"Snow Bound" by A. Rhea King Rating: PG Disclaimer: Don't own them, CBS/Paramount does. Summary: Archer, T'Pol and Travis go to visit a colony on an ice planet. The colony turns out to be a penal colony, and if the wildlife doesn't kill them, the security measures will. CHAPTER 2 Archer opened his eyes. The shuttle pod was pitch dark without a lantern turned on. He closed his eyes, trying to go back to sleep. He felt the shuttle pod shudder and opened his eyes. He heard T’Pol or Travis move behind him, but kept silent. The shuttle pod shook again. “Captain,” T’Pol said. “Sir?” Travis said. Archer sat up, holding his breath. The shuttle pod shook again. “It doesn’t feel seismic,” Archer whispered. “It’s an impact tremor,” T’Pol said. The shuttle pod shook again. Archer instinctively held his breath. The ground shook again and he closed his eyes, praying that whatever was causing the ground to tremble would simply pass by. The shaking stopped. “Captain!” Travis whispered in a frightened voice. Archer opened his eyes. A giant eye was looking through the front window. “Don’t worry. The hull will hold,” Archer said. “How can you be sure?” “Optimism, Travis.” The three fell silent, watching the eye. The shuttle pod shook from something striking the hull. The eye disappeared and there was silence. Suddenly the shuttle pod almost tipped over, tossing the three against the hull. It crashed back down and the three lay where they fell. The shaking started again and they heard animals communicating with one another. Archer pulled himself to his hands and knees and crawled to the front. He pulled himself up so he could just see over the controls. He saw two dark forms in the direction of the animal corpse. Archer turned and sank down, sitting against the chair. “Captain, what do you see?” T’Pol whispered. “There are things out there eating. I don’t think we should talk or move until they leave.” T’Pol and Travis kept silent. Archer sat tense, waiting and listening. But sleep eventually overtook him and he fell asleep with his head resting against the controls. # Archer, Trip and T’Pol stood over the remains of the dead animal. They could see footprints in the snow around them and they were as long as Archer was tall. Archer turned away from the scene, adjusting his backpack. “Let’s go,” Archer said. “Maybe it would be better to wait in the shuttle pod, sir,” Travis said. “No. We have to get to those coordinates before dark.” Travis and T’Pol fell in behind him, the three trudging through the snow in single file. # The three were following the edge of a cliff, keeping it on their left. They had fallen silent several hours ago as they became short of breath from trudging through the wet snow. T’Pol, in the lead and watching a scanner in her hand, stopped short. “What is it?” Archer asked. “We are not on the cliff any more,” T’Pol said, watching her scanner. “We have to go back immediately. We’re on a ledge of snow.” “Slowly, I presume?” Archer asked. “Very slowly, Captain.” “Travis, head for the trees,” Archer ordered. Travis slowly turned around and started back toward the trees. Archer turned and followed. “T’Po--” “I would advise against making any unnecessary noise, sir,” T’Pol whispered. Archer looked down, watching cracks racing in all directions with each footstep. “Avalanche,” Travis said as if it were a comment. “What?” Archer looked at him. Travis was staring up the mountain trying again to say the word that refused to come out. Archer and T’Pol both looked up, seeing a wall of snow racing down from the very top of the mountain. “RUN!” Archer yelled. The three raced across the snow, causing the ledge to start breaking away around them. “CAPTIAN!” Archer turned, throwing his hand out without looking. T’Pol’s hand snapped around his wrist and her weight pulled Archer down onto crumbling the snow ledge. Archer strained to pull her up as the ledge continued to give way under him. Archer felt Travis grab his arm and with his help the two pulled T’Pol back up. The three raced into the forest. The roar of the avalanche was getting louder by the second. Archer looked back as a proceeding finger of the avalanche grabbed T’Pol and swept her under. “T’POL!” Archer screamed, turning back for her. Travis latched onto Archer’s arm and yanked him down. Archer landed hard on his side beside Travis on the leeward side of a boulder twice their height. The two pressed against the stone. The avalanche’s roar drowned out all other sound. Debris and snow shot over the top and sides of the boulder. It quickly formed a pocket around the boulder, encasing the men in blackness. The roar faded until the men’s panting filled the silence. “I thought you hadn’t seen a lot of snow, Travis,” Archer said. “I haven’t, sir.” “Then how’d you know this would work?” “I may not have seen a lot of snow, sir, but I can read. It was in the survival manual.” Archer smiled, almost laughed. “You got a memory like an elephant, Travis. Let’s get out of here and start searching for T’Pol.” The two dug themselves out and stood on the edge of the hole. Archer reached in the breast pocket of his down coat and pulled his communicator out. He flicked it open. “Trip.” “Yeah?” “We got hit by an avalanche. Can you lock onto T’Pol’s communicator signal?” “Just a minute. Travis with you?” “Yeah. We’re both fine.” Trip was silent a moment. “I’m getting a signal. It’s nearly eight kilometers from your location over in the next valley.” “Travis, give me the shovel,” Archer told him. Travis pulled his backpack off, dug out the shovel and handed it to Archer. “Head on to the coordinates and see if you can get help. I’m going after T’Pol.” Archer handed him the PADD and a scanner. “Aye, sir.” Travis headed in the direction they’d been going. Archer pulled a PADD out of his leg pocket. He pulled up the scan of the area saved on it. “What are the coordinates from my location, Trip?” “Take a heading of three o’clock. You should be able to see a rock outcropping.” Archer turned to his three o’clock and looked down the slope. He frowned. “Trip, did I mention we were hit by an avalanche? There’s nothing in that direction but a whole helluva lot of snow.” “Just a minute.” Trip was silent a moment. “Okay, follow the path of the avalanche to the ridge, take a two o’clock heading and she’ll be dead ahead six kilometers. If you use the positioning program in your PADD, you can modify it to pick up her communicator signal.” “Got a more direct way?” “You could just start walking to your two o’clock, but that’s going to take you through some rough terrain that’ll slow you down. You gotta know you don’t have a lot of time to get to her, sir.” “I’ll get back to you as soon as I get to the ridge.” “Affirmative.” Archer closed his communicator and started walking toward the ridge. He reached the ridge and stopped, opening the communicator again. He changed the screen on the PADD to the positioning program. “Archer to Trip.” “Yeah.” “How to I modify the program to locate her communicator signal?” “Pull up the menu, sir.” Archer changed the screen. “All right. I have--” Archer stopped, hearing branches crack behind him. He turned and froze with fright. Behind him a furry, white, reptile looking creature the height of a gazelle was slowly advancing on long, thick legs that ended in four black claws. Its long, thick tail swayed behind it, knocking over any tree it hit. Its mouth was open slightly with drool dribbling out of it. Archer could see two rows of dozens of teeth in its mouth and there were animal parts stuck between the teeth. Archer swallowed hard, trying to force his terrified brain to work again. “Cap’n?” Trip asked. Archer’s hand slowly sank down as he watched the creature. It turned its head, looking down the slope. “Cap’n, I didn’t copy. Are ya ready for instructions, sir?” The creature’s head snapped back around at the sound of Trip’s voice. It began to advance on Archer again. Archer began a slow back pedal. “Cap’n, respond,” Trip demanded. Archer started to lift the communicator back to his mouth. The creature reared up on its back legs and let out a roaring screech. Archer spun and bolted, tossing the communicator when Trip called again for him. The ground shook as the creature pursued him at a limping lope. Archer didn’t risk looking back as he ran headlong into the thick pine trees ahead of him. Archer let out a surprised yelp when a pair of hands grabbed him and yanked him into a pine tree. Branches and pine needles poked and scratched his face and exposed skin as he was jerked through them. Archer struggled to get free from whoever had grabbed him. A humanoid hand snapped over his mouth from one side. On the other appeared a humanoid face covered in white paint with an index finger pressed against their lips. “Shhh,” the humanoid whispered. Archer heard the creature’s roaring screech and froze. He reached up and pushed the hand away from his mouth. The humanoid immediately put their hand in front of his mouth again. Archer reached up to push it away and the humanoid grabbed his hand with their other hand. “Your breath,” the humanoid whispered in his ear. Archer looked down, seeing his breath was showing in white misty puffs between his lips and the alien’s hand. He pushed the humanoids hand away and held his own hand over his mouth to hide the mist. The creature crashed through the trees and stopped where Archer had been stopped when the alien grabbed him. It lowered its head, sniffing at the ground. The humanoid laid his hand on Archer’s shoulder and pushed on it so Archer sank with him to crouch at the base of the tree. The creature turned and swung its tail, knocking off the top of the tree. The humanoid pushed Archer to the ground, falling on his stomach beside Archer. Archer looked up, seeing the creature was sniffing the top part of the tree. He closed his eyes, almost certain that he would breathe his last breath today. Archer felt the humanoid next to him slowly put his hand in front of Archer’s mouth to block his breath from misting in the cold. Archer laid still, not daring to move or make a sound. He felt the creature’s breath on his back and it snorted. Something slimy plopped onto Archer’s head and oozed down the side of his face. He cringed, but remained still. The creature reared up and roared again. It landed on its front legs, shaking the ground. Nearby a deer burst from it’s hiding place. The creature spun and pursued the new prey. Archer looked up, watching it disappear into the forest. He started to get up. The humanoid’s hand landed hard between Archer’s shoulders, hitting an acupuncture point that shot pain up and down Archer’s back and sent him back to the ground. “Stay down. Be still. Don’t speak,” the humanoid hissed. Archer looked at him, “Who are you?” “Sh,” the alien said, snapping his finger to his lips. Archer looked up, watching the forest around him. He didn’t see anything to be afraid of. Archer moved his hand up to wipe the oozing substance off his face and the humanoid slammed his hand to the ground. Archer looked at him and he was glaring at Archer. Archer returned the glare, which lasted for thirty-seconds between the action and the roaring screech of the returning creature. The ground trembled as it ran back to the tree. It stopped in the same spot, looking around. It was still chewing the freshly killed deer, splashing blood onto Archer and the humanoid beside him. The creature finished and began sniffing the ground. It stood up on its hind legs, looking one way and then the other. “Captain Archer, report. What’s happening?” Trip’s voice said on Archer’s communicator in the avalanche clearing. The creature froze, turning its head in the direction of the voice. There was a long pause. “Captain Archer?” Trip’s voice repeated. The creature ran toward the sound of the voice. Archer turned his head, watching it disappear out of sight. He heard several screeching roars and then the creature was back searching for its lost prey. It stopped suddenly, looking back. They heard another animal sound in the distance. The creature snorted, looking around it again. The other animal made it’s sound and the creature looked back toward it. It turned and ran away from the sound. Archer, again thinking it was over, started to get up. “Do you have a death wish?” the humanoid asked, grabbing Archer’s arm and yanking it so Archer fell back on his stomach. “It’s gone!” “It is, but the creature that’s after it isn’t. Lay still or you’ll become a meal.” Archer looked away. He felt the ground began to shake under him. The shaking was in the same slow, measured intervals that had shaken the shuttle pod the night before. “This one has excellent eyes. Lay perfectly still,” the humanoid warned Archer. Archer laid his forehead on his arms. He wanted off this planet, but not before finding T’Pol. Archer turned his head slightly when he heard a snort and saw an even larger creature towering above them. This one had no tail and looked like a hairless, colossal-sized, dog. It stopped every step and sniffed at the air, it’s head wagging slowly side to side as it surveyed the land. Step, sniff, gaze, step, sniff, gaze. Archer closed his eyes, waiting for the creature to pass. He opened his eyes when he felt a whoosh of air and his heart leapt. He was staring at the creature’s foot less than twenty centimeters from his face. The foot moved and Archer’s racing heart slowed back to normal. Only moving his eyes he looked up and watched the creature slowly disappear into the forest. Archer closed his eyes, letting out his breath. “Come. Let’s get out of here before either come back,” the humanoid whispered, “but be very quiet.” Archer stood and the two men quietly stepped out of the tree and headed in the opposite direction. Archer came to the place he dropped his communicator and stopped to look for it. “Are you coming?” the humanoid asked. Archer walked up to him. “No. I have to find something to help me find a missing crewman. She was caught in an avalanche and--” “A woman with black hair and pointed ears?” “Yes.” “They’re at the city. The sentries spotted you before the avalanche and we were sent to bring you in. Two others went to find her. Come on.” “The city...” “What of it?” the humanoid asked. “Never mind. Lead the way.” The man turned and started walking. “She your wife?” “No,” Archer smiled, “She’s a friend.” “I’ve never seen someone like her or you or the other man before. Did you and the other two get dropped today?” “Yeah,” Archer answered, deciding lying would be best. “Don’t worry. This is the best of the five cities to be dropped near.” “Is it the capital?” The alien chuckled. “The capital. That’s good. I should suggest that to Maidra. Course, we have the largest population, so we may as well be. That’s good. You have a good sense of humor considering the circumstances. Most new ones are too shocked by the whole thing to be funny.” “I’m not joking.” The alien looked back at him. “You aren’t?” Archer shook his head. “Look,” the alien stopped, facing Archer, “If you think that you’re going to come in and take control, think again. Maidra is a good leader and while she’s fought others for her position, I’ll do her the favor and let one of them finish you off.” the alien nodded in the direction the creatures had disappeared, “You’ve only been here a day or two. I’ve been here for twenty-three years. I know this land like the back of my hand and I won’t think twice of letting you die out here. Understand?” “I didn’t want to take over leadership.” “Good. Then let’s go.” The alien turned and walked away. Archer shook his head, following him and muttering to himself, “T’Pol, you and me are going to have a looooong talk when we get out of this. A really long talk.” # Trip paced the bridge. “Hoshi, can you filter out the EM interference yet?” Hoshi turned to another set of controls, watching the monitor overhead as she worked. “No, sir. I can hardly tell what’s cold and warm.” “Can you pick up any bio-signs where he just communicated from?” Hoshi tried again. She pointed at the screen. “There are three warm bodies here, but I can’t get a clear enough reading to tell much more.” Trip leaned over her shoulder, looking at the screen. One of the warm signatures was staying in one place. Several centimeters to the right of it two warm signatures were moving away from it. It was hard to tell the actual distance on the screen or even what was giving off the signature. Trip leaned back, looking at the view monitor. He tapped Hoshi’s controls. “Captain Archer, respond.” Trip waited, hoping. But there was no reply. Back to Chapter 1 Continue to Chapter 3

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