NX-01 Enterprise
Gamma Bootis
March 18, 2154
Trip dreamed.
He and Hoshi were trapped together aboard shuttlepod one. They had long since powered down the heater to preserve battery power. Enterprise was gone and their only hope of rescue would be the most unlikely random detection by passersby on a not often used trade route. They shivered in the chill air
"We would be warmer if we were naked under a blanket together." Hoshi suggested.
"I'm not sure I could trust myself." Trip said, slyly.
"I trust you." Hoshi said.
By the logic of dreams, they were instantly naked under a blanket. Trip could feel the warmth of Hoshi's breasts against his chest, her breath on his neck, her hand on his bicep. Her eyes gazed longingly at his mouth. Trip took the hint, cupping her neck with one hand and drawing her closer. He closed his eyes to focus on the sensation of her mouth on his.
T'Pol interrupted them.
"Trip!" She exclaimed.
Trip's eyes flew open. He found himself not on the shuttlepod but in an endless white expanse. T'Pol sat cross legged nearby.
"What the hell?" Trip said. "What just happened?"
"You were about to kiss a junior officer." T'Pol said.
"And you had to interrupt us?"
"It would have been inappropriate." T'Pol explained.
"Oh, God. It's Amanda Cole all over again."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You don't want me but you can't stand me having someone else."
"It was just a dream, Trip. And Hoshi is dead."
"I know that. But you can't even let me have anyone else in a dream."
"And don't care if you have someone else in a dream, but as I said, it would have been inappropriate."
"Where the hell are we anyway?"
"This is where I go in my mind when I meditate."
"It's boring."
"It is soothing."
"Why am I dreaming about you? I was having a perfectly good dream already. Something must be wrong with my brain."
"I don't know why you are here, but I need you to go away."
"Where am I supposed to go?"
"Away. I am trying to meditate."
"This is my dream. You go away."
"Trip…"
Trip woke suddenly. The comm was chiming.
"Bridge to Captain Tucker." Hodges said. "We've arrived at Gamma Bootis. You'd better come up here."
Trip dressed quickly, putting Porthos aside where he slept on the bed with him. He tucked Porthos in and left the room.
On the bridge, Trip found T'Pol already at her station and wondered again at the odd dream he'd just had. He asked himself if it was possible that T'Pol had actually invaded his dream, before dismissing the idea as ridiculous.
"Report." Trip ordered.
"We've just entered the system." T'Pol said. "I've identified the M-class planet as Gamma Bootis IV."
"I detected a ship when we came in." Carrols reported. "It's the Columbia. It's suffered massive damage."
"No answer to hails." Hodges said.
"Tactical alert." Trip asked. "Can we read life signs on any survivors?"
"Not at this range." T'Pol said.
"Bring us into sensor range." Trip said. "Hodges, have the fleet hang back for a minute."
Travis opted to move in at warp one, allowing them to reach the Columbia in less than two minutes.
"I'm reading four life signs on the ship." T'Pol reported, once they'd arrived. "All in engineering. Comms are down and life support is out everywhere else. I detect at least eight hull breaches."
"Carrols, T'Pol," Trip said. "Let's go EVA and rescue those survivors.'
"Captain!" Carrols exclaimed. "I've got something coming around from behind the moon. It's a Xindi battle cruiser."
"Put us between them and the fleet, then engage." Trip said. "Range to target?"
"Fifty thousand kilometers." Carrols reported.
"Let's not give them the first shot. Can you hit with everything at this range?"
"Absolutely."
"Do it." Trip said. "Evasive maneuvers, Travis."
Twin beams of red lanced out from the Enterprise, washing over the Xindi cruiser's shields. Two blue torpedoes flew out to impact the same area.
Fire and smoke erupted from the wounded cruiser.
The cruiser responded in kind, though with beams only. The Enterprise shook slightly from the hit but took minimal damage.
"Target their comm system." Trip said. "We can't have them phoning home about the fleet of humans they just ran into."
Carrols' fingers danced over his console, resulting in another twin set of beams cutting into the cruiser's shields. Torpedoes followed immediately after, destroying their communications and damaging their propulsion.
The cruiser fired back, this time targeting the Enterprise's warp engine. She suffered a massive hit to her structural integrity.
"Our hull is at 64%." Carrols reported. "Damage to propulsion."
Enterprise's response was swift and brutal, with both beams and torpedoes knocking out life support and dropping the cruiser's shields to 40%.
"I think we're in luck." Carrols said. "That ship is already damaged. Probably from the Columbia."
"Target their propulsion." Trip ordered. "We can't let them get away."
Beams lanced out again, followed by two brilliant blue torpedoes. Both impacted at the rear of the cruiser, sending out a massive cloud of smoke and debris.
"They've lost propulsion." Carrols said. "Shields are at 32%."
The Enterprise shook hard as golden beams and brilliant green torpedoes retaliated, striking the hull.
"Our hull is at 15%." Carrols said. "They're targeting our warp reactor."
With that lucky hit, it began to look dire for the Enterprise.
Until five sets of red beams struck out from nearby, slamming into the cruiser. The Neptunes and Intrepids had joined the fight.
The cruiser exploded almost instantly.
"Hodges," Said Trip, "Give them our thanks. We were in a tight spot there. Have the fleet rendezvous at Gamma Bootis IV. Travis, bring us alongside the Columbia. Dock when we're in range."
Docking with the Columbia proved a challenge, as the ship was tumbling slightly. Travis had to try three times, but he finally managed it. The Columbia was a sad sight to see, with eight hull breaches, some of them punching completely through the ship. Both docking ports were damaged, forcing the Enterprise crew to cut through the starboard dock. Trip, T'Pol and Kelby entered the Columbia in their copper-colored EVA suits.
"Let's head straight to engineering." Trip said.
The team began to maneuver their way toward the rear of the ship. They encountered several dead bodies on the way. Gravity plating was offline, forcing the team to move floating corpses out of the way from time to time. They traveled on until they stood before the door to engineering.
"Let's close this bulkhead behind us and get some air in here," Trip said. "Before we access engineering and steal what atmosphere they've got left."
Kelby closed the bulkhead immediately behind them and accessed a console on the wall nearby. Presently air began to hiss into the area until EVA suits were no longer necessary. The team removed their helmets and entered main engineering.
Inside, two men and two women stood, surprised at the sudden appearance of the party. Admiral Forrest was one of them.
"Captain Tucker." Forrest said. "Am I glad to see you. We haven't had water in three days and we're all severely dehydrated. Some food wouldn't hurt either."
"We'll get you taken care of, sir." Trip said. "The four of you come with us. The Enterprise is docked on the starboard dock. Do you all have EVA suits available?"
"We've EVA suits right here." Forrest said. "Tell us what happened since you left the solar system while we changed into them."
Trip gave Forrest a full report, delineating everything that the Enterprise had been through since she left the Sol system. He then asked what had happened to the Columbia.
"They came at us with a huge fleet." Forrest said. "We didn't stand a chance. We fought as best we could, but we lost both Luna and Mars on the first day. By the second day we lost half our fleet. That's when I ordered everyone to this system. It looks like we're the only ones who made it. Then a reptilian battle cruiser appeared, having followed us, and all but destroyed us. I trust you've already dealt with them, or you wouldn't be here."
"We did." Trip said. "It was a tough fight, but we have a few ships with us that pitched in and took it out."
"Good." Forrest said. "Now we're ready. Let's get to the Enterprise. I'll be setting up my command post there."
Trip placed his helmet back over his head, wondering what the admiral meant by "command post", then led the survivors back through the carnage to the starboard dock. There they entered the Enterprise, where stewards waited to escort them to their new quarters.