Disclaimer: Paramount owns Enterprise and everything connected with it, except Tia Anlor (Tee-ah' Ahn'-lor) and other original characters who belong to me. And I'm not sharing. (G)

This is the 29th story in this series, the others being 'Casting Call', 'Golden Girl'; 'A Few Words'; 'Glistni'; 'Small Time'; 'Acquisition'; 'What Do I Do Now?'; 'For Want of Kilyiis'; 'Daasii'; 'Noblesse Oblige'; 'Roses and Thorny'; 'Time and Again', 'House of Cards', 'Starlight Maiden', 'Armageddon', 'Luuru', 'Cross and Crown', 'Pulsar', 'Face in the Dark Mirror', 'Time Stream', 'Treaty / Violation', 'Humiliatum', 'Clara', 'Life Goes On', 'Sufferance', 'The Court Martial of Hoshi Sato', 'Empress Sato' and 'Extreme Prejudice'. Later stories will include 'Unification' and 'Two Golden Candles'. Tia has been on the Enterprise for about eleven months.

This would be about the end of the Second Season. In the course of this series, the Xindi incident never happens. The crew continues their mission of exploration.

Rating: G

Perspective: This story takes place the day after 'Extreme Prejudice'.

Fractured

By: JMK758

Prologue

(From 'Extreme Prejudice')

"Tell me about this Corporal." Archer directs. He makes sure to pitch his voice low enough so that their conversation can not be heard by their six crewmates across the Sick Bay. He would have a great deal of 'private' material to cover, and did not want a sudden drop in tone later to be notable.

"Alah Korvakai. I've just seen her. She's in Decon; for her own protection rather than ours. Her entire body is severely degraded due to her imprisonment. She's suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and the numerous ills incident to long captivity. We're feeding her basic proteins and nutrients intravenously; her system will not be ready for solid food in sufficient quantity for several days, and we are re-hydrating her as rapidly as possible, also intravenously."

"You can help her, of course." He says, thinking of the possible future should these people be amenable to any help Starfleet might be able to offer.

"Better than she will allow."

The wording concerns Archer. "How so?"

"Among her injuries is a shattered right hand. All the bones were broken some weeks ago and allowed to 'heal' without medical attention. Her hand is gnarled, almost immobile; essentially useless. I told her that with surgery to repair her bones, and with reconstruction of her nervous and muscular systems, I could give her back 90 percent usage of her hand. She refused."

"Why?"

"Maimed as she is, she is ineligible for active duty. If I restore her hand, she will be put back on the lines. Apparently, her captivity has left her with little love left for fighting." He does not express his feelings in words about her choice to go through the rest of her life with this disability. He does not have to.

'Starfleet has to do something to help these people.' Archer thinks. The thought of just breaking orbit and leaving these people at war with one another is intolerable. But he can just hear Admiral Maxwell Forrest now:

'I'm sorry, Jon, but if these people won't listen, there's not a lot you can do.'

'I have to find some way to get them to listen.'

x

"Now, what about Ms. Cutler?" He asks; trying to get onto something he can do something about. She is his real concern, even if he had to deal with 'business' first. "Travis said she feared she'd nearly lost her baby."

Phlox shakes his head with the almost patronizing smile of a doctor to a layman. "The embryo was never in any danger. Even had it been a fetus … Captain, evolution has placed so many safeguards in a human body that blunt force trauma, even of the level reported by Ensign Mayweather, could not have had any effect upon the embryo. It has not, after all, even been five and a half weeks since conception. Had she not been so emotionally overwhelmed by her trauma she would have realized that for herself." He drops his voice then, and his smile vanishes.

"I am more concerned, actually, with what happened during the rescue. Not only did she seek revenge upon her assailant, assaulting him in turn several times; which fact I can understand; but she lost emotional control to such a degree that she turned a gun on Ensign Mayweather, and the report I just read indicates he believes she was about to fire.

"Further, had Lieutenant Reed not stopped her, she would have murdered her former assailant."

"Doctor…"

"Yes, I know. She was under extraordinary stresses, but I have to consider her emotional well being and, quite frankly, her stability under less stressful conditions. Until I am satisfied, I am ordering a 'Period of Observation' for her."

Archer is not at all happy to hear this, but in matters of medicine even he cannot overrule the doctor's judgment. "Does she know?"

"Not yet. I'll be speaking to her soon, after further evaluation. It may not be necessary. Until then, I am going to assign her to work closely with Mother McCabe. Perhaps that will be what she needs."

Archer looks across the room at her, watching as she holds Jim Cein's hand and they talk quietly. Tucker and Sato have already left, Anlor is asleep and Samuels has gone to Decon to check on Korvakai. "I'd hate for her to think we don't trust her."

"So would I. But anyone who would turn a deadly weapon on a fellow officer makes me … concerned."

Archer breaks his gaze, turning back to Phlox. "Let me know how this plays out."

"Yes, sir."

Chapter One

Farewell, with tears

"We are gathered here to pay tribute to our honored dead." Captain Jonathan Archer began with the traditional opening words. They were words every member of Starfleet had heard too often in their careers, words they never wanted to hear again; words that always evoked tears and tightness of throats; words Jonathan hated beyond any others.

It was 1600 hours, change of Alpha/Beta shift; though the primary bridge crew already knew they could look for no rest this day. Gathered before him in the Mess Hall, converted into a Chapel as it normally was weekly, were as many crewmembers as could fit into the room. Closest to the modified torpedo casing draped with a white and blue flag (how ironic was it that the shell of an instrument of destruction was just exactly the right size to serve as a coffin?) were the surviving members of the Life Sciences Division, to pay their final honors to one of their own.

Even so, two of their remaining number were absent, confined to Sick Bay; so two spaces in the front line were left for them among the standing officers. They would be able to watch the proceedings on the monitor from their beds. Thus the entire compliment of the Division was present; the living, the wounded and the dead.

Throughout the assembled ranks, all who could physically fit into the Mess Hall, there were constrained emotions. Everyone who watched felt the pain of loss deeply. John Abrams was well known to everyone here, he was much loved and his loss affected everyone strongly. Most tried to contain their grief, some could not. There were quiet exclamations of grief more poignant than strident cries would have been.

Beside Archer stood Rev. Patricia McCabe, wearing traditional white vestments. She would conduct the 'Mass of the Resurrection' following Starfleet's 'Ceremony of Commitment', before the casing containing the mortal remains of Lieutenant John Abrams would be conveyed to the Armory for final honors and final debarkation. This time, the wishes of the departed were known ahead of time; he was to be sent to the planet closest to the ship at the time of his committal.

It was a horrible irony that, in granting this final wish, he would be sent to the planet he had been approaching in the last minutes of his life, the planet he had never set foot upon, the planet where he had died.

xxx

Nearly two hours later, following dinner, Lieutenant Hoshi Sato entered Sick Bay with Phlox, who continued on to the main area to consult the updated readings on his patients and to give Hoshi a few seconds alone with her friends. She turned to her left to the two occupied biobeds upon which Tia Anlor and Elizabeth Cutler lay, came up between them and glanced to her left at the intravenous unit on the other side of Tia's bed. It is less than half full, the golden blood collected long before winding its way via a tube back into her right arm. "Well, you two look relaxed." She said it with a smile that could be seen to be forced from a kilometer away. She knew her friends would never have been left unattended if there was any chance of danger.

"Hey, there's not a lot to do here, with everyone gone." Elizabeth called across the room, favoring the Doctor with a mock glare before returning her attention to Hoshi. She tried to smile, but it was wan and faded rapidly. "How did it go?"

"Nice." Hoshi answered as levelly as she could, still trying to maintain that weak smile, her expression trying to show a composure she did not feel. She knew her friends had seen it all; they were just looking for words. "It was a nice Service. Captain Archer and Mother McCabe did it together. It was … nice." She finished in a whisper.

"I wish…" Liz began sadly, but emotion stole her voice.

"Hey, everyone knew, everyone understood." She patted the woman sympathetically; then looked at Tia in the bed to her left. "How do you feel?" The Auran woman shrugged as slowly and carefully as she could; trying to avoid the pain of the gunshot wound to her chest. She did not look up at the dripping gold blood which was slowly revitalizing her.

"Is custom Auran nyasi; celebration of new birth we see, especially since came the Silurians; but still wish I to say 'goodbye' could have."

An aborted sob drew Hoshi's attention to Liz, but the woman was biting her lip hard, trying not to give in. It was bad enough to lose a friend to such senseless violence; worse to be prevented by one's own wounds from offering a final tribute.

It was several seconds before Liz could speak, and her emotions reduced her voice to a tight whisper. "We watched it on the monitor. You're right – it was nice." Her body trembled as her breath fragmented with unshed tears. "It was – it was nice. John would – John would – would -." She couldn't hold out any longer as Hoshi gathered her into her arms and they clung to one another, grief shared by no means diminished.

Hoshi felt Tia touch her, looking over her shoulder as the Auran woman reached as far as she could for her friends, and Hoshi pulled the two rolling beds closer together, trying to perform the near impossible task of offering comfort to both of them at once. Tia, unable to break with the longstanding restriction of her people, did not cry – visibly.

xx

It was a long time before enough tears had been shed to give way to their control, both women relaxing as well as they could upon the beds. Tia had clung to Hoshi as well as she could, utterly silent while Liz sobbed; her heart breaking. Finally it passed and they could lay still. The women felt no better. Control had been established, not peace.

"You going to be okay?" Hoshi asked her best friend.

"Ask me some other day. I can't now." She kept her voice carefully controlled; not wanting to give in again. "John and I were … we knew each other even before coming to the Enterprise. It'll be … hard … knowing he's gone."

Hoshi took her hand, offering what comfort she could, knowing it was not enough. "I know."

When Liz broke eye contact first, looking away, unable to endure the grief any longer and not give in, Hoshi looked behind herself to Tia.

Anlor's grief has been briefer – but only on the surface. It was true that, since their planet had been conquered and their entire race forced into slavery, death was something of a release from the hardships of life, but Hoshi could see she was still torn by a 'balance' of human grief versus the passing to a new life.

But it was the physical side that concerned Hoshi at the moment. Her friend, revealed to be an alien by the discovery of her golden skin, had been shot by a rifle and left for dead.

Had she been human, or even a member of the Bethesnan race down on the planet below them, she would have died instantly from the attack. However, no matter how 'humanoid' Tia appeared outwardly, it was her internal features that saved her. Among other differences between the golden woman and the humans aboard this vessel, her six chambered heart was placed a good ten centimeters lower, just above her abdomen. If not for that, the bullet that struck her would have been instantly fatal.

As it was, she had been left for dead by the soldiers who had captured Travis Mayweather and Elizabeth Cutler; though it was the striking of her head on a rock that had left her unconscious. When she'd awakened, she had crawled an agonizing two hundred meters back to the wrecked Shuttlepod Two and managed to send a distress signal to Enterprise, allowing the crew to locate her and eventually rescue their other crewmates.

It had been a very close thing, however. The wound, though not immediately fatal, had bled extensively, and she had come close to bleeding to death during her efforts. It was only a timely rescue, Phlox's vast skill, and the foresight of accumulating a supply of blood during the months the Auran had been aboard which had allowed her to survive. It took every drop of accumulated blood that had been stockpiled, and even so had almost not been enough.

It would be some time before the young woman could be fit enough to leave Sick Bay.

x

Though the Auran's wound had been the most seriously life threatening, the series of beatings Liz had endured during her captivity would take her considerable time to recover from as well.

When they had been captured, the Drailen forces on the planet believed them to be mercenaries from their warring neighbors, the Manaxians. So convinced of this were they that they had interrogated Travis Mayweather extensively.

Mayweather had told them everything about Enterprise, its mission, its goals, its Command and crew compliment, everything the Drailen 'Commandant' had wanted to know.

Every word of his testimony had been rejected.

Following their practice that the best method of obtaining truthful information from a prisoner who might well resist any attempts that might be made to force information out of him was to watch someone else suffer, they had dragged Elizabeth Cutler out of her cell and into the Interrogation Room. Hands bound behind her back, Cutler could do nothing to defend herself as a quartet of soldiers methodically and mercilessly beat her.

Travis, similarly bound, could not stop the beatings, but tried everything to get the Drailens to believe his truthful declarations. They would have none of it. He was a Manaxian spy and mercenary, and they would beat the woman until he did confess and give up his secrets.

After three beatings of escalating brutality, they were thrown into another cell 'where her pain would argue with him'. It was there they met another bound captive, Corporal Alah Korvakai, whose months of abuse could only be described as unimaginably horrific. Mangled and brutalized, starved and dehydrated, raped and sodomized almost daily, she had not been allowed to die. She managed to relate the story of what had led to the war which had consumed the world below Enterprise over the past four years. It was a tale unmatched by anything the Enterprise crew had yet encountered.

The planet below, termed Kitaris IV by Starfleet cartographers, was a colony world designated Mandar by settlers from the planet Bethesna. The two largest and most powerful continents of Bethesna, Drail and Manaxia, had squabbled for years over the possession of a huge tract of land, a mass of islands practically a continent in themselves, on their planet, finally going to war over it. On Mandar, or Kitaris IV, colonists on both sides had joined that war on their own world, forcing their fellows to take to the shelter of caves and devise ever more sophisticated jamming fields to protect themselves from rocket attack.

Border patrols frequently engaged in hostile action against neighboring colonies, while the devastated surface, once lush with life and hope, bore the burden of battles fought and lost.

The widespread colonies on the planet were gradually becoming uninhabitable, and still the people fought; seemingly unconcerned that they were battling to their own deaths. Moving to new locations was out of the question – whole populations would be subject to attack, defenseless under fire.

Captain Archer, learning about these things, could not in good conscience turn away. Despite the death of their Chief of Life Sciences, nearly fatal wounding of one scientist and the torture of another, he could not leave untold thousands to die, not without trying to help.

x

"I'm getting out of here in the morning." Liz announced, however, regaining Hoshi's attention.

"Really?" This was good news indeed; but Phlox, standing near the Imaging Chamber, turned from examining the most recent readings on his patients and corrected Cutler.

"I said you should be fit to be released by the morning. I didn't guarantee it."

"Are you saying you can stand to have me around for another day?" She called challengingly.

"Not at all."

Liz glared at him, but he returned an impressively wide smile. She put her head down, 'defeated'. "Borgas frap."

"What was that?" Hoshi exclaimed with a surprised laugh.

"Something my uncle used to call people who really deserved it." She called the last across the room. As an insult, it had absolutely no effect upon the Denobulan.

x

"Well, you should get some rest." Hoshi advised. "Life Sciences has nothing pressing to do. The Captain's canceled the research mission, but he wants to try again to contact both the Manaxians and the Drailens, to see if Starfleet can help them talk peace."

"Peace?" Liz demanded, outraged, starting to push herself upward. But a moment later, she waved it off, laying back down. "No, forget it. Forget I said anything."

"No. I want to hear it. You were there, and insights you have can be helpful."

"Insights?" She demanded, rage building in her. "They're responsible for John's death, shot Tia, beat the hell out of me, risked my baby and you want insight? Here's your insight: Farg 'em all."

"Liz…" Hoshi was shocked. This was not her friend talking.

"Let them die!"

Hoshi reached out, touching her hand. When Liz finally met her eyes, she kept her voice as soft as she could. "You don't mean that." She told her with the certainty of long friendship.

She could actually watch the woman's anger drain from her face and allow her true nature to take hold. It was, however, a long and slow process; there was a great deal of rage to overcome. "No, maybe not." She admitted reluctantly. "But don't ask me to be the one who has to negotiate."

"I won't." Hoshi promised her. "We're still waiting to hear from Starfleet, and whatever we do probably won't mean a thing to their home world."

"Probably not." She thought about it, somewhat more calmly now. "Corporal Korvakai is probably your best hope. When Phlox patches her up, maybe her people will listen."

"She won't be 'patched up'." Phlox told them, stepping over.

"What?"

"She has refused any further medical treatment."

"Why?" Liz demanded, unable to believe it. "She's a mess."

"I can help with her malnutrition, her dehydration; I can even restore her right hand to 90 percent efficiency – and her Unit will put her right back on duty. She'll probably see combat again within the week. With her right hand useless as it is, she cannot serve. She'd rather spend the rest of her days with this and other disabilities than risk being killed or captured again."

"Damn. Can you talk to her?"

He gave her the Denobulan version of a shrug, raising both arms from his sides. "I've done nothing for her for an entire day but talk."

"But if her people see we can help, that we will help," Hoshi interjected, "they may be more willing to talk."

"I'll see what I can do when she awakens." He did not sound optimistic. "In the meantime, both of you need your rest." Seeing Tia about to respond, he was faster. "I'll sedate you if you don't."

She put her head down. "Maktinaviyuk." She whispered.

Hoshi grinned at her. "Do you kiss Trip with that mouth?"

She turned back. "Aurans do 'kiss' nyasi."

"Good thing." Liz interjected.

"Just 'pretend' I do."

"Pretend what?" She asked, suddenly intensely curious.

Tia grinned at her, but refused to answer.

x

"Anyway," Hoshi said firmly, trying to get the conversation back on track, knowing her friend would keep working on the other woman until she found out everything, "as soon as Corporal Korvakai is discharged and beamed down to her Unit – we're not using a shuttle again – we'll be seeing what we can do."

"Then I do have to get back to work." Liz protested, about to rise, but she could not get past Phlox's restraining hand upon her shoulder. "Life Sciences is short handed now more than ever." She protested to him. "There's still work to be done on a dozen different projects." Seeing her words fall on deaf ears, she turned her appeal to Hoshi. "And with John gone, it's going to be chaos down there. Can you imagine our three remaining Scientists with no supervision? It's going to be like 'Keystone Kops'."

"There's Supervision." Hoshi told her. "A temporary Department Head has already been appointed."

"Really?" She asked, pleasantly surprised; though she decided she should have known better. "Who got tagged? Dina?"

"Nope."

"Sam? He's good. Not like Dina, but good."

"Nope."

"Not Sarah!" Liz exclaimed with real distress.

"Nope."

Liz frowned up at her. "We're fresh out. There was John, Dina, Sam, Sarah, Tia and …" Her voice trailed off at Hoshi's slowly growing smile. "Oh, no. No no no no no. No way, no how. Forget it!"

"Actually, it's me."

Liz's ongoing series of refusals came to a crashing halt, and she stared up at her friend in profound disbelief. "You?"

"Yep. Say 'hello' to your new boss."

x

"Borgas Frap! Are you nuts? You're kidding me."

Hoshi shrugged somewhat helplessly. "Department head: Lieutenant and above; so the Regs say. I was already head of Communications as an Ensign. I think they were wondering where they can put me."

"So they gave you to US?" Hoshi nodded. "Great Bird Preserve Us. What you know about Biology can be scrawled on a nanochip."

"Hey."

"This is the end of Life Sciences as we know it."

Hoshi laughed at her friend's clearly false distress; the woman couldn't even keep from a barely concealed smile as she 'ranted'. "Don't worry. It's only temporary, until they find a permanent man. You'll barely know I'm around. I'll just be popping down during my breaks to chew all of you out for the lousy jobs you're doing; then go back to the bridge."

"We should be so lucky. You'll probably turn into one of those micromanagers, inspecting the Petri dishes every morning."

"Nope; every evening. And no dinner for you until they're all clean."

"Wonderful. Here comes that diet I've been thinking about. I haven't had a clean Petri in months."

"Forget 'diet'; you're eating for two, remember."

"Not likely to forget." She retorted, patting her abdomen. She looked down at herself. There was no indication there of her pregnancy; her girth, five weeks since conception, having increased by less than half an inch. "I hope you appreciate all the aggravation your mommy's going to be going through for you."

"I'm sure he will."

"He'd better."

"Anyway," she repeated, "I have to get back up to the bridge."

Liz glanced at the chronometer on the wall across the room, wondering if her enforced dormancy had caused her to lose track of time. It had not. "It's 1822 hours."

"No rest for the wicked. Captain Archer is still trying to get a hold of someone willing to talk to us."

"Good luck."

Tia reached out, getting Hoshi's attention. "I you congratulate."

"Don't give her 'congratulations'." Liz advised. "Make it 'condolences'; I intend to put her through Hell."

"You always do."