T'Pol: "When we entered the field nucleonic particles flooded the manifolds, causing the injector flare. If Commander Tucker hadn't shut down the reactor, we could have had a breach."
T'Pol: We're still running diagnostics. The damage is significant. It could take weeks. Commander Tucker's going to have his hands full.
Archer: "You'll be supervising the repairs. I've just come from Sickbay. Trip's in a coma. He has extensive neural damage. Doctor Phlox says we have to prepare for the possibility that Trip won't survive." Dark and moody exterior shot. The ship is stranded within murky red clouded surroundings. From time to time, large rocky particles fly in towards the NX-01. Inside Sickbay and Trip is on the stretcher, his head bandaged with two silver monitoring devices on his forehead. A oxygen tubes under his noise. Phlox is deep in thought as Sickbay's double doors part for Archer.
Phlox: His condition's unchanged. I'd like to show you something. This is one of the most interesting members of my little menagerie, a Lyssarrian Desert Larvae. Its epidermal layers secrete a viral suppressant that I use as a salve for cuts and bruises.
Phlox: The larvae have another, somewhat more controversial, property. When implanted with the DNA from another species it exactly replicates that species life-cycle, albeit at a rapidly accelerated rate.
Phlox: "Essentially, but one that is born, grows old and dies in approximately fifteen days. The Lyssarrians call them mimetic simbiots. They're a closely guarded secret. Very few people know of their existence."
Phlox: "To harvest it's neural tissue for transplant." As he's speaking, Archer turns his back on Phlox and moves in closer to Trip's unconscious form. "There's no guarantee that human DNA will stimulate the larvae's growth cycle, but... as it stands now it may be Commander Tucker's only hope for survival. To ensure the tissue's compatibility, I'll have to wait until the simbiot reaches Commander Tucker's present physical age, then I can excise the tissue from a non-critical region of the simbiot's cerebral region." Archer faces Phlox, clearly fathoming the magnitude of what his Doctor is proposing and weighing it against his own morality. "It would experience no discernable side effects and should be able to live out it's normal life span."
Phlox: "I don't make this proposal lightly, Captain, but I'm obligated to provide you with all available options." Archer looks back at his Trip. Later in the Captain's Ready Room, Archer is busy looking over a padd. There's a plate of food on his desk barely touched. (Door Chime)
T'Pol: "We sent out an EV team. They retrieved a sample of the substance accumulating on the hull." She hands a piece of rock to Archer, who holds it up to the light for closer examination. "Multiple hits with a plasma rifle were required to dislodge it. It's composed of highly charged particles, mostly ferric ions, but there are several elements that we can't identify..." While she's speaking, Archer has stood and moved over to the window. He places the stone on his desk. A nearby mug quickly leaps across its surface and sticks to it. "...and it's highly magnetic. So far, the danger to the ship seems negligible." He glances at her before considering the view outside, almost nebula-like off in the distance. Several dark shapes close in, ranging from fine dust to small rocks, all being attracted to his ship.
Archer: But the longer we remain in the field, the more these particles buildup. Do whatever you have to do, but we need to get those engines back online.
T'Pol: "Understood. Regarding the Lyssarrian procedure Doctor Phlox proposed, may I ask if you've reached a decision?"