Body

STRANGE DIMENSIONS

Trip's heart sank as he listened to Archer's words. The transporter had malfunctioned and Ensign Stevens was dead. Stevens had been on an away mission and was injured. Archer had decided to use the transporter to bring him back aboard because it was faster and Stevens was losing a lot of blood. Something happened during the transport and Stevens materialized as an unrecognizable pile of goo. "I'll get right on it Captain."

"Thanks, Trip. I'd like to know what happened as quickly as possible." Archer could hear the pain and guilt in Trip's voice. Sometimes being the Chief Engineer could have it's drawbacks. "It wasn't your fault, Trip."

"Excuse me for saying so, but it most certainly was. I am the Chief Engineer on this ship and it's my responsibility to make sure everything operates safely." Trip closed his eyes. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Stevens had looked like after the transporter accident.

"You know very well that transporter technology is very new and that's why we rarely use it. For all you know it could have been something that you had no way of dealing with before hand." Archer understood Trip's guilt, hell he was feeling it himself. He was the Captain after all, so everyone and every thing on that ship was his responsibility.

"Sorry, Captain. I'll get right down to the transporter room and start working on it."

Archer sighed. Trip had ended the argument, but he could tell the man was still hurting. Heading for his ready room, Archer needed to do something he hated doing. A letter needed to be sent to Stevens family letting them know what had happened. Those letters were never easy and he found himself glad that Trip wasn't the one doing it.

Meanwhile, Trip made his way to the transporter room in a very solemn mood. Nothing seemed to go right lately and sometimes Trip wished he wasn't the Chief Engineer. The responsibilities lately had almost seemed too great. He was learning the hard way that he was responsible for other people's lives. In fact, it could be said that he was responsible for the entire ship. One mistake, or missed problem and the entire ship could blow up. What he really needed was some time off, some time to himself to just relax. Apparently that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

Three hours and several dozen swear words later, Trip thought he had the transporter fixed. It was a matter of some crossed circuits and he felt he had them corrected. If he had to admit it, Trip would say he was still learning things about the transporter system. It was so new and complex, so even he didn't know everything about it yet. After three hours of working on it, he was sure he understood the whole thing a little better. Now all he had to do was test it and the best way to do that, was to test it himself.

"Archer to Tucker."

"Go ahead, sir." Trip stood in front of the controls to the transporter and began setting them to automatically engage. If it worked right he'd be transported right back to the transporter pad.

"How's it coming, Trip?"

"I think I have it fixed sir. I'm about to test it and see."

"Test it how?" Archer was getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I'm going to use it myself, sir." Trip pushed several buttons and moved to the transporter pad.

"Trip, no."

"Sorry, sir. It's the best way."

"Stop right this minute, Trip. That's an order." He heard the transporter engage in the background. "Damn it." Archer quickly rose from his chair and headed for the turbo-lift. "I'm headed for the transporter room, Hoshi have Phlox meet me there."

"Aye, sir."

Trip felt the effects of the transporter as it began to scatter his molecules. Everything seemed fine, but when he re-materialized everything was off. Everything around him had a blue glow to it and he had a sense that he was somewhere besides Enterprise, even though it looked like he was still in the transporter room.

Archer arrived in the transporter room to find no sign of Trip. Checking the settings he figured out that Trip should have returned right back to that room. So where was he? "Damn it, Trip. Why did you do it?"

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As Trip moved to the control panel a wave of dizziness washed over him and he put his hand on the wall for support. The shock came when his hand passed right through the wall and he almost fell to the floor. "What the hell?"

Reaching out, Trip passed his hand through the wall again and felt fear well up inside him. He had no idea what was going on. Was he dead? Could that be it? Moving to the control panel, he tried to push the buttons, but his fingers just passed through the panel. "What the hell do I do now?" If he couldn't use the control panel to try and reverse the transport, then he was stuck in whatever strange dimension he was in.

Perhaps he was dead and he was a ghost. Leaving the transporter room, Trip began to move in the direction of engineering. There wasn't another soul around and Trip began to doubt that he was dead. If he were haunting Enterprise, then the rest of the crew would be around, they just wouldn't be able to see him. Fear began to build inside him and for the first time in his life he didn't know what to do, didn't know how to get out of the mess he was in, or anything for that matter.

Not sure what he should do, Trip decided to make his way to the bridge and see if there was anything that could help him there. He found it interesting that he could walk on the deck, but his body passed through walls, doors, and consoles. Of course, this was a situation that no human had experienced before, so who knew what could happen next. Stepping onto the bridge, Trip found it eerie. There was not a soul around and he wanted more than anything to see Archer, Hoshi, Reed, Mayweather, and T'Pol all there. "Lord help me."

As Trip roamed around the empty Enterprise in whatever dimension he was in, Archer had a team of engineers working on the transporter. He was almost afraid to try using it, but also knew that if he didn't, he might never get Trip back from wherever he was. There were no planets in the immediate area and a scan of Enterprise and the surrounding space had found nothing. Turning to T'Pol, "I want your full attention on this T'Pol. I want to know what happened to Trip and if there is a way to get him back."

"Aye, Captain." T'Pol had been working hard on the transporter ever since Tucker disappeared, but so far she couldn't figure out what the problem was.

"Keep me posted." With that Archer left the transporter room and headed for the bridge.

T'Pol, Reed, and several of the engineering staff were working hard to find out what was wrong with the transporters and what might have happened to Trip. Reed was very worried and the thought of Trip being gone forever made him work harder. He'd worked too hard over the last year to get to know Trip and understand how the man ticked. "I think we are about ready to test the transporter."

"Indeed. We must be very careful with our attempts." T'Pol would not allow a living being be used to test the transporter. They would use a storage container, so if anything happened, there would be no harm done. 3

After checking around the bridge and trying to make heads or tails of the readings on the monitors, Trip decided that there was nothing he could do there. If Archer was trying to bring him back then the transporter room might be the best place to be. Trip headed back in that direction and suddenly felt the pull of the transporter. The sensation didn't last, but Trip lost consciousness during the experience.

Reed slammed his hand down on the console. The storage container had disappeared without a trace, just like Trip. They'd fixed nothing apparently and Malcolm was frustrated. "Damn, all this work and nothing's fixed."

"Patience, Mister Reed. It may take a lot of time and work to get this repaired and getting frustrated will not accomplish anything." T'Pol did understand Reed's frustration, but she needed to keep a cool head.

"How do we know Trip has time for us to be patient? How do we know he isn't dying with every moment we waste?" Reed couldn't help his outburst. None of it was T'Pol's fault, but he needed someone to vent his frustration on.

"We do not know. In fact we do not know if Commander Tucker is even still alive." That thought did sadden her, but she hid it well.

"Fine, lets get back to work."

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When Trip regained consciousness he was still in the corridor of Enterprise, but everything was very different. Somehow there was now tropical foliage everywhere and it was extremely hot and humid. It took him a few moments to reorient himself and carefully he rose to his feet. The dizziness he'd felt the first time was back, but now there was a pounding in his head. Reaching out, Trip touched a leaf on one of the plants and his fingers didn't go through it. "This is just too damn strange."

Continuing his journey back to the transporter room, Trip began feeling the effects of the heat. He was sweating heavily and each step was becoming an effort. There had to be somewhere he could go that would be cool. Stopping in his tracks, Trip realized that the mess hall had cold storage compartments and he could get into one of those to cool down.

Changing direction, Trip headed back towards the mess hall. As he came around the corner he found a storage container sitting in the middle of the corridor. "Hello, what's this?" Hesitantly he reached out and touched it. To his surprise his hand did not pass through it either. Out of curiosity he touched the wall, but his hand passed through it easily. "Archer."

Trip was certain that the storage container was a result of Captain Archer's efforts to bring him back. The problem was, Trip didn't now if it was a good sign that the container was there, or a bad sign. "Keep trying, Captain. Please bring me back."

From there he continued on towards the mess hall. Luckily it wasn't too much farther, because the heat was already taking it's toll on him. 'Just how hot was it?' He wondered. Once he reached the mess hall he moved quickly to the galley where the cold storage compartment was. Before entering he glanced at the thermometer on the wall next to the door. Fifty degrees, "Good, God." He was surprised everything on the ship wasn't melting, but then again, everything was different there.

He quickly got into the compartment and breathed a sigh as he felt the cool air on his hot skin. Now if only they'd had something like that when he and Archer had been in the desert, he wouldn't have almost died. The intense heat had sapped all of his energy and he quickly drifted into a deep sleep, completely unaware of what was going on around him.

"Reed to the Bridge."

"Go ahead, Malcolm." Archer had been waiting for word from someone for the last two hours. He'd sat in his chair on the bridge lost in thought. The memories of everything he and Trip had done together over the years had come rushing through his mind and he felt a terrible sense of lose. There was no way he was giving up. They'd keep trying to recover Trip until there was nothing left they could do, or they brought him back. Dead or alive.

"We're ready to try testing the transporter again, Captain." Reed refused to get his hopes up, but deep down he hoped that this time they would get Trip back.

"Keep me posted. What are you using this time?" He'd given strict orders that no human was to test it.

"We are trying something smaller this time sir. We've got a med. kit and we figured if it went where Trip did and he was injured, he might at least have it to use." That had been Phlox's idea and it was a good one.

"Good idea Malcolm, proceed."

"It was the Doc's idea, but thanks and we'll let you know how it goes." Reed ended the call and watched as T'Pol began to work the controls. The med. kit disappeared and did not return. "Damn, what are we missing?"

"I do not know, Lieutenant. We need to keep working on it until the answer is found." T'Pol was beginning to have trouble keeping her frustration from showing. The longer it took to find the solution, the more worried she became that they would not get Trip back, at least not alive.

"We'll figure it out T'Pol. We have to, Enterprise can't get along with out Trip." Sure, they could replace Trip with another engineer, but it wouldn't be the same. Trip had a special relationship with the Captain and that allowed things to run more smoothly then they would with a stranger.

"Indeed." T'Pol went back to work and hoped they'd find a solution to the transporter problem soon. Not to mention she really wanted to bring Commander Tucker....Trip, back.

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The pull of the transporter brought Trip out of his deep sleep. It took him several moments to get his bearings as whatever was happening to him was beginning to effect his mind. The pounding in his head was worse and he felt a chill go through him. Climbing out of the compartment, he was shocked to find that his environment had changed yet again. Now there was snow everywhere and it was freezing. Looking at the thermostat on the wall, it was now 30 below. "Damn, it's cold."

Now he was in search of warmer clothing. If he could get back to his quarters he could get his heavy coat out of his closet. Tucking his hands under his arm pits, he tried to keep them warm. His stomach churned and Trip knew that all the changes in temperatures was having a bad effect on his body. Especially since the changes were so drastic and frequent. "Come on, Captain. Get me out of this." He whispered and watched as his breath became visible in the cold air.

Entering his quarters, Trip was surprised to find a med. kit sitting on his bed. "Where did that come from?" Picking up the kit, he realized where it came from. "The same place the storage container came from." Unfortunately there was nothing in it that could help him right then. "Keep trying, Captain." To himself he added, 'before I wind up under water or something even worse.'

So far the changes in climate had been fairly tolerable, but he was afraid the next time wouldn't be so good. What if the next dimension he found himself in was under water, or in a vacuum or, something that would kill him? Even though he was beginning to feel like all of this was already killing him, just slowly. Taking the heavy coat out of his closet, he quickly put it on and moved back to the med. kit. He'd decided that the hypo-spray in it might relieve some of the pain in his head. Removing the spray, he injected himself with it and left his quarters.

Maybe he'd eventually get back to the transporter room. He'd started in that direction hours ago, but because of all the damn changes, he still hadn't made it there. As he walked his mind wandered and he began thinking about how he'd wished for some time off to be alone. Well, he couldn't get any more alone than he was now. So why did he want more than anything to be back with the crew? Usually he had no problem with being alone, but right now he felt more lonely than he had ever remembered being.

Trip finally reached the transporter room. Moving inside he went to the console and looked at the controls. Everything looked normal and that frustrated the hell out of him. Of course the fact that he couldn't touch anything didn't help either. A chill went through him and he pulled his jacket tighter around him. His hands and face were freezing, but there was nothing he could do about it. If something didn't happen soon he was going to start to suffer from hypothermia.

Meanwhile Reed and T'Pol were ready to try the transporter again. "If it doesn't work this time then I don't know what else to do." Reed was starting to think they would never get Trip back and he felt very sad at the thought. Working the controls, Malcolm beamed the cup out and it again disappeared. "No!"

"What if we reversed the transporter?" T'Pol commented. It was a thought that had just struck her and she thought it might actually work.

"That could work. It'll take a few minutes to adjust the settings." Reed smiled. For the first time he had some hope.

Back in Trip's dimension, he felt the pull of the transporter as Reed beamed the cup out. When the sensation stopped, he collapsed to the floor. For one thing, the new dimension he was sent to had very little oxygen and he could barely breathe, and for another, the transporter was beginning to cause him physical damage.

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A few moments later, Reed had the transporter settings reversed and was ready to try again. This time they would not use any objects because if it worked, everything including Trip, would be beamed back to them. "Cross your fingers, T'Pol."

"What purpose would that serve?"

"It's just a figure of speech." Reed sighed and hit the buttons. T'Pol might not understand the importance of crossing fingers, but he did and he had his crossed. He watching in amazement as first the cup, then med. kit, and storage container all reappeared. So far no Trip though and that had him worried. Finally after another moment, Trip re-materialized on the pad, but he lay completely motionless and Malcolm feared they were too late. "Oh, God."

Phlox was still in the transporter room and rushed forward. He'd felt it best to remain there in case they did get Commander Tucker back. Running the tricorder over him, Phlox frowned. Tucker was barely breathing and seemed to be suffering from severe hypothermia. "We need to get him to sickbay as quickly as possible."

"Reed to Captain Archer."

"Go ahead, Mister Reed." Archer hoped this was good news and not bad.

"Sir, we have Commander Tucker back, but he's in pretty bad shape. Doctor Phlox is getting him to sickbay now." He and T'Pol were following close behind the stretcher that carried Trip.

"I'm on my way." Archer quickly rose from his chair and headed for the turbo-lift. He was glad that Trip was back with them, but he was concerned about the condition he was in. "Travis, you have the bridge."

"Aye sir. I hope Commander Tucker is okay."

"So do I Travis, so do I." With that the doors to the turbo-lift closed and Archer was gone. Making his way as quickly as he could to sickbay, Archer was not quite prepared for what he saw when he entered. Trip was on a bio-bed and the readings above the bed were very low. However, it was Trip's appearance that shocked him. He was so pale and there were ice crystals in his hair and on his skin. "Doc, how is he?"

"Not good, Captain. I'll do everything I can for him, but he's suffering severe hypothermia and oxygen deprivation." Phlox placed another heated blanket over Tucker's nearly frozen body.

"Where the hell was he?" Archer turned to Reed and T'Pol for the answer.

"We don't know sir. Only the Commander can answer that." T'Pol glanced in the direction of Trip. It was a puzzle to her as to where Tucker had gone, but she intended to figure it out. "I intend to do everything I can to find out."

"You do that. I want to know where Trip went and why it happened. Until then the transporters are off limits." Archer wasn't about to risk anyone else going through what Trip apparently had. Turning back to Phlox he glanced again at the readings on the bio-bed. "What are his chances?"

"I'm doing everything I can, Captain. I don't know what, if any, damage might have been done to his brain." Phlox was in the process of running a detailed scan on the Commander's body.

Archer stepped up next to Trip and put his hand on his arm, "You're going to be okay, Trip." If Trip survived this, he was going to call him on the carpet for pulling such a stupid stunt. "Keep me posted, Doc."

"Certainly, Captain."

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Six hours later, T'Pol and Reed thought they knew what had happened with the transporter. As far as exactly what happened to Trip, they still weren't sure. All they knew was that he was sent to a different dimension and that if they'd been anywhere else in space, it wouldn't have happened.

"T'Pol to Captain Archer."

"Go ahead, T'Pol"

"I think you'll want to see what we have come up with." There was too much information to try and tell the Captain anything over the comm.

"Very, well. Meet me in the situation room in ten minutes." He'd been resting in his quarters. His worry over Trip had him worn out and he couldn't think on the bridge. As he strode down the corridor, the comm. beeped.

"Phlox to Captain Archer."

Moving to the nearest comm. panel, Archer pressed the button. "Archer here, go ahead Doctor." He hoped it was good news about Trip.

"Sir, Commander Tucker has suffered another cardiac arrest. I've stabilized him, but I just don't know if he's going to make it." Phlox glanced in Tucker's direction. He was frustrated that he couldn't do more for the Commander.

"What do you mean, another?"

"Sorry, sir. It's the third one he's had now since we got him back." He hadn't told the Captain about the first two because he hoped they'd stopped. It had been almost three hours since the one before this one.

"Keep me posted, Doc. I'll be by to see Trip shortly." Even though it was important for him to see Trip, finding out what Reed and T'Pol had discovered was a little more important. They needed their transporters to be in working order.

Reed and T'Pol looked up as Archer came into the situation room and the concern was written all over his face. "Is something wrong, sir?" Reed asked.

"I just got a call from the Doctor. Trip has had three cardiac arrests and Phlox doesn't know if he's going to make it." Archer almost couldn't believe what he was saying. Trip might not make it.

"It's that serious?" Reed was very worried now, but there was work to be done. He could go and see Trip a little later, at least he hoped so. "He's strong sir, he'll make it."

"I hope you're right Malcolm." Archer sighed and moved towards the table. "What have you found out?" Picking up one of the padd's, he began to read the information.

"Basically we found out that if we had been in any other region of space, it would never have happened. "

"Indeed, this region of space has some anomaly that causes folds in the dimensions of space. They are only dangerous if a transporter is used in this area." T'Pol pushed some buttons and a map of that area came up on the screen. "According to our scans, we will be out of this region in the next two hours."

"And Trip?"

"Whenever the transporter was used, it sent whatever was being transported through one of those folds. More than likely Trip never left Enterprise, he was just in a different dimension from our own." Reed found the whole thing very interesting, but unfortunately it did nothing to help Trip.

"These other dimensions exist among our own?" When he saw T'Pol nod, he continued. "The conditions in which these dimensions exist could be anything?"

"Yes. Commander Tucker could have been sent to any number of different dimensions. In fact it's my theory that each time we used the transporter, we sent him to an entirely new dimension. One of those was obviously quite cold and lacked much oxygen."

"Okay, I understand what you're saying. You both did a great job. Now go get some rest, that's an order." Archer watched as the pair left the room and headed for the turbo-lift. Now it was time to go pay his friend a visit.

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Trip fought every second to stay alive. He didn't want to die. Wasn't ready to die. There was still so much he wanted to do. Still so much left to accomplish. So cold, he still felt so cold even though he was aware of the Doctor's attempts to warm him. The fear that went through him every time he stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating, was greater than anything he'd ever experienced.

Archer walked in to sickbay to find Phlox standing over Trip. He was running another detailed scan and adjusting the heated blankets that still lay over him. "How's he doing, Doc?"

"Ah, Captain. He's no better, but no worse. If I can get his body temperature back up I think he will survive. It's still too soon to tell what damage the oxygen deprivation may have caused." He could see the deep concern in Archer's eyes and understood his concern. As a Doctor he knew all too well the possible consequences of the combined hypothermia and oxygen deprivation.

"How long before you know more?" It seemed to be taking too long to bring Trip's body temperature back up and that had Archer very concerned.

"Not until he wakes I'm afraid."

"Why does he keep having cardiac arrests?"

"You have to understand, Captain. The Commander's body and mind have been through something we can't even begin to understand or comprehend. From what I could tell he went through several different climates and they were extreme." Phlox had never seen anything like it before. The detailed scans he'd run on Tucker when he was first brought to sickbay told an amazing story.

"So the climate that caused the extreme cold and lack of oxygen was not the only one he experienced? That's amazing and I hope Trip is able to tell us what he experienced while he was gone." Archer was having a hard time dealing with what Phlox was telling him.

"That's correct. From what I could gather, he also experienced a climate of extreme heat and humidity, but either he wasn't in that climate for long, or he found a way to stay cool." Phlox looked down at his tricorder, then moved to the console by Trip's bed and adjusted the settings.

Archer moved closer to Trip and looked at him sleeping for several moments. All he could think about was what it would be like if Trip wasn't around and he didn't like that idea. "I want to know the minute he wakes up and I also want to know if he has any more cardiac arrests."

"Certainly, Captain. I think I have him stabilized now and his temperature has come up several more degrees." Phlox was encouraged by the latest readings and hoped that Tucker might begin to come around by morning.

"I'm headed for my quarters to get some rest. Wake me if you need to." Archer stressed the last part to make sure Phlox knew that he was to be told if anything happened.

"Understood. Sleep well Captain." Phlox nodded to him as he left sickbay. Archer was holding up pretty well considering he had come very close to losing his best friend. Granted Commander Tucker wasn't out of the woods yet, but Phlox felt certain he would pull through.

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The next morning brought good news. Trip was beginning to wake and his body temperature was now only a few degrees below normal. His grip on reality was returning slowly and he'd yet to open his eyes. What scared him the most was that he would open his eyes and find himself on an empty Enterprise. It was Archer's soft spoken words that made him realize that he was back where he belonged.

"Take it easy, my friend." Archer put his hand on Trip's chest and felt the steady breathing. "I was afraid we were going to lose you this time. You wake as slowly as you need to, we aren't going anywhere."

Trip still hadn't opened his eyes, but he did whisper. "Sir?"

"I'm right here Trip. If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'll have your hide." Archer smiled when he saw a small smile come to Trip's lips.

"Aye, Captain." That was as close to consciousness as Trip got as he slid back into a deep sleep.

Six hours later, Trip woke again. This time he was more awake and alert. It was a good sign that he hadn't suffered any brain damage. His first request was to see Archer and he was on his way.

"How are you feeling, Commander?" Phlox asked.

"A bit weak, but otherwise not bad." Trip wanted to know what happened to him and why the transporter had malfunctioned.

"Your body went through quite an ordeal, Commander." Phlox knew he was stating the obvious, but said it anyway.

"You don't have to tell me, Doc."

"I know that Commander, and I can't wait to hear what you went through. Captain Archer should be here any moment." Phlox knew that was why Tucker wanted to see Archer. So he could tell him what he went through.

Both men looked up as the doors to sickbay slid open. Archer strode in looking very determined. "Gentlemen, good to see you awake Trip." Looking at Phlox, "How long until Trip will be able to leave sickbay?"

"A couple more days at least, why?"

"That's between myself and the Commander." Archer was going to give Trip a stern talking to about the stunt he pulled and disobeying his order not to use the transporter.

"Don't worry, Doc. I don't think you want to know. The Captain is going to give it to me for what I did." Trip knew what was coming and was totally prepared. Even if he did disobey orders, he got to experience something no other human had ever experienced. Even though it had been rather unpleasant and he did almost die, Trip thought it was worth it.

"That's right Trip. You did something very careless and I almost lost my Chief Engineer because of it." Truth was, he didn't want to admit how much it had scared him that he might lose his best friend.

"Is that all? Just your Chief Engineer?" Trip felt a little hurt. John hadn't been worried about losing his friend of eight years?

"Trip, I'm not getting into this with you now. All I want you to do is tell me what you went through." Archer would talk to Trip on a more personal level later.

Trip went about telling Archer everything that happened to him after he used the transporter. They were not pleasant memories for Trip, but he told them in great detail just the same. Archer berated Trip for his careless actions and let him know that he'd been terrified of losing the best friend he'd ever had. After that everything went back to normal and Starfleet set up a warning beacon for the area to warn of the consequences of using a transporter in that region of space.

THE END