Chapter Eight.

The tree tops bristled in the breeze as Shuttlepods One and Two eased down for a smooth landing. The wind had eased off enough to a point where a rescue was now possible, so Captain Archer hadn't hesitated. He'd had teams on standby for the previous three hours after they had received a garbled transmission from T'Pol about an emergency situation.

His first thought had been to grab a shuttle right there and then and go down and help his friend, but he was a starship captain and he had to put his crew's safety first. The wind strength was just too dangerous to attempt a landing, so he had to play the waiting game.

Those three hours had been the longest wait in his whole life … hours where questions played over and over inside his head … had he done the right thing going down to the planet in the first place … maybe with more caution they would have detected the trouble his friend and first officer now faced … if he had tried a different vector, or even tried harder, their previous landing attempt might have been more successful … hell, if he'd been a better friend or better captain, his first officer and best friend wouldn't be in this situation right now…

When Lieutenant Reed had come to inform him that the storm had died down sufficiently to leave, he'd practically ran out of his ready room towards the Shuttlebay. Phlox wouldn't let them leave though, until they had all put on flight suits for protection. T'Pol had warned them of a possible quarantine, so it was essention that precautions be taken to prevent any contamination being spread back to Enterprise. Archer had argued that this would only waste precious time. Time which was now of an essence if they were to save Trip and T'Pol's lives. Phlox was adamant though. He wasn't prepared to take any chances. "Or would you rather rush foolishly into a rescue and put both of their lives in jeopardy once more, by bringing back aboard Enterprise a dangerous contamination that could affect the whole crew?" he asked, in a tone that said he wouldn't be moved on this issue.

Ten minutes later, both pods lifted out of Enterprise's shuttlebay and glided down to the planet towards Trip and T'Pol's earlier coordinates.

"Please let them be okay…"

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Daylight was just breaking as Captain Archer, Lieutenant Reed and Phlox stepped out of the two pods along with four other medical and security personnel. "I'm reading biosigns in that direction ..." said Phlox to Archer and Reed, indicating with his medical scanner.

"Trip and T'Pol?" asked Archer.

"I think so," replied Phlox. "Their readings are very faint though."

"Be on your guard," said Reed to his security detail, as they followed Archer, Phlox who hurriedly began their trek up towards the settlement. "We don't know what type of danger Commander Tucker or Sub Commander T'Pol encountered, or if it's still present."

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The appearance of the settlement built into the hillside would usually have earned close study, but Archer spared it just a passing glance as he sped to aid his friend.

"Captain!" exclaimed Reed, as Archer and Phlox tried to go through a doorway. "If you don't mind," he said, motioning for himself and his security detail to go in first with their weapons drawn.

Reluctantly, Archer agreed. He could understand where Lieutenant Reed was coming from with his cautious approach. T'Pol had indicated they were in danger. They had no way of knowing what that danger was or if it was still present, so Reed was only being an excellent security officer by doing his job properly. At times like this though, when Archer knew his friend was in trouble and needed his help quickly, it was frustrating. He just wanted to throw caution to the wind and rush straight in.

Armed with a torch in one hand and a phase pistol in the other, Malcolm and his security detail slowly entered the dark interior. "Looks like there was some kind of barricade," he stated, kicking away some broken pieces of wood that had been blocking the entrance.

"For keeping something out?" asked Archer, wondering if Trip had put this here to shield them from a predator?

"More like the weather," replied Lieutenant Reed, glancing quickly at the debris before walking further inside. As they shone their torches around, the beam picked up an eerie sight, which drew questioning looks to their faces. The whole room looked like one giant web. Strands of silk were intermingled together from every crevice to look like giant ribbons bound together to form huge hanging curtains that swathed every object in the room. As the beam of light touched these silky wraps, tiny luminescent green insects quickly withdrew to the blackness beyond.

"Are you sure they're in here," asked Archer, a hint of concern showing in his voice. Knowing Trip as well as he did, this would be the last place he would take shelter in.

"Our scanners indicate that they're inside this building," replied Phlox, as he walked up to a large object swaddled tightly together. Kneeling down further for a closer inspection, his face recoiled in horror as he realised finally what was inside. "Get the containment pods," he called anxiously to his personnel as he began peeling away the woven shrouds to reveal their two missing officers. Trip was curled up in a foetal position, while T'Pol lay beside him in a protective stance, as if she was trying to ward off their attackers.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Captain Archer in horror, instantly darting forward to reach out for his friend.

"Captain … please … let us do our jobs," replied Phlox in an urgent tone, stopping him from coming any closer, while Lieutenant Reed and his men cut them out with their phasers.

Within a few minutes they were free. Carefully Lieutenant Reed and the others gently lifted them up and enclosed them within two containment pods, which they then picked up and carried back to the shuttlepods.

Captain Archer seemed to be frozen to the spot in shock while all of this was being carried out. As Lieutenant Reed and the others carried both of the pods out of the building, Phlox gently shook Archer out of his trance. "Captain … we have to hurry."

The urgency of the situation finally struck him as he suddenly drew back into reality. Nodding his head to show that he was okay with this, they both quickly turned around and ran back to the shuttlecraft with the others.

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