Disclaimer: I still don't own it; I make no money from it. Not written for profit, simply for pleasure.
Thoughts are written in italics.
Thanks to Humminbird2, iccle fairy, Moichino, Dragon Tamer103088 and West Dean for reading and reviewing :)
Chapter 2
Trip Tucker was abruptly woken by a rude prod to his ribs. He let out a low groan and swatted at the offending person, warding them off from any more poke attacks, only to encounter a cold, wet round object and a lot of warm fur.
Trip's eyes snapped open, only for him to cover them hastily with his arm. Damn it's bright out here! He thought, squinting at the Captain's small dog that had nudged him awake. Wait a sec, out here? Where the hell is out here?
Broken images and disjointed voices forced themselves into his bleary mind, flashing across his memory as he tried to sort them into any logical sense. Ha.He thought with a slight smile. Logic. T'Pol would be proud o' me. He gasped. T'Pol.
The fractured pictures in his head solidified suddenly. The aliens. Hoshi screaming. The Crash. The dark. Malcolm pinned. Jon yelling and then… nothing.
Trip took his hand away from his eyes and peered at his surroundings for the first time. Tall, mottled, close set trees towered over him, their bright orange foliage drooping towards him from indeterminable heights through the harsh light from above. A forest? He gazed at them in amazement for a few moments, feeling the curiosity of a true explorer kick in despite his situation.
Porthos nudged his him again, and let out a low whimper. Trip sat up as quickly as he dared in the strange environment, taking note of the dull ache in his chest. Glancing down at himself, he was shocked to see the small rips in his uniform sweeping across his torso and arms. Porthos yipped, drawing his attention again. He looked up at the small dog and saw why.
Jon!
Trip scrambled over to where the dog stood over his motionless master on the tall blue grass and frantically searched for a pulse, fumbling in his panic. His fingers fumbled over Archer's throat desperately.
He let out a sigh as he felt the steady thumping of life in his Captain's neck and his shoulders slumped with relief. Porthos barked again and placed his paw on Archer's leg, turning to look at Trip.
Trip chuckled. Porthos, sometimes Ah almost think you're human buddy! Taking his cue from the small animal, Trip shook his Captain gently until he began to come to.
"Trip? What's going on?" Archer asked groggily.
Trip shrugged. Good question. "Wish ah knew, Cap'n."
Archer made as though to get up, but Trip pushed firmly down on the man's shoulder, noticing the grimes in his face and the singe marks and tears on his uniform.
Archer allowed himself to be pushed back to the ground, and instead asked "The others?"
"We're the only one's ah can see, Jon. Us an' Porthos that is. Ah can't remember much o' what happened. Jus' the crash and findin' Mal pinned. An' then that light. What was that? A phase pistol?"
Jon nodded, this time pushing away Trip's restraining hand and heaving himself into a sitting position. He let out a groan, which earned him a whimper from Porthos and a concerned look from Trip, and proceeded to use a nearby tree to pull himself up to standing. He swayed slightly and Trip steadied him.
"Yes, a phase pistol I think. Malcolm's put me through extra target training last week; I recognised the sound," Archer said, clenching his teeth against the pain shooting across his back. "We need to find the others. Malcolm, he was hurt bad. If we don't get him to Phlox soon…"
Jon didn't have to finish the sentence, and he saw Trip pale before a look of steely determination came into his eyes.
"There's jus' one problem there, Jon. How are we gonna find Mal and the others, when we don't know where we are? Unless there's somethin' you're not tellin' me," Trip asked with a weak shadow of his usual smile.
Jon looked around, as though hoping for a clue to where the rest of his crew may be. Porthos yipped again and both man stared at him, before glancing at each other and back at the dog. The small animal was sniffing frantically at their feet, almost as though he understood the urgency of the situation.
He looked up and barked at the two humans before turning and running towards a patch of trees that seemed no different than the others. Jon and Trip shared another glance.
"Seems a good a direction as any," Jon said, waving towards the spot where the small dog was poking his head around one of the trees and staring intently at the two men.
Trip nodded. "Let's go."
TBC...
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