Story Four: Dark they were, and Golden-eyed
The lazy little green planet floated peacefully in the bottom half of the shuttle pods viewport. Trip leaned forward to get a better look and brushed up against T'Pol ever so slightly. She didn't say anything about it so he assumed the contact wasn't unwanted, even in the presence of others. Captain Archer had sent the away team to the planet to determine if a settlement there would be a plausible option. Enterprise wasn't built to run forever and holding a growing crew for one hundred years at full power for 24-hours a day just didn't seem possible. Having a main colony and staging ground for the crew and having only a skeleton crew on the ship to monitor things seemed like a good idea to Trip and the rest of the senior staff.
Ensign Travis Mayweather disrupted the contemplative silence that had fallen over the small craft. "T-minus five minutes until we enter the upper atmosphere."
T'Pol, hands flying over the co-pilot console, chimed in as well. "I have located the most appropriate landing zone. The western continent, longitude 34.5, latitude 8.479. There is a small valley surrounded on three sides by foothills. Initial scans show evidence of water, vegetation, and wildlife. There are also signs of previous sentient life. Ruins in the valley may give us a better understanding of what happened to the previous inhabitants." Travis began inputting the coordinates into the pilot's console.
Lieutenant Reed stood unsteadily and moved to the back of the pod where he pulled out phase pistols from a chrome case. "We better take these just in case." He handed each of the other four a phase pistol. Phlox took his gingerly and carefully placed it in his holster.
T'Pol simply looked at the offered weapon with a raised eyebrow. "Lieutenant we have detected no signs of hostile life forms and all wildlife we have detected are small animals, the largest around the size of Captain Archer's beagle."
Reed persisted until she finally grabbed the weapon. Trip smiled at her as he put away his own weapon. "Better safe than sorry, Darlin'." That earned him a raised eyebrow of his own but she didn't say anything further. The rest of the trip down to the valley was made in silence. Each of the five was silently holding on to different hopes for this planet.
Three Hours Later
"Sure is beautiful down here." Phlox turned and smiled brightly at Travis who had just made the observation.
"Indeed it is Ensign. Perhaps this is the ideal place for us to settle down, hmmm? I know I am partial to standing on solid ground for a little while, I can only imagine the same applies to the rest of the crew." Phlox looked at him with mild curiosity. "How about you Ensign? You have spent most of your life in space, does living on a planet appeal to you?"
"Well, to tell you the truth Doctor I haven't really thought about it. I'm a Boomer but knowing that I will most likely live and die in space seems lonelier than it did before." He let out a deep breath. "Maybe I want to settle down…. to a point, have somewhere to go home to, but I don't think I want to live on a planet for the rest of my life." He looked out at the small pool of water that lay before them with mixed emotions.
Phlox looked at him and smiled warmly and then turned and looked out at the lake. "I understand what you mean Ensign. Ah, can I call you Travis? It would seem that sticking to ranks as names isn't quite feasible anymore."
Travis smiled. "Of course, Doctor."
Phlox chuckled, "Please, call me Phlox. Soon Amanda Cole will also be qualified enough to go by doctor. Wouldn't want to confuse anybody, hmmm?"
Travis laughed too. "No, I guess not."
Trip and T'Pol walked silently through the vegetation near the base of the eastern foothill. The ruins of what appeared to be a villa were their destination. The fresh air breezed past T'Pol's face and she inhaled the flowery scent as they ascended the base of the foothill. The air smelled of flowers and copper, mixing to give an unnerving scent of blood and beauty. T'Pol pushed the image of blood from her mind and focused on the flowers. The small cerulean buds that littered the ground were similar in aesthetics to the Lavender flower but in scent they brought to mind sunflowers and Chamomile tea. "There are several settlements on the planet, most of them large enough to hold the population of Utopia Colony on Mars. However, there is one large settlement in the north of this continent that is relatively the same size of Shi'Kar."
Trip followed her up obediently, nodding along as she filled him in on the important facts of the planet. He also fought hard to keep his eyes on where he was putting his feet and not on his wife's posterior. That was no easy task. His breathing was only slightly labored as they made their way ever closer to the top. "So, does that mean this was a colonial planet? If there are only a few settlements, and none of them very large, maybe this planet was once a colony for another species, just like we are thinking about making it."
T'Pol nodded imperceptibly. "Perhaps, but if this is the case, then what caused them to abandon their colony?" She looked back at him. "That is something we need to uncover while we are here." The villa unfolded before them revealing the beautiful alien architecture. The structure gleamed blue in the sunlight, polished marble-like stone reflecting the heat of the day, giving the look of a cool interior. Triple arched windows and entryways brought to Trip's mind the Middle-Eastern architecture his sister Lizzie had once shown him.
They cautiously made their way into the villa, scanners at the ready, and Trip's hand hovering near his phase pistol.
"No sign of life. So far, so good Darlin'." After twenty minutes of exploring the bottom floor of the three-story building Trip was relaxing. The entryway opened into two wings, on the left was a large room with the remains of a stone table and benches, the open doorway led into a smaller room probably used in the same fashion as a living room. The rest of the wing was taken up by an aviary. The trees and ferns that once housed the birds had overgrown and overtaken the room. Bird calls were eerily absent; the thick glass windows that extended from the walls of the villa were covered in decades of grime. The entire room was gloomy and gave Trip the creeps. T'Pol simply noted in her log that the inhabitant apparently kept pets within the home and that none of them were present within the villa.
The wing on the right was filled with a lowered pit area, and small adjourning rooms. "The pit appears to have been used in meal preparation." T'Pol looked down at her scanner. "The rooms were most likely for storage. We should continue to the next floor." The stairs were located at the back of the right wing and were enclosed in glass windows that allowed a greenish light to diffuse through. The second floor held six relatively large rooms all of them filled with remains of beds, dressers, and other miscellaneous personal artifacts left by whomever had once lived in the villa.
The third floor was accessed through a set of stairs on the other side of the floor. This one was also encased in glass, causing the whole place to glow green. Again T'Pol was forced to put aside the image of blood that the color invoked. The third floor was completely open. Tables and benches littered the floor, what could have only been books were scattered about or stacked in waist-high piles. Trip moved away from T'Pol and walked about halfway into the room before he spoke. "A library." She nodded in agreement. "Ya think that any of these will explain what happened to them?"
She knelt down and picked one up. "There is only one way to find out. We'll need to get a collection of materials back to Enterprise for examination. Perhaps Ensign Sato will be able to shed some light on the culture and the people who once lived here."
Trip knelt down and grabbed a few books himself, careful not to destroy any of the more fragile looking ones. "Right, we should head back and meet the others. Cap'n should be callin' us soon to check in."
"Trip it looks like it's going be a while before we get back. I'm sending down a security team just to stay on the safe side. We'll be back in two days max. You should have enough supplies to last that long and it should give you and T'Pol plenty of time to make a decision about this place. We received the package of things from the planet; Hoshi is already working on a translation of the books. We'll let you know what we learn. I look forward to your report. See you in two days Trip." Captain Archer's voice stopped signaling the end of the transmission. Trip turned to the others, each of them waiting for orders.
"Well, I guess we know what to do. Let's get out tents set up, do a little more exploring, and then make dinner. I'm sure we have something for everyone." He looked at T'Pol and she nodded. Vegetarian cuisine was now a staple on the ship because of her and they had even managed to find ration packs that were vegetarian. "Let's get this place ready for our security guests."
Twenty Minutes Later
The security team arrived in the second shuttle, gear and crew disembarked and then Ensign Marks returned to the ship. Five years were set up in a circle around a large fire pit. Collapsible chairs were set around the fire and the ten crewmembers took their seats as the indigo hued sky darkened. Once everyone was settled and dusk was upon them Travis began sharing stories. It was an old tradition that had lasted since their first away mission. It seemed the young man was in possession of a plethora of scary or dramatic stories. He could make you laugh and cry, scream and howl all in one sitting.
"It was our first real away mission. The planet was absolutely beautiful. There were fields of flowers stretching for as far as the eye could see. Beautiful mountains to climb and no dangerous beasts to worry about. When we decided to camp on the planet for the night none of us expected it would end the way it did, or that Commander Tucker would become so enraged and crazy that he would shoot at Commander T'Pol." Trip could feel the eyes of the newer transfers to the ship staring at him. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
Ensign Riley spoke up voicing the question that was on the mind of al but the five veteran officers. "Did you really shoot Commander T'Pol, sir? Did you shoot your wife?"
Trip sighed and ran his hand across the back of his neck. "Look, it's not as simple as all of that. T'Pol was new on the ship, Vulcan's weren't exactly my favorite people, and Travis failed to mention that we were under the influence of a powerful hallucinogenic pollen that also caused paranoia. Even T'Pol was effected. Imagine being paranoid and having difficulty trusting a Vulcan because you think they are a spy and suddenly they can't speak Standard." He looked to T'Pol and smiled sheepishly. "Besides, she forgave me and that's really all that matters here. Why don't you tell the story of when you were rock climbing and Phlox almost lobotomized you?" Trip smiled smugly at them, noticing the awkwardness shifting from him to them.
"Ensign, if you don't mind, perhaps I shall tell a story?" When Phlox saw that Travis was okay with it he leaned forward. "This story interestingly enough involves my second wife's third husband..."
Five Days passed and the away team still had not heard from Enterprise. Their rations ran out and their camp began to feel insubstantial. Soon it was decided to move base from the camp to the villa that T'Pol and Trip had explored the first day. The rooms were catalogue and cleaned. The remaining furniture righted, and room assignments made. They continued their survey of the area but could not determine what had caused the abandonment of the settlements on the planet. Crops could easily grow and the team had even begun to supplement their diet with edible plants they found near the villa.
The first few days Trip and Malcolm fought feverishly to get a long range subspace communicator working. They used what materiel they had on hand but after a week Malcolm lost interest and joined the others in fixing up the villa. Soon Trip was struggling with remembering Earth. He felt as though he had always been on this planet. The food, the wildlife, the plants all seemed familiar to him. He soon thought of his life on Enterprise as nothing more than a dream. The communicator was forgotten after a month and Trip joined the others at the villa.
It was slow at first, as if he were only noticing the minor details of someones face after seeing them everyday for an extended period. The subtle change in hue of Travis's iris was what first drew his attention. Travis had deep brown eyes, or so Trip thought, but now that he looked they seemed to hold an almost dark purple hue. Malcolm had changed as well. His voice was slightly deeper and his hair had changed tint ever so slightly to a copper. Trip could only see the change when the light hit his hair at just the right angle but it was there none the less.
T'Pol didn't notice anything. She claimed he was being paranoid and he conceded that she could be right. It wasn't until the day he heard he laugh that he doubted her. It was a regular day and it was their turn to gather plants for the evening meal. Trip had pulled to hard on a root tuber and went flying backwards landing bum first in a pile of mud. T'Pol had laughed. Trip had not.
Six Months Later
Jonathan Archer paced the length of the Bridge. He was concerned than when they returned to the planet they would find the bodies of their crew. He didn't want to even think of what that would do to him or crew morale. The only thing keeping them limping towards this planet on half impulse was the hope that they would finally get their people back. He looked to Hoshi who was monitoring subspace communication but she didn't look like she was picking anything up.
If only they had realized early on that the distress cal was a trap. The Ikaaran vessel was in danger but they were used as bait to lure unsuspecting ships to their doom. Luckily Enterprise was able to disable the attacking vessel and rescue the remaining crew. The Ikaarans had integrated well into the crew over the last six months and Jon was grateful. He looked to Asilia who was at the helm and realized just how grateful he was. Without Trip or T'Pol he was left without someone to keep him straight and sane. Asilia had willingly fallen into that role. He made a mental note to ask her to dinner to thank her once this whole thing was over.
Jon looked back to Hoshi and caught her eye. "Anything?" She shook her head sadly. Jon then looked to Lieutenant Rao who was T'Pol 2IC. "Rao? Lifesigns?"
Rao studied the board for a few more moments before looking up. "Yes sir. I'm picking up ten humanoid lifesigns. I am unable to determine species due to atmospheric interference but we should be able to land shuttlepods or transport them out sir."
Jon nodded. "Alert Hess that we need Rostov on the transporter. I want our people back ASAP. Camping supplies can be retrieved later."
The smell of antiseptic met his nose and he wrinkled it in distaste. He hated that smell. He hated what it meant. He was back in Sickbay. His muddled mind didn't even register how long it had been since he was even on Enterprise but it still knew how much he hated Sickbay. Once he realized that he was no longer on the planet he cracked open his eyes. Sure enough the stark white walls, chirping animals, and tangy antiseptic scent commingled bringing forth a perfect representation of Sickbay. He was worried that he was going crazy until an alien he had never seen before approached him.
"I am healer Sana. How are you feeling Commander?" The alien looked like she could be related to Hoshi if not for the ridge running from her forehead to the middle of her nose. Trip hadn't been called Commander in so long that he almost forgot what it sounded like.
He didn't answer her question, only asked his own. "What happened?"
Captain Archer walked into Sickbay and say his best friend awake. "Trip, how are you? We were pretty worried about you."
Trip looked at his captain and repeated his question. "Well, turns out that the planet was some sort of off planet research base for a species called the Novari. They were botanists mostly but they were doing experiments on birds as well. They engineered the planet to transform any visitors into the natural inhabitants."
His forehead scrunched in confusion. "Like that one planet that turned you and Hoshi into aliens?"
"Exactly. When we finally got to you you were all transformed. Luckily Sana was able to reverse it." He chuckled quietly. "You all had purple and gold eyes, and copper hair. You looked like something out of one of those old Science Fiction Films you're always showing us on movie night."
Trip cracked a grin. "Yeah, I've felt pretty alien over the last few months." Trip sat gingerly on the edge of the bed and looked around. "So Cap'n are you going to tell me what the hell took you so long to come back for us?"