Ch.3
The away team would consist of Trip, Malcolm, Rick and Hoshi. The Saruset appeared to be very friendly people who liked to get to know other species. There were a lot of things they could trait and this planet was a good spot to grant the crew some shore leave divided in small groups. Visiting another civilized world and being able to relax was good for the moral of the crew. A week later they were on their way again. Being the captain of Starfleet's flagship was a responsible function. They weren't the only ones out there anymore and there were rules but it still gave Trip a lesson on how he should sensor what he was saying and not let his emotions and morals control him. He now understood the dilemmas about separating being captain from being a friend. Trip and Jon had often clashed concerning his actions, after a reprimand Trip had often wondered how his friend could do such a thing but now he knew it was because of that friendship. He would have been in a lot more trouble for his actions if he hadn't had the protection of friendship, how much he would give for a chance to acknowledge that. He missed that friendship now he didn't have any close friendships with his crew which often resulted in him being alone in his quarters during off hours.
A few weeks later they arrived at a system with two M-class planets, one of them was inhabited the other was not. The inhabited planet was populated by a pre-warp society so they couldn't risk dropping in for a visit and contaminate their culture. While the crew took turns of shore leave on the uninhabited planet the sensor data gathered from the other planet were analyzed. There were some strange readings. Eventually curiosity won out and looking like natives the away team blended in with the society. To Malcolm's dismay Trip insisted on being a part of it so the away team consisted of Trip, Hoshi, Rick and Mestral, a Vulcan from Malcolm's security squad. They landed in a remote area and arriving at a small town split into pairs, Rick and Hoshi as one pair and Trip and his 'bodyguard' as the other. They would get together again a few hours later. While Rick and Hoshi learned more about the society; Trip and Mestral located the source of their strange readings. With nobody in the neighborhood and the building looking deserted they decided to take a look inside. But once inside all their equipment stopped working and a force field blocked their way out.