The senior bridge staff were gathered in the situation room. "Our scans detect no life whatsoever on the planet below, it is completely inhospitable, even to the hardiest of species."
Trip was doing his best to appear calm and decisive, attempting to achieve a visage no amount of self-control could uphold. "How could this have happened? We need answers, clues, speculation, I don't give a damn which!"
The outburst might have been expected from Captain Archer, but the usually docile engineer exuded an energy of hate and anger, more than one person around the table flinched.
Lt. Reed was the first to work up the courage, and will, to tell their commanding officer that there was no practical evidence, or even speculation, which could possibly explain the brown sphere they currently orbited.
However, fate had a way of prolonging the tactical officer's life a few moments longer.
"And where on earth is T'pol?"
"There's been no readings on internal sensors." Replied said Vulcan's replacement.
The Commander's complexion worsened even more, a streak of paleness topping of the red tint. At least he seemed to calm down a bit, the cause for which no one knew, but for everyone was grateful.
"Get together a search party, high and low I want this ship upside down until we find T'pol".
"Aye Sir".
"Good," he sighed. "Now I want everyone thinking about what could have possibly happened, and in the meantime we must assume it is unsafe to remain here."
"But Sir-"
"No buts Ensign, there is nothing we can do here yet, and for all we know there's a Xindi fleet just around the corner."
He eyed everyone in the room, his gaze softened slightly since a moment ago. "Dismissed"…
"Commander, long range sensors are detecting weapons fire"
"Can you identify sources?" Trip didn't want to get in the middle of a firefight, especially since they didn't know anything about, well, anything really. But there might be an opportunity to get some of that info.
The crewman at helm looked up from his readings, "One's definitely a Vulcan ship, d'kyr class by the looks of it, and the other might be Andorian Sir."
"What'a ya mean might be?" Trip hated to be all up on this kids case, but they needed better than guesses here.
The kid was sweating now, he couldn't have been a day over eighteen. "It's just tha-, Sir we-, we don't have enough data on Andorian ships to be a hundred percent positive."
Trip could've smacked himself through that boys stammering, he was being a jerk and it wasn't even his fault.
"At ease Ensign, it's all right"
Smiling nervously the helmsman sat back in his chair.
Meanwhile Trip hit the comm, "Hess are all systems green?"
"Aye Chief"
The customary response made him grin, it almost felt like two days ago, before this whole mess. "Stand by for Warp"
"Roger that".
"Oh, and Anna, don't pull anything crazy, those are still my engines." He only half joked.
A chuckle came through the speaker. "Yeah, sure boss, you just keep telling yourself that".
With an ever bigger grin plastered on his face Trip closed the link. "Helm plot a course for those ships, bring us in close. Lieutenant, make those weapons hot, we're probably gonna need'em, and Hoshi, get ready to hail them on a moment's notice."
A chorus of affirmatives met his ears. Trip felt that twinge in his stomach, nervousness and shame mixed. It was happening too much recently. Way too damn much.
Pausing for a moment, Trip observed the steady actions of his crew, their readiness to obey his orders even into the fray of battle, and felt a swell of pride at serving along these men and women. "Warp five Ensign, engage".
The familiar hum of the Enterprise going to speeds previously unimagined by man soothed his soul, the blissful nature that was a working machine. He savored it while it lasted, cause he had a feeling it would be over all too soon…