Disclaimer: Enterprise, Star Trek and all related characters are the property of Paramount Pictures, Inc., a Viacom Company. No copyright infringement intended. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money has changed hands. The original characters and events are the sole property of the authors and may not be used without permission.
T’Lin
By Dee and Zyphy
"Captain, we’re receiving communication from an outpost located on the far side of the planet.”
"Put it through Hoshi," said the captain as he rose from the command chair and walked behind Travis.
The viewer came to life. Static dissolved to reveal a vaguely humanoid form. The being staring at Archer was of human height but radically different in all other respects. A diminutive head topped its rotund body. It had a small snout with protruding double-layered teeth. All of its visible skin was a sickening, wrinkled purple. Archer felt an immediate aversion to it. The feeling couldn’t be attributed to just the being’s appearance, some of Phlox’s ‘pets’ were more revolting. There was something more, an underlying evil. Its eyes, those windows to the soul, were dead. Empty. He thought briefly of another set of eyes that always managed to captivate him – T’Pol’s. Her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to suppress them, were alive. Beautiful, vibrant eyes you could drown in. Gaze into for a lifetime. The alien’s eyes, which riveted Archer’s attention onscreen, were vacant. Archer took a deep breath as the creature began speaking. It took Hoshi several tries to get the translator working.
Responding with his standard greeting, Archer introduced himself. "I am Captain Jonathan Archer of the starship Enterprise. We are on a peaceful mission.”
The being interrupted him, "Yes, Captain Jonathan Archer, we have heard a great deal about you and the adventures of the Enterprise. Is it true that you have a female Vulcan science officer?"
Jonathan glanced quickly at T’Pol. She raised an elegant eyebrow before he answered.
“Yes, we do.” Jonathan was hesitant. He wondered why he was being asked about T’Pol. He was about to question the alien, but was beaten to the punch.
“You and your science officer are welcome to the Javian outpost. We would prefer only the two of you. It is gratifying to find that our information was correct."
Jonathan began to feel apprehensive. He wondered if his prejudice was responsible for the overwhelming feeling of dread that settled upon him. It filled his soul and threatened to suffocate him. Abruptly it became unimportant after the being made his next statement, a pronouncement that chilled Archer’s bones and threatened his sanity.
"The DNA strands the Andorians sold us from you and the Vulcan are as they described. The small creature we engineered does look like you.’’
T’Pol and Archer turned to stare at each other, in fear and bewilderment. What small alien? Neither could now be prevented from going down to the planet, whatever the cost.
After the view screen shut off, Captain Archer had a multitude of questions swarming in his head. He could hardly breathe, let alone speak. Somehow, he managed to choke out, “T’Pol, with me. Trip, you’re in command.”
T’Pol walked silently behind Archer. As they entered the shuttle bay, both were silent, immersed in their own speculation. Only a few sideways glances acknowledged the others presence. Archer handled the controls while T’Pol scanned the planet below them. The shuttle pod was quiet as a tomb.
Captain Archer’s thoughts wandered from the mundane piloting. A child. Was that what the hellish creature was telling him? A boy, perhaps a girl? Would the child look like him, T’Pol, or some gross freak of nature? Maybe it wasn’t a child at all but a mass of cells. One part of Archer acknowledged he was getting older. This might be his only child. A boy to carry on the family name. Or a girl to shower with affection. A part of him. He rejected the very notion. He didn’t want to think about it but errant thoughts strayed to T’Pol. If it were a child, would it be Vulcan or Human? Where would it be raised? Earth, Vulcan or somewhere else? Would this child be accepted anywhere? He tried to push these thoughts to the back of his mind.
"T’Pol do you know anything about these Javians?” He questioned, mostly to break the silence.
"They have traded with the Vulcans from time to time. They sell unique items that one cannot obtain elsewhere. Other than that, we do not associate with them.” She stopped. “We are approaching the outpost Captain. Shall I hail them?"
“No, their doors just opened. I guess we’re welcome.” He stated sarcastically.
The planet looked like an icecap. Ice as far as the eye could see. Looking at it gave the captain chills. Light played off the crystals turning the world below him into a kaleidoscope of colors, soft and inviting. Somewhere deep inside, alarms went off. Beauty so breathtaking could be deceptive. A covering designed to lure its victims to the ugliness hidden underneath. He wondered if the fly felt that way about a spider’s intricate web. He could easily make out the outpost. Standing in stark contrast to the incredible wonderland, was a dark blackish-gray box. Jonathan couldn’t discern any windows or other openings, only the gaping landing bay plunged in darkness.
The shuttle pod landed without incident in a crowded bay. Captain Archer was surprised no one came out to greet them as they exited the pod. He found himself clenching his fist repeatedly. Something was wrong. Archer pulled out his phaser. He could hear the soft humming of T’Pol’s scanner in the background.
"Captain I’m detecting two life signs just east of us. Behind the second craft. They don’t appear to be moving."
Archer took a deep breath and murmured to himself, "It looks like the mountain won’t come to Mohammed."
"Captain?"
"An Earth saying.” He whispered back as she came up beside him, a phaser in one hand while her scanner was tightly held in the other. Archer shot a look at T’Pol. He wanted to wish her good luck but knew it would be rebuked. She would dismiss it as something illogical, an unproductive human superstition. He refrained, looked over and nodded.
She was already off. She reminded him of a sleek cat stalking its prey. A thought crossed his mind, ‘Do I love her or is this just profound friendship?’ Shaking his head, he discarded it quickly. Mimicking T’Pol’s actions, he quietly and cautiously made his way to the two aliens. He discovered T’Pol standing over them. Both aliens were on the ground.
“Good shooting, T’Pol.”
T’Pol slipped her phaser into its holster and ran her scanner over them. After she scanned them, she looked up at Archer with a raised eyebrow. "Captain, both Javians were like this when I arrived. They seem to be alive. Their bio signs are good but they are immobile.”
Jonathan bent down and took a closer look. Even in this state, they made his skin crawl. He couldn’t tell what was happening. Were they awake or not? Their eyes still appeared dead, as dark and lifeless as their outpost.
Jonathan tentatively reached out and pushed at the alien closest to him. It proved to be soft and squishy like a ball of play dough he once had as a child. Jonathan wanted to grab the alien and shake him for the information he wanted but Archer refrained. What good would it do? Its motor skills were just as dead as its eyes. Archer eased himself up and motioned to T’Pol to follow him. He glanced over to her and found her walking toward the farthest doorway. Jonathan sprinted behind her till he caught up.
"T’Pol?" he questioned. T’Pol stopped short and spun around.
"Don’t go off on your own. We don’t know what’s going on.” Archer stated as he took a step in front of her. "Let me go first."
She nodded but her eyes seemed guarded. Her stance seemed too controlled. Every muscle in her seemed to be pulled taut. Numerous alarms coursed through Archer’s system, causing his own muscles to tighten and his mouth to dry.
"What is it?” He whispered to her.
T’Pol refused to answer but her face was dark and impassive.
"T’Pol?’’
"According to my scans, Captain, we are the only bio signs moving. The entire outpost personnel of 226 are stationary."
Archer mouth dropped opened. "All 226? What the hell is going on here?"
Archer pulled his communicator out and swung the lid open. "Archer to Enterprise."
Hoshi’s soft voice floated through the device, "Enterprise."
"Trip, are you there?” Jonathan shook his head.
"Yes, Captain."
"Scan the area and see if you can locate any other ships in our vicinity." said Archer.
"Captain, we already ran a scan. There are no ships nearby.” Tucker answered back.
"Very well. Archer out."
Archer swung the communicator shut and clipped it back onto his belt. Archer could tell that T’Pol wanted to ask him a question but he also knew she wouldn’t. "I’m just checking all my bases. I want to make sure those big eared aliens who knocked out our crew aren’t trying the same thing here."
T’Pol only nodded.
Captain Jonathan Archer gripped hard onto his phaser. He motioned T’Pol towards the other side of the doorway. With weapons drawn, they entered the corridor, each of them blending against the corridor walls. Every few feet, T’Pol would stop and scan. Then look over to Jonathan and shake her head in a negative manner. After finding three more Javians laid out in the same manner as the first two, Archer gave up on slinking in the corridors and walked straight into the first open doorway he found. He took a step backward, almost bumping into T’Pol. He was unprepared for the sight in front of him. Light purple liquid littered the floor and seemed to be oozing out of the four chairs in front of him. Jonathan felt his blood go cold and his veins turn to ice. The Javians located in the room were nothing but skeletons wrapped in their silver uniforms. He found T’Pol standing next to him, her scanner running as she slowly walked over to the remains. While she scanned the bodies, Archer walked the perimeter of the room with phaser drawn, checking everywhere for what caused the horror in front of him. He had to give T’Pol credit for remaining cool, calm and truly professional. After analyzing the data from her pad, she touched the skeleton and calmly unzipped its uniform. There was nothing there but its stripped rib cage. By the time she was finished with the inspection of the remains, Archer was standing next to her. His body tensed, each sound causing him to grip his phaser tighter and raise it towards the door. Archer was the first to speak after he saw T’Pol lower her scanner.
"I thought you said that they were alive but unable to move."
"Captain, at the time I took the initial scan the information was correct."
"That means they were striped of flesh, fat and muscles in the time it took us to get here T’Pol. That can’t be. It only took us about 30 minutes to get here. What could do this? Are you saying this could happen to us?"
She calmly placed her scanner down on top of the corpse. "Yes, Captain. I strongly suggest we use our own supplies until we can rule out the contamination that led to these individuals being paralyzed.” T’Pol’s voice was calm, cool and seemingly detached from the situation which confronted them.
Archer could only shake his head. "Agreed. Is your scanner picking up anything?"
Looking up from her scanner, T’Pol could easily read Captain Archer’s look of impatience.
"The scanner is showing increases in temperature. Interesting. It has increased 5 degrees during the 35.2 minutes we have been here. The personnel is now down to 194 with viable readings"
"Why aren’t we affected? Archer quizzed her and added, “What’s happening? Just take an educated guess T’Pol.”
"Vulcan’s do not guess.” She answered her voice becoming totally detached.
"Then hypothesize," Archer remarked.
“This Javian, I…” T’Pol stopped short as if the word stuck in her throat, "hypothesize was exposed to a toxin that paralyzed him. Since there isn’t evidence of flesh, fat or organs left and his uniform has no evidence of the same, I would surmise that the victim was paralyzed and either disintegrated or was eaten along with his compatriots. Since we have been exposed to the same air and are apparently not affected, I would contend that paralysis and death were a direct result of contact, unless they were all exposed to the same toxin and something activated it. That would be unlikely.”
He gave her a wide smile and a wink, "Nice guess T’Pol. I was thinking the same thing."
T’Pol shot him a wide-eyed look. "I’m sure you were."
Asking the question that had been plaguing him since they had left Enterprise, he whispered, "T’Pol, do they actually have the capability to make a child from us?"
"You and I are not that important, Captain. It would be illogical for them to do so,” answered T’Pol after a few moments. “But knowing what little I do about the Javians, with their present technology, the answer is yes.” Her voice seemed to soften, almost disappearing.
“With what?”
“As the Javian indicated, they purchased samples of our DNA from the Andorians. The Andorians most likely obtained your DNA when you were interrogated at P’Jem and mine when I was shot while we were being held hostage on Corridan.”
"Oh.” Dismayed Archer refocused on the immediate problem. “ We better check out the rest of the outpost. T’Pol, check the other side while I check this.” Archer was off and tossing open doors, while T’Pol moved to the other side.
Door after door contained mostly remains. The heat continued to climb, adding to the suffocating smell of death. T’Pol was at the far side of the compound when she happened upon the lab. Entering through the double doors, she was surprised at the size of the lab. It was huge. It contained computers and scientific instruments. T’Pol paused briefly to examine the instruments before her. Then she noticed a pair of double doors towards the back of the room. One led towards Biochemical Hazards and the other to Genetics.
As T’Pol entered the second lab, curiosity filled her. She walked past cylinders of genetic material, stepping over the fallen Javian bodies. She noted they were in different stages of the same creature‘s development. She clinically checked over each cylinder. At the second to last cylinder, she stopped dead in her tracks. Protruding from the mass of genetic material was a tiny hand. Barely visible through the gelatinous material was a tiny pointed ear. The sign on the cylinder said “VH Hybrid – 12 week fetus - Non-Viable”. T’Pol took a step back and closed her eyes. Opening them, she pressed forward. Everything seemed surreal. She continued on autopilot until she arrived at the final cylinder. It was a fully developed child, tiny fingers floated by the child’s small frame. The child was bald, clearly showing its pointed ears and delicate features. It was a girl. T’Pol felt her throat close up as she gently placed her hand on the cylinder. The why and wherefore were forgotten as she gazed at the child, her child and Jonathan’s.
Searching for T’Pol, Archer stopped at the lab door. Cylinders were everywhere but through the glass, he saw her distorted features. Archer gazed quickly at the containers. The first one only had a gelatinous blob. He quickly walked over to her. He came to rest behind T’Pol, looking down at what held her spellbound. For the first time in many years, Captain Archer felt mortal. He peered at the sleeping child suspended in the cylinder. He leaned closer, his chest pressing against T’Pol’s back. His hand alighted on hers, resting on the glass.
He felt his throat constrict, "Ours?" He questioned the back of her head.
T’Pol didn’t speak. Only nodded her head yes.
Archer slowly smiled. As he watched, the small infant moved her arm and placed her tiny thumb in her mouth. “She’s so beautiful, T’Pol.” Archer could feel T’Pol’s body slump against his. He thanked God that his little one was safe in that cylinder.
They both stood transfixed as they watched their child float in the cylinder sucking her thumb. Archer counted her tiny toes and fingers with their delicate nails. She was perfect. As realization of their plight filtered into his mind, Archer’s primary thought was of saving his daughter. With her ears, she looked like a little elf. His and T’Pol’s little bald Pixie girl. He felt T’Pol pull away. With her free hand, she ran the scanner over their daughter as she gently pulled her other hand out from under Archer’s.
"The specimen is in the 5th or 6th month, in good physical condition and physiologically is mostly Vulcan,” stated T’Pol matter-of-factly.
Archer grabbed T’Pol and spun her around to face him.
"That SPECIMEN is our daughter. Maybe you don’t give a damn but I do!” Archer found his fingers pressing deeper into T’Pol’s upper arm. His anger dissipated. He gave a small laugh and shook his head. "Vulcan all the way.” He looked deep within her eyes. An understanding washed over him. His voice softened as he dropped his hand from T’Pol’s arm.
"She’ll be okay. I’m going to transport her up to the Enterprise. T’Pol, if anything happens to us, I want Trip and Hoshi to raise her.” T’Pol face was flushed as she nodded her head yes.
"I'd like to name her T’Lin, after my mother." said T’Pol softly. She took a deep breath, "I will research what is causing the deaths on this outpost." T’Pol took a step away from Jonathan only to quickly turn around to him. "Jonathan, please save our daughter.” Then before he could answer T’Pol turned and walked away into the outside lab.
As soon as she left, Archer tossed open his communicator "Archer to Enterprise."
Trip’s voice came in loud and clear. “Are you okay Cap’n?"
"Trip, listen I need your help."
"Anything. What you need, Jon?"
"Right now I need to speak to you, Hoshi and Phlox in private. Call me when you all get to my ready room.‘’ Archer swung his communicator closed and stared into the cylinder his daughter was in.
Archer was startled from his reverie when his communicator sounded.
Archer swung the communicator open. “Archer here"
"Cap'n.” Trip's voice rang out. "We’re all here."
"Trip, Doctor, Hoshi. Trip, I want you to use the transporter as soon as you determine the coordinates. You can triangulate on my communicator. I want you to beam up a cylinder. Doc, are you there?"
"Yes, Captain. How can I be of assistance?"
Archer looked over at his daughter. "Have you ever heard of genetic manipulations, blending two different species together? If not learn quickly. The cylinder I’m sending you has my daughter in it."
"Excuse me Captain. Your daughter?" asked Phlox.
"Yes, T’Lin Archer. I’m going to set my communicator on her cylinder. Doctor, she’s part Vulcan and part Human, so be prepared. Get to her as soon as you beam her up."
"I’ll get set up right now. Captain, how old is your daughter?"
Archer took a close look at his daughter "About 5 or 6 months. T’Pol scanned her. Her physiology is primarily Vulcan."
"I’ll do what I can Captain. Congratulations on your daughter. I need to go get things started.” Archer could hear the door to his ready room whish open and then close.
"Captain?” Hoshi’s voice piped in. "What can I do?"
"If anything happens to me and T’Pol, I want you and Trip to take care of T’Lin. Trip, I’m leaving you as acting Captain."
He heard dead silence. "Trip, Hoshi?"
"Cap’n nothing’s going to happen to you. Why don’t we just transport you and T’Pol up after your daughter if you can’t make it back to the shuttle craft?"
"Trip, I have to make sure this thing is destroyed. We don’t even know what it is yet. I also want to get any living Javians out. So will you take care of T’Lin?"
Hoshi’s voice came back loud and strong. “We’d be honored to."
“Thank you. Archer out.” Archer snapped his communicator off.
He placed his COM on top of his daughter’s cylinder and slowly ran his fingertips over the cold encasement. He smiled as he watched his daughter pull her thumb out of her mouth as her little foot struck out against his hand.
Archer tore himself away and went into the outer lab. He found T’Pol sitting in front of a computer monitor, her fingers gliding over the alien keyboard.
T’Pol looked up at Archer. "Is she alright?"
"Yes. She’ll be transported out of here in a moment. She seems to be well protected from this. Do you want to say good-bye to her?” Archer held out his hand.
T’Pol hesitated for a fraction of a second. Then she slowly took his hand and stood. Archer led her up to the doorway between the two rooms and gently let her hand go. She turned to him only to have him nod to her. As T’Pol proceeded in, she stopped once and threw Jonathan a glance. He wasn’t looking at her but at T’Lin. A part of T’Pol was concerned not only for her daughter but also for Jonathan. What would happen if the child didn’t survive? And if she did, what then? Jonathan had no concept of the connection between Vulcans and their children. When it involved their children, even the most logical of Vulcans could behave irrationally.
Did he even realize that because of this child their lives would be forever intertwined? She could sense the bond developing between Jonathan and T’Lin. When Jonathan had placed his hand over hers, she could feel their child, the Vulcan half, reaching out. This child was precious. All Vulcan children were. How could T’Pol tell Jonathan, a Human, that Vulcans were slowly dying out? There were so few born and less each year. If something didn’t reverse the trend, within the next 500 years her people would no longer exist. She reminded herself she was already a part of Captain Jonathan Archer’s life.
T’Pol slowly walked over to T’Lin. The child’s pull was strong. T’Pol had no choice. She knew the truth. She was already a part of Jonathan Archer’s and this child’s life. T’Pol opened herself up to the song of her child’s life force, embracing the part of T’Lin that was Jonathan and herself. She kept the bond between them as their child disappeared in a flash of light.
Jonathan immediately contacted Enterprise from T’Pol’s communicator, only to have T’Pol interrupt as she walked up to him, "She’s fine, Jonathan.” She walked past him, running her fingers across his sleeve as she did. He looked at her curiously and wondered at her newfound serenity and knowledge.
Trip’s voice rang out, "We got her. Jon, the doctor’s taking her now."
“Thank you. T’Pol and I are going to try and determine what happened here. I’ll contact you once we’ve discovered something. Archer out.”
He again located T’Pol sitting at the computer monitor. He came up behind her. “Find anything?"
"It seems the Javians were venturing into different strains of toxins and genetic manipulations to sell to the highest bidder. Their second largest client paid them an extraordinary amount. They were to develop an insect engineered to kill off a planet’s populace. The planet was to be repopulated with hybrids after the insects were eliminated. According to the records, that is why our DNA was used. Both our races share similarities to the Javians. If our combined race could survive after the elimination of the previous occupants, they too would be eliminated and the Javians would then claim the planet as their own. After a trail period of two years, they encountered a problem with their experiments on the insects. It seems the cross between angolians from Vulcan and army ants from Earth, when genetically altered produced a rather highly organized killing machine. They are extremely poisonous. When stung, the victim goes into shock, looses all motor control and is paralyzed. The scout ants go back to their main group and lead the colony back to their victims. The ants then feed off the victims. Apparently, they prefer live prey. They reproduce at an alarming rate and have three times the normal life span. They seem to strike the largest life form, consume it and then work down the food chain. A few escaped from a breach in security about an hour before we got here."
"Why haven’t they come after us?" asked Archer
"Unknown Captain."
"Unless they’re already full." added Archer.
‘Is there a way to totally destroy them, T’Pol, before they spread across the entire planet?” Archer asked.
"I believe they are highly adaptable. We may have to destroy this outpost.”
Archer walked behind T’Pol who was still sitting at the console.
"T’Pol, I want you to pinpoint every bio sign. We’re going to get them out of here and then destroy this outpost. I won’t sacrifice one life and I won’t let these things out to destroy anyone. Can you upload the information you have to the Enterprise?"
T’Pol tossed Archer a look. "I can start uploading the data I have now."
Archer called the Enterprise as Trip’s voice rang out. "Captain, we…"
Captain Archer interrupted him "Trip, I’m uploading data from here. After you receive the data, contact Admiral Forrester at Starfleet. Inform him of what’s happening down here. You’ll get all the info from the data we’re sending you. It’s for your and Hoshi's eyes only. Archer out."
T’Pol turned to Jonathan. "All data should be uploaded in 28 minutes."
T’Pol stood up and with scanner in hand she swept the area. “Captain, I suggest we hurry. The life signs for the two Javians in the shuttle bay corridor have just terminated."
"T’Pol get ready to transport out.” Determination resounded in his voice.
"Illogical, Captain. May I suggest that we start pinpointing and transporting the Javians out of here? Begin immediate quarantine procedures and move them directly to Enterprise’s decontamination chamber. Currently, the Javians seem to be the targets of the feeding frenzy. The Javians have a larger mass than we do. I believe that’s why they were attacked first. It may require both of us to destroy this outpost. In the event one of us is disabled, the other may be able to accomplish the demolition."
Jonathan could feel his face fall. He knew she was right, logical, but a part of him wanted to protect her. “You’re right T’Pol. Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?"
She looked at him with a puzzled expression. Jonathan shook his head. “Let’s get started."
“I’ll contact the Enterprise,” Jonathan flipped open T’Pol’s communicator. "Archer to Enterprise."
"Trip here. Are you both okay?"
Archer smiled, "We’re okay. I want you to start targeting Javians through T’Pol and me. We are going on to where each one fell and try to make sure that they are somewhat clean before you transport them up. Make sure they are immediately placed in quarantine, take them straight to decon and leave them there. Anything that crawls, destroy without prejudice."
"Got it Cap'n. We’ll communicate with you after we get everything set-up. How many Javians are we talking about?"
“Trip right now the count is...” Archer turned to T’Pol.
"133" she called out.
Archer turned back to her COM. "Did you get that Trip?"
"Captain I don’t know how we can take that many, but we’ll do it. It may take us some time."
The Captain lowered his head. "Trip we don’t have any time. The first one you can transport is located next to the canister you beamed up earlier. We just don’t have the time,” Archer repeated. Archer closed the communicator. "Do we, T’Pol?"
Her look spoke volumes to him.
They entered the corridor, weapons drawn. Moving slowly down the corridor, they encountered one stripped corpse after another in each room they checked. Finally, T’Pol paused and scanned ahead of them. This time when she caught Archer eyes she held up her hand in a stopping motion and pointed back from where they came. At the same time, she started to retrace their steps.
Archer felt exhausted, "How many left?"
"102 make that 101.” She stated.
"Why aren’t we seeing them?"
"We are. We have probably run into the scouting ants several times. Currently they are after bigger game. We are going to be next, after the others are fed upon.” She answered back. "If we are to find any alive we have to back track to what they call a boiler room.
"T’Pol did you download schematics?"
"Yes."
"Pull them up and show me. I think I’ve got a plan."
"Captain, that entire shuttle bay is swarmed. The two we found earlier are most likely being consumed as we speak. It is foolish to return there."
Jonathan shook his head as he looked at the data pad she handed him.
"T’Pol I want you to head to the boiler room. I’m going to make sure that there’s no one left but us. Tag anyone you encounter who is still alive and have them transported out. After they’re gone, I want you to go too. Is that understood?” He commanded her.
She blinked once but his face was set. “How will you return to Enterprise?”
“I’m going to drag anyone I find alive to the shuttle pod, use it to destroy this facility and to return to the ship.”
She knew there was no sense in arguing. She started towards the boiler room only to turn around as he tossed her the communicator.
"Captain, I could not have picked better for T’Lin’s father.” She turned away and walked off leaving him standing there with a lump in his throat.
He whispered after her, "I wouldn’t have anyone else as her mother.”
He started towards the shuttle bay turning back briefly as she disappeared down the corridor.
He found himself glad that she had left him with the scanner. Most of the rooms held remains. Jonathan watched in horror as one Javian died after another. The ants seemed to be one step ahead of him. By the time he got back to the shuttle, only 43 life forms remained. Jonathan entered the bay. The walls seemed to be moving. Black dots swarmed on the remaining Javians. Jonathan could only gaze in revulsion as their bodies were covered and striped to bones in seconds. As they fed, Jonathan noticed a shiny substance covered a small patch of the room. What caught his attention was that it had no ants swarming on it. He slowly stepped into the clear area. He leaned down, touched his finger to the substance and brought it up to his face. He smelled and then tasted it. Oil. As the ants came close to him, he watched as they stepped on the oil, struggled and then stilled in death. Archer studied the ants as they started to climb the walls.
Suddenly he bolted for the door and sprinted down the corridor. He had an idea. As he reached the boiler room, he checked the scanner. Only two life forms still moving. Human and Vulcan. Damn T’Pol. ‘If anything happens to her,’ he thought, ‘I’m going to kill her.’
Archer threw himself down the boiler room’s narrow stairs crashing into T’Pol, toppling her slender frame backward until she hit the interior wall. Archer found himself on top of her. He pulled himself off her prone form and hurriedly leaned down and cupped her chin.
"T’Pol? Damn it. Why are you still here?" He demanded but she didn’t respond. Archer picked her up, placed her gently down in the center of the room and straightened himself up. He took a brief look at her, leaned down, and whispered in her ear. "I’m glad she has your ears." He picked up the communicator lying beside her and placed it in his pocket.
Archer stood and started tugging the barrels that lined the wall onto their side. He quickly looked around and found what appeared to be an iron bar. He started breaking the seals on the heavy oil drums, spilling their contents over the ground. As the oil hit T’Pol, she slowly revived. Shaking her head as she opened her eyes, she watched as Jonathan knocked the last of the canisters over, drenching her in the process.
"Jonathan?" she questioned as she watched Jonathan dive down into the oil and roll until he was covered. He moved towards T’Pol, only to see her scoot away from him. Stretching out his arm, he grabbed her and instructed, "Roll in the oil, T’Pol. If this doesn’t work, we’re lunch.” Seeing her hesitation, he continued, “Listen, they can’t touch the oil. It kills them. I think they can’t breath. Like a tick, it clogs up their lungs.”
Distastefully, T’Pol rolled in the oil coating herself completely. Both of them were covered with slick heavy oil. Through the darkness, T’Pol only saw Jonathan’s beautiful eyes, which sparkled. Calmness settled over her. He had a plan.
She watched as he started soaking a rag in oil until it was drenched. Then he walked over to the boiler and kicked the huge air duct to the outside. As it fell, he took the pipe, aimed one side downward and started feeding the soaked rag through it. T’Pol jumped up. She knew what he was planning. The rag would catch on fire, igniting the oil, which would lead to an explosion, taking out everything. As Archer finished, he nodded over to T’Pol who was already heading towards him and the vent that led to the outside.
As he pushed her in the round vent, he called out “Hit the ground and start running as fast as you can. I’ll be right behind you."
T’Pol could feel the stinging of the freezing weather as she hit the outside. Its sharpness took her breath away. Jonathan had just started through the opening as the oil behind him ignited. He could almost feel the lick of the flames as he hit the cold air. Jonathan didn’t glance back as he started running behind T’Pol into the arctic wasteland. His body stung. He dove towards T’Pol, shielding her as the outpost blew, scattering debris everywhere. He cautiously raised his head, realizing he was still cradling T’Pol. She was curled up in his lap. Jonathan barely noticed the cold ground his knees were resting on. He could feel T’Pol shivering as he pulled her tighter to his chest. Slowly letting go of her with his left hand, he reached for the communicator in his pocket. He had just pulled it out when a sound floated over the dying embers of the outpost, the hum of a shuttlecraft’s engine. Archer laid the side of his head down on top of T’Pol’s, dropped the communicator to the icy ground, and whispered, "We’re going home.” He closed his eyes. They were going home to the Enterprise and their daughter.
THE END