The interruption to their game of pool had actually come from Shran. While the Andorians had pulled their support, Shran had not. He supported Archer and stood by him, just as the 'pink skin' had always done with him. He wanted to serve on board the Enterprise, at least temporarily. He had information about the Romulans and was willing to share it along with a few pieces of Andorian technology so the humans would be better prepared to fight against them.
This was both advantageous and suspicious. Archer would readily call Shran a friend and yet he never gave him one-hundred percent of his trust. On his own the captain believed the Andorian was loyal and honest, but one could never be certain who or what those attributes were for. While he had no doubt Shran had great respect for him, he knew from experience that his love for his home world would always come first. He was the same way, himself. So while he was welcomed with open arms to the Enterprise, he was not given free reign of the ship, at least not until Archer was certain of his intentions.
Shran naturally was insulted by this and had no problem telling the captain of the Enterprise his opinion of it. Archer remained unmoved and even reminded his friend of the way he had double-crossed him over the Xindi weapon. He also pointed out how he had specifically told him to stay in his guest quarters while they looked into whether or not his ship had been attacked by the Tellerites and instead he tried to assassinate the delegate from Tellar. Archer made it very clear to Shran that he would have to abide by this deal until he proved himself trustworthy or find another ship. The Andorian growled under his breath and glared at the captain, but accepted the terms... at least for now.
By February of twenty-one-fifty-seven this strange alliance would produce its first fruits, although whether it was good or bad remained a matter of perspective. Shran had never ceased to be in communication with his Andorian superior officers and there was one particular piece of intel that he thought might be of use to Archer. There were rumors of a listening post on Vissia Prime that was taking in information on the Romulans. His advice to Archer was seek it out before enemy forces found it. The Vissians had no love for the Romulans and would make a powerful ally for Earth. They might even be willing to share information with the Humans regarding their common enemy.
Archer pondered this information for some time and even discussed it with T'Pol. As a Vulcan, she didn't trust Andorians and that included Shran. What she couldn't deny was that some of the distrust that Shran and his people had for the Vulcans might have been earned. Still, she also had to admit that the Vissians would make an excellent ally and for that reason alone it could be worth looking into. Having T'Pol agree that this lead was worth looking into bolstered Archer's confidence in Shran's suggestion and the captain took it to Admiral Gardner for approval. While he was in favor of the mission he did suggest that the Enterprise not go there alone just in case they were met by the Romulans.
This suggestion turned out to be prophetic. Archer led a flotilla of eight ships into the Gamma Hydra looking for Vissia Prime only to be intercepted by the Romulans. Outnumbered and outgunned, it quickly turned into a bloodbath. Five of Earth's ships were lost and there were heavy casualties and injuries on the remaining three. The one thing that the Romulan's had not expected was the loss of seven of their own ships. Somehow they could never fully decimate the human's. What had stopped them this time was the surprise arrival of ten Vissan Starships. Outnumbered, they retreated, vowing to finish what they had started the next time they met.
The Vissians towed the remaining Earth ships back to their planet and to a repair facility. They offered medical aid to the injured and assistance with the dead. The listening post that they had sought in hopes of gaining intel on the Romulans had already been attacked and destroyed by the enemy rendering it completely useless. While the ship's were being repaired, Archer, despite his own injuries, toured the medical facilities and visited the wounded. With him was T'Pol and Trip. Both had been banged up hard, but were still able to get around and help others.
Looking at the victims, Archer was quick to mention his belief that they should have acted sooner on Shran's intel, or perhaps later... maybe not at all and then none of this would have happened. Both of his companions were quick to tell him that he had acted appropriately and was not to blame for what happened. Shran was quick to say otherwise. His narrow eyes glared at Archer from beneath his heavy white eyebrows, his antenna turned back displaying his irritation. He firmly believed that if Archer had simply trusted him, then all of the carnage would have been avoided. The captain could only silently agree.
Upon beaming back on to the Enterprise, Archer wanted to get as far away from Shran as he could for at least a few minutes. He couldn't stand another accusing look from that powder blue face or snarling accusation. He could do that to himself just fine. Right now he needed to see how the repairs were progressing. Even that, he quickly discovered, was not going as smoothly as he hoped. Shran was still engaged in his verbal assault when Archer's communicator went off. He opened it and was greeted by an unfamiliar voice that seemed hesitant and uncertain of what to say.
"C-Captain Archer?" the voice asked.
"This is Archer... and you are?"
"I am Oilill of Vissia Prime. I was sent to help repair your vessel."
"Of course, what can I do for you?"
"I believe there is something wrong with one of the crewmen assigned to help us with your computer core. She seems to be having difficulty breathing and her eyes are leaking. I admit I know nothing about human physiology but...."
"On my way." The captain needed no more information and immediately turned his back on Shran and hurried down the corridor to the lower-level computer core. He was so fixated on the situation that he never noticed his Andorian friend following him curiously. All the captain cared about was helping his crewman and believed that this was simply a case of someone not realizing just how injured they really were during the battle. What he had not expected was to find Lt. D'Arcy hugging her knees as she sat on the floor. Her body was shaking as she took short, shallow breaths and big tears rolled out of her eyes. One of the Vissians approached him, the one who had contacted him no doubt, and began to explain further.
"She was fine until she approached the core then I'm not exactly sure what happened. All she would tell us was that her head hurt. Perhaps an injury from the battle?"
Like everyone else on board Danaë had plenty of injuries from the altercation, but they were mostly superficial including a dislocated shoulder that had been popped back into place again and was now fine. No, this was something different that had never completely gone away since the Xindi conflict. He had seen her experience moments of PTSD before, but this was by far the worst episode he had witnessed. Then again, this was the first time she had entered the computer core since the Xindi had attempted to use her to sabotage the ship
Archer looked around the area and there was only one other crewman present, everyone else was from Vissia Prime. He couldn't see Shran hiding just out of view in the doorway listening intently with one antenna turned in the direction of his interest. The captain ordered the other crewmen to get Dr. Phlox or at least one of the other medics if at all possible then asked the Vissians if they would mind stepping out while he tended to his 'injured' crewman. Carefully he knelt down and leaned in close to her and began to speak low as he put his arms around her and held her close to him.
"Dani, listen to my voice. You are stronger than this. You beat that thing a long time ago. It couldn't hold you then and its ghost can't hold you now. You know how to stop it." He brought her ear inches from his lips and continued to speak low and soothingly to her. "Close your eyes and push all the air out of your lungs then allow yourself to breathe normally." The lieutenant did as he asked as he continued speaking. "Picture your calming place, the vineyards of your father's childhood home. You've shown me pictures of it before, remember? Let your mind go there now." He could hear and feel her breath beginning to deepen. "I want you to recall the feel of the tall grass beneath your feet as you walk the lanes between the vines. Feel the breeze on your face and feel it rustling through the leaves. Taste the sweet fruit of the grapes."
The more he described the Picard vineyards the less the lieutenant's body shook and the deeper and more steady her breathing became. The memory of that peaceful countryside that was her father's childhood home had always been her calming place even before coming to the past. It had been the same way for Captain Picard. After he had been rescued from the Borg it had been his go-to place when he needed help recovering mentally. Growing up on the Enterprise-D and E there had been times when their lives would become too demanding, too taxing then he would take her to the holodeck and they would visit the family home.
From his vantage point Shran watched the way Archer held the lieutenant and gently brushed the hair from her face. This woman, whomever she was, was not just a crewman anymore than Talas was to him. This was something that surprised him about his pink-skinned friend and he wanted to learn more. Danaë laid her head against his arm. Her breathing was normal again and she was no longer shaking.
"My head is throbbing," she told him. Gently the captain sat her up then with his fingers he pressed gently against very specific spots on her back. He had never had even a small amount of training with neuropressure but after carrying Surak's katra, he found he had developed a few new skills and that was one of them. Once the pressure was applied, the lieutenant gave a sigh of relief as the throb in her head subsided.
"What happened?" the captain asked.
"I don't know. I walked in and took one look at the core and I just..." Danaë couldn't bring herself to talk about it. She was already embarrassed that such a moment had happened at all, let alone in front of others and then to have the captain called to help her. She didn't want him to know that she had flashed back to a moment in time when everything she was had been under the control of a creature called the yamanu. At a time like this Archer needed a strong crew that he could depend on and he couldn't do that if he thought she was either feeble or worse, damaged. "It doesn't matter, it's over anyway. I'll be fine."
Archer had a feeling he knew what had happened and while he certainly didn't have time for his crew to have mental breakdowns, he couldn't fault any of them if they did. Everything they had been through since day one would be enough to challenge the mental well-being of the most hardened soldier. Carefully he helped her up and walked her to the door. Seeing their shadows approach, Shran immediately moved to the outer corridor and continued to listen.
"A medic should be on their way and after they have checked you out I want you to report to your quarters so you can finish clearing your mind and letting your body rest. I can get our Vissian guests started on the repairs to the core."
