Despite the precautions and all efforts to the contrary, Archer had to suppress a curse of frustration as the entity overrode every security protocol they could put in place, and the shuttle launched out of the bay; the crew on duty had barely had enough time to escape the bay before the hatches opened and decompressed the area of all atmosphere.

"Travis! Lay in a pursuit course – follow that shuttle, see where they're going!" Archer ordered, "All decks, security, report in please!"

There was a very long pause, and then a breathless, female voice came over the comm.

"Captain, sir, this is Ensign Fox. Most of the security personnel have been incapacitated; Ensign Cutler and Dr. Phlox are tending to them. Minor neurological shock mostly, a bit like being stunned by a phaser, along with a few bruises and sprains. We have thirteen injured to take to sickbay reported so far. I'm so sorry sir – Lt. Reed is... well, he's gone, sir. The creature took him."

"I am detecting one human bio-sign aboard the shuttle pod," T'Pol reported in response to Archer's questioning glance, "I believe Lt. Reed is a hostage of the alien entity."

Archer nodded, and turned back to the comm.

"Ensign Fox. I'm placing you in temporary command of the armoury and security personnel. Please report to the bridge and take the tactical station; we are in pursuit course of the stolen shuttle pod and we may need weapons."

"Understood, sir – I'm on my way."

Archer closed the comm., as Trip gave him a horrified look.

"Jon, you can't be serious – you can't open fire on the shuttle, Malcolm's on board!"

"It's a last resort, Trip – we need to see where they're going first," Archer said, darkly, "Travis, can we use the grappling hook to restrain the shuttle?"

"Negative, sir," the helmsman shook his head, "we're travelling at full impulse speed. If we tried to catch them with the grapple, even if we were able to make contact, we'd risk tearing a hole in the shuttle."

"Keep it on standby," Archer ordered, "if it drops its speed, grab it. T'Pol, have you got any idea where it's taking us?"

"We appear to be heading towards the most distant star system I charted," T'Pol replied, "long range scans are not clear, but it appears to be a binary star system hosting nine planetoids."

"In other words, we'll see when we get there," Archer grumbled, "Hoshi, any response to our hails?"

"None, sir," she shook her head, "I've been trying to communicate with the creature and with Lt. Reed, but I'm getting no response from either of them."

"Trip, it's likely this thing is heading for the planet," Archer noted, as Ensign Fox stepped out onto the bridge and took the tactical station; "go and prepare a shuttlepod for launch. Pack it with emergency medical supplies and weapons; we may be going on a rescue mission. I'll join you and we'll launch immediately if it starts to enter an atmosphere. Put EV suits on standby, we can't guarantee a breathable atmosphere."

"Prepare for everything, got it," Trip nodded, "I'll be ready when you are, Jon."

"Good," Archer nodded, as Trip stepped into the turbo-lift recently vacated by Fox, "right, let's go get our armoury officer back..."

Reed had all but given up fighting; every time he tried to fight the creature or protest against its actions, it screamed and pounded at his consciousness. He was exhausted, mentally and physically. He was still aware of his body, the overwhelming cold and the pain of having been struck by several phaser blasts – though a small part of him had been very pleased with the marksmanship shown by his security teams – but he was completely disconnected from his own limbs, completely at the mercy of the creature possessing him. He moved jerkily, like a puppet worked by an amateur yanking at the strings, and Reed could only watch as the creature, Tai'chu'un, guided them towards a strange, greenish planetoid, the fourth in orbit around twin suns. He could see that the Enterprise was following them, but the creature did not pay it any heed. Reed tried to see the readings on the sensors but the creature blinded him, shoving him back away from conscious thought. Struggling to stay coherent, Reed was vaguely aware of the entity piloting the shuttle down through the clouds at a sharp angle.

Too sharp, he thought, distantly, Tai'chu'un, we're going to crash.

No, the creature hissed, in his mind, you're going to crash... goodbye.

With a jolt and a gasp, Reed was catapulted back into conscious control so hard he nearly fell out of the chair. Grabbing the edges of the console, he groaned in sick pain and despair, willing himself to not pass out. Drawing in a deep, shaky breath, shivering with sudden cold and attempting to suppress an overwhelming feeling of nausea, Reed raised his head. The creature was gone, it had fled the shuttle, and the 'pod was in a nose-first dive straight towards the ground.

Reed stared dumbly out through the viewer for one moment, and then scrabbled to grab the controls. His hands were numb and uncooperative, but he fought with all his strength to make the adjustments he needed to. He managed to fire the reverse thrusters in an attempt to slow his descent, but even as the nose of the shuttle began to lift, he knew he wasn't going to make it. He wrenched on the controls, veering the craft around the peak of a mountain, beyond which was a forested valley. In the distance, Reed could see the shore of a vast ocean. The beach might have offered the best landing site, but the craft was losing altitude too sharply to compensate in enough time. The shuttle hit one of the trees and bounced upwards; Reed tried to pull up but the controls were no longer responding properly. There was another jolt, and then another, as the shuttlepod dropped again into the canopy. Reed was vaguely aware of a series of impacts as the shuttle crashed through the rocks and trees of the valley's edge. A particularly hard impact flung him sideways out of the chair; his head collided solidly with the navigation console, and after that, he knew no more.