out…"

"The wind has picked up a bit," interrupted Archer, "but it's nothing to get worried about."

"You're only feeling the outer rim at the moment, Sir," Reed explained. "In about another twenty minutes it's going to be shifting quite a bit, around eighty kph, and that's only half the speed our scanners indicate it's capable of…"

"Okay, Lieutenant. Contact the rest of the survey team and tell them to meet us back at the shuttle in ten minutes. Archer out..."

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Fifteen minutes later, Archer, Mayweather and Porthos arrived back in the meadow at the pod. Cutler, Novakovich and Jamison were already waiting for them outside the craft. They had already stowed their gear inside to save time. The wind was blowing quite strong now, gusting continuously, and whipping around the local bushes and vegetation.

"Where's Trip and T'Pol?" asked Captain Archer, as Mayweather climbed into the shuttle to start the pre-flight check.

"They haven't checked back yet, Sir" answered Liz, showing concern.

Captain Archer took out his communicator… "Archer to Enterprise…"

"Lieutenant Reed here, sir."

"Did Trip and T'Pol estimate how long it would be for them to return?"

"We're having trouble contacting them, Sir," replied Reed. "There's too much interference. The signal's having trouble getting through."

"Damn," muttered Archer, wondering what to do next. He certainly wasn't going to leave without his friend and science officer, but he couldn't wait around here with the storm getting worse. "We're taking off," he said, indicating for the rest of them to get in the shuttle and strap themselves in. "We'll close in on their position and contact them on our way back. Have you got their exact coordinates?"

"Yes, Sir," replied Reed.

"Send them to our helm. Archer out …" he ordered, as he climbed into the pilot's seat and prepared to take off. "We should have time to stop off at their position and pick them up. See if you have better luck contacting them to let them know…" he asked Mayweather, who climbed into the navigation seat next to him.

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About the same time, a dusty and dishevelled Trip and T'Pol hurriedly arrived at their intended destination, the foothills of the mountain range. What Trip previously had thought of as a gentle breeze, had now built up to strong, blustery, continuous winds, which were howling fiercely around the mountain range. They both hesitated for a second on discovering that the expected caves were in fact an abandoned settlement built into the rocks. Aware that they needed to find shelter out of the storm, T'Pol indicated for them to go into the nearest doorway. On entering the building and barricading the door shut against the fierce gusts outside, T'Pol threw Commander Tucker a glare to show her displeasure at their current situation.

"Look it's done! I was wrong, okay? We shouldn't have continued trekking up here," said Trip loudly, more angry with himself for getting themselves in this situation than he was at her. "Let's just move past it."

"That might be difficult under our current circumstances," replied T'Pol.

"I underestimated the strength of the wind and how quickly it could build up," said Trip. "An easy mistake ..."

"If you had followed my orders prev…"

"Oh, cut the sanctimonious crap, would ya?" interrupted Trip. "Ya know damn well that wasn't an order, it was a suggestion. You scanned the area yourself. Even you didn't think it would get this bad …"

The air was tense, as a confrontation threatened to build up between them. Both were on edge as they each recognised their part in this misadventure. The sound of a communicator beeping interrupted their face off.

Trip pulled it out of his side pocket and flipped the lid. "Tucker…"

"Trip … closing … your position … there's a … fifty metres … from the cave … meet … we're pulling you …"

"I think we know why Enterprise hasn't been in touch," said Trip as Archer signed off. They both understood the meaning of the fragmented message and once more prepared to go outside. "If the interference is that bad with the Cap'n practically overhead, it's downright impossible for Enterprise to get through from their position."

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Five minutes later, the lights of Shuttlepod One could be seen in the not too far distance. It was being buffeted by powerful winds, causing Archer no end of trouble as he battled to keep the helm steady.

"I'm reading them," said Travis, "two kilometres due west …"

"I'm taking us down," replied Archer, holding the helm in a vice-like grip as the pod lurched and shook. "There's a lot of wind shear near the surface …"

"I'm activating the auxiliary landing thrusters," said Travis, as the sound of the engine's power could be heard rising against the wind.

"Altitude: eighty meters … forty meters …" stated Archer, as the pod began to pitch and roll on it's descent downwards. Ethan, Liz and Jameson, gripped their seats in fear, each looking a little green from all the turbulence.

"I'm going to have to try this on a different vector," shouted Archer over the whine of the engines, as he pulled back hard on the throttle.

Both Trip and T'Pol watched from below as the shuttle came around for another landing attempt. The landing light swept across their faces as it began to descend from a new angle. "They're not going to make it," said Trip, as he watched another burst of violent wind hit the pod, causing it to roll to one side and lose control, as it neared the surface.

"Starboard!" shouted Travis urgently, as he glimpsed a jagged outcropping of rock approaching nearer and nearer.

"I see it!" Archer exclaimed, as he worked the helm, trying to steer the pod away. He almost succeeded in his endeavour, but the side of the shuttle hit the edge of the rock with a hard jolt causing sparks to violently burst off it.

"Thruster four's down!" shouted Travis. "We're leaking plasma coolant!"

"Almost there!" said Archer, as he worked intently on the controls while the shaking continued …

"Sir, we can't make a safe landing in this wind with a thruster out!" shouted back Mayweather.

Archer hesitated, he knew Travis was right … but it didn't make him feel any better, conscious of the fact that he'd be stranding two of his officers on an unknown planet during a violent storm. Knowing that he had to focus on his crew presently in the shuttle at this time in order to get them safely back aboard Enterprise, he reluctantly forced the concern for his friend to the back of his mind. Working the helm, the shuttle began to ascend once more. The engines whined with power as they rose, and the shaking finally began to settle subside.

He indicated for Travis to touch the COM panel. "Archer to Tucker …" he said.

"Cap'n, aren't you forgetting something?" said Trip, sounded slightly frizzed from all the interference.

"Sorry, but … going to have to wait … wind dies down. It's … dangerous to … landing. Try … manage till then."

"We'll do our best, Sir," replied Trip, understanding the gist of the message, despite all the interference. "Tucker out."

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