Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, don't make money off 'em.

Notes: Enterprise helps defend the Betazoid ships from Akrarian raiders. Trip and T'Pol make a good tactical team (among other things) and Hoshi makes an uncomfortable discovery.

Rating: T

Eventual Pairings: R/S and TnT

Please R&R


Four

"Tactical update, Lieutenant Commander," Hoshi ordered as soon as they reached the Bridge. Trip, Travis, Jon and T'Pol took over from their relief officers as she sat in the center seat.

"Four raiders just outside sensor range, all with fully charged weapons. I don't like this, Cap'n. Akrarians aren't known for just droppin' by for a friendly visit."

Travis snorted, shook his head and added, "They're usually employed by both the Nausicaans and the Orions. If that consular ship's transporting anything of value, the Akrarians want it, and they'll take it by force if necessary."

Hoshi thought of all the priceless treasures on Saphia's ship and nodded. "And a consular ship, with minimal weapons, is a tempting target."

"Yes, ma'am," Travis agreed.

She turned to Trip and said, "Raise defense shields and charge up the phase cannons, Lieutenant Commander, but do not fire unless they do it first, understood?" Hoshi tapped the comm button on her chair. "Sato to Engineering. Phlox, we've got some company. Akrarian raiders. I need power shifted to shields and weapons."

"Yes, Captain. Transferring power now. Good luck. Engineering, out."

Hoshi scowled at the images of the mottled, uneven hulls, as they still flew with an unnatural grace and style. Somehow, the Akrarians had integrated aspects of many technologies into their unique design. If only they directed their creativity to peaceful means instead of being hostile...

Hoshi glanced at Jon, who was already cycling through the comm channels. "Anything?"

Jon shook his head. "No, but the Akrarians are jamming most of the frequencies. I can get around them, but it'll take a few moments."

"Do it."

Jon tapped his board as he set up encoded frequencies and jumped bandwidths and wavelengths to stymie the Akrarians. Finally, he swiveled around in his chair, the transtator firmly in his ear. "I've gotten around the jamming. Transmission from Major Tam, Captain." At Hoshi's nod, he put the call through.

"Four of them against three consular ships and your ship, Captain. Not good odds, considering our weapons are ineffectual against them," Garas commented, "but perhaps we can outrun them."

Hoshi shook her head and answered, "We can, but you won't be able to, and we won't leave you behind, Major. We're prepared to defend you and your ships."

Trip interrupted, "The Akrarians have split their fleet in half. Looks like they're planning on surrounding 'em. They're targeting the warp reactor on Diplomat Daro's ship."

"Lieutenant T'Pol, let's make it difficult for them to organize an attack run. Lieutenant Commander Tucker, phase cannons for disruption only."

"Yes, Captain," they chorused.


Enterprise met the first group of raiders almost head on; the Akrarians held their formation as long as they could until they finally realized T'Pol wasn't going to back off. At the last minute, they scattered, their focus disrupted by an NX-class ship three times their size. T'Pol immediately wheeled around to confront the second pair of raiders, and Trip fired several quick bursts of the phase cannon. It forced that group to break off their run.

"They're regrouping and focusing their attention on us," Trip reported. "Firing---" The Bridge shuddered in the wake of a phaser blast. "Shields are holding, no damage."

"Return fire. Keep them away from the consular ships. If you can disable their engines or their weapons, do it. We need to give Major Tam and the other Betazoids time."

"Yes, ma'am."

Jon glanced over his shoulder. "The Akrarians are hailing us, Captain. They want to specifically talk to you; they've requested you by name."

"By name?" Hoshi frowned and exchanged a mystified look with Trip. "I didn't know I was that well-known among the Akrarians. Let's hear it." A rough voice echoed off the speakers, and she listened to several cycles of it with a grim expression.

"Cap'n?" Trip asked. "What do they want?"

She pressed her lips together, then looked back at Jon. "Open a channel, Lieutenant Commander Archer."

"Channel open."

She sat up straight in her command chair and said, "Akra'au s'nai ba, dhela Sato ke'Enterprise. Maakru ye libi'po...nye da. Ly'Betaza'au pri ira sh'vanatui..nye da."

A rough voice replied in the same dialect and Hoshi's eyes flashed in anger. Trip and Travis exchanged concerned looks across the Bridge, while Jon's brow furrowed in confusion. She got up from her command chair and glared at the raiders on the viewscreen.

"Da'jainai ve shi la Ly'Betaza'au ji ra?"

The Akrarian laughed uproariously, then answered, "Ije, poilar se, dhela Sato ke'Enterprise. Nye'da Ly'Betaza'au ra ve shi." There was an audible snap, then the channel went dead. A second later, the Bridge shook again, and this time, bodies went flying all over the Bridge.

Jon gasped, "Captain, what did they mean by---"

She shook her head and address her helmswoman. "Lieutenant T'Pol, are you familiar with Sanok's Diversion?"

T'Pol glanced over her shoulder in surprise, but nodded, "I am, Captain."

"Variations Two-A through Two-C, helm officer's discretion. Just don't blow us up."

T'Pol only nodded, but her eyes crinkled slightly in humor as she bent her head over her board. Trip muttered something under his breath, but he set the phase cannons for manual targeting. His tactical board showed Enterprise hurling itself at the Akrarians, and as they scattered again,

"Jon, message to Major Tam. Advise them to stand by for maximum warp on my mark." He nodded and turned to relay the message. Hoshi glanced back to T'Pol and added, "Do your worst, Lieutenant."

"Yes, Captain." T'Pol reversed course and shadowed the lead raider. The pilot of the raider juked and twisted in an attempt to shake her off, but T'Pol stuck to him like glue. Finally, Trip's targeting scanner glowed red, and he fired a short burst from the cannons, disabling the raider's port engine.

"Don't let 'em breathe, T'Pol," he said. "Ugly Number Two's off to starboard---"

"I see him."

She dropped Enterprise "down" in an abrupt dive, and Numbers Two and Three were forced to avoid a collision. Number Four accelerated towards Saphia Daro's ship, but Major Tam had read T'Pol's mind. The consular ship angled itself slightly to bear its meager weapons on the Akrarian raider at nearly point-blank range. The short lasers grazed the raider's hull, barely making a scratch, until it found the starboard engine stabilizer. The raider wobbled uncontrollably until its pilot managed to even out their course.

"The fourth raider's been disabled too. Looks like they have to keep their stick to the extreme port to stop spinning out," Trip reported.

"Message from the lead raider," Jon interrupted. "They're accusing our helm officer of being a sorcerer and we should kill him and send the corpse over so that his magic will pass into them."

Hoshi chuckled and shook her head. "You've just been complimented, T'Pol."

"That is a...strange compliment, Captain."

Trip tapped his board again. "Uglies Two and Three are going for Daro's ship again. Won't these guys ever give up?"

"They are tenacious in the face of incredible odds," T'Pol murmured in agreement as she put the Enterprise in another dive that canceled the artificial gravity for a moment and upended Travis and Jon from their seats. Hoshi remained in the center seat as if she'd been glued there.

"This is a Vulcan strategy?" Travis yelled as he clawed his way back into his seat.

"Sanok was one of Old Vulcan's most gifted strategists," T'Pol replied in an even tone. She might as well have been discussing the weather, even though she kept her eyes on her screen. "Even Surak admitted he was 'more than just a wily old fool.' Lieutenant Commander Tucker?"

"Let's finish this, T'Pol." Trip slapped the torpedo control and a torpedo jumped out of the tubes. It glanced off Raider Two, but clipped Raider Three before detonating.

Hoshi glanced over her shoulder at Jon and ordered, "Tell Major Tam, maximum warp now. T'Pol, Warp four."

The Betazoid Consular ships immediately disappeared into warp, with Enterprise close behind. The three Akrarian raiders drifted in space, and the lone undamaged raider fled in the opposite direction, heading back to Akrarian space.


"The Akrarians won't be able to pursue us. They've lost face with each other now, and they'll be busy sorting things out among themselves," Trip said, as the senior staff met in the conference room for the after-action report. Diplomat Daro and Major Tam joined via subspace. Doctor Adai winced at Trip's words, but made no comment.

Major Garas Tam smiled thinly as he looked at T'Pol. "I am impressed by your talent for innovation, Lieutenant T'Pol. Is it possible to meet and discuss Sanok's set of battle strategies?"

"Of course, Major," T'Pol replied, "and Lieutenant Commander Tucker's participation in that particular conversation should yield tremendous insight."

Trip blinked and glanced over at her, as Garas smiled and answered, "That is acceptable, Lieutenant. I look forward to talking with both of you."

Hoshi hid her own smile, though she saw the hint of a smirk on Malcolm's face before he sternly controlled it. She turned to address Saphia, but the diplomat read her mind.

"Captain Sato, may I request Enterprise as an escort to Betazed? The Akrarians have proved that space travel can be hazardous, especially for diplomatic couriers. My government would want to thank you and your crew personally for defending us."

Hoshi exchanged an amused look with Travis and Jon. "We would be happy to escort you to your home planet, Diplomat Daro."

"Splendid. Lieutenant T'Pol, if you could match your ship's speed with ours, we should arrive at Betazed in two days. In the meantime, Captain, I look forward to getting to know you and your crew better."

"And as do we. Enterprise, out." Hoshi motioned for Jon to cut the channel, then she leaned back in her seat. "That was interesting."

T'Pol raised an eyebrow and added, "The Betazoids are accommodating and willing for a cultural exchange. The conditions are ideal for a First Contact."

"Yeah, but somethin' Major Tam said still bothers me," Trip interjected. "He said that the deal between them and the Akrarians was 'a Betazoid matter'. It was as if he had a suspicion that the raiders might have planned on droppin' by."

Jon nodded soberly in agreement. "The Akrarians take binding agreements personally. From what Saphia told me during the dinner, she was following up on a previous visit to the Akrarian homeworld. She hadn't been on that first trip, so maybe there was something going on she wasn't aware of."

"Perhaps we should not become involved, if it is solely a disagreement between the Betazoids and the Akrarians," T'Pol commented.

Travis shook his head. "The Akrarians control the trade routes in this part of the sector. Any feuding will spill over to innocent ECS and other cargo vessels, whether we like it or not."

Hoshi frowned and gazed out the viewport at the stars, as Jon, Travis and T'Pol debated the moral and ethical complications of dealing with the dispute. Malcolm saw the contemplative expression and automatically put a light hand on her arm. He said nothing, but the questioning look on his face spoke for him.

"I don't think we can avoid being involved, Malcolm," she said quietly.

"Why do you say that? I agree with T'Pol; getting ourselves entangled with their dispute may put Starfleet and Earth in a compromising position," he replied, just as quietly. "We just happened to be present at the Akrarians' attack, but they would have done so, even if we hadn't been there."

She finally refocused her attention on him. "When the Akrarians first contacted us, Jon said that they knew me by name. I wondered how that was possible; both times the Madagascar ran into them, it was Captain Forrest in command at the time, not me."

"Perhaps they received their information from the Orions or the Nausicaans?"

She shook her head. "When I challenged them, the raider said, 'Ije, poilar se, dhela Sato ke'Enterprise. Nye'da Ly'Betaza'au ra ve shi.'"

"What does that mean?" He narrowed his eyes at her precise mimicry of the Akrarian, even to the tone of voice and the stress on the words. Malcolm wasn't the only one; the conference room became silent.

Hoshi answered, "'No, we know you, Captain Sato of Enterprise. The Betazoids told us about you.'"