"They're called the Xindi Jon, but that's basically all we know."
Archer was barely holding onto his self-control, a quivering thread was all that remained between giving in to his fury. Once again he found himself asking the same question: Why were we attacked? This time it was followed with: seven million dead and all we can come up with are names!?
But seeing the strain on his friend's face he knew better than to push him. And besides, they were all in this together, it was human lives lost and as humans they would rise to this, together.
"Sir I-"
The screen suddenly distorted, violently so, before a blank screen replaced the Admiral's face. Less than a second later the ship began to shake, a sensation rumbled through the bulkheads, one that Jonathan Archer had come to recognize as weapons fire. The red alert klaxon screeched throughout the ship.
"All senior officers report to the bridge, I repeat, all senior officers report to the bridge."
As Archer rushed through the halls, he faintly realized that that had been Malcom's voice, and considering it was T'pol's shift-. He quickly forgot that thought, leaving it hanging as the alarms reminded him of more pressing matters…
The Enterprise had stopped lurching a few moments ago, almost on cue as the turbo-lift doors slid open. "Status repor-" Archer froze, for at that moment he found himself no longer on the Enterprise, but on what appeared to be a desolate wasteland. Ruined skyscrapers littered the streets, an unhealthy glow seemed to settle on the horizon. And what he was doing there was completely beyond his comprehension, his face registered shock, awe, and a not so little amount of fear. Before he could so much as form an intelligent thought Archer found the image surrounding him start to flicker. The sky blurred and reached to the ground, like splattering water on a wet painting. The colors mixed and twirled, bending whatever reality he currently found himself in. The horrible panic intensified as his lungs stopped receiving oxygen, his hands reached out to steady himself, but ended up flailing in the air as he fell, and whatever he was standing on gave way, letting him fall through the rainbow mix.
A painful flash and the next moment he was on something solid, opening his eyes he found himself back in the turbo-lift, the bridge just a crawl away, he slumped down again, his eyes becoming unfocused as he realized there was someone else in the lift: Daniels…
Lt. Reed didn't like to be at a loss, not having answers was a tactical weakness, and it made him uneasy. Right now he was dealing with several unanswered questions, among such was what the hell is going on!? That question would have to wait, he hit the comm panel, "Reed to sickbay, prepare for wounded". Without even waiting for a response he closed the channel, fiercely holding down his panic as he slipped into officer mode. "Crewman, get that man's legs, Ensign take the arms. I'll get the Captain".
He was picking Archer off the ground, the two men just stood there nervously.
The man who looked suspiciously like Daniels appeared to be having a seizure, and looked to be aging years in the seconds that passed by. "Now!" he ordered.
The crew members jumped into action, grabbing the odd man as they rushed with the Lieutenant to sickbay…