Hayes had just finished testing the upgraded weapons in Tactical. Best kind of stress relief, he thought. Well, second best maybe, he added to himself with a smile. He was heading to Cargo Bay 2 to restock the Armoury supply with some power cell units for the new weapons.
He felt the ship vibrate around him at the first tremor of weapons fire as the Turbolift came to a halt and Tactical Alert sounded throughout the ship.
"What the hell—?"
The lift door swept open and Hayes was faced with the sight of a transporter beam glittering halfway down the corridor that lay before him, as three Klingons materialised with their backs to Hayes and began marching decisively towards the Cargo Bay area.
Hayes was a soldier and no idiot. He paused to assess the situation and then thumbed the comm panel.
"Hayes to Kemper."
"Major? We're under att—."
"No need to explain, Sergeant. Kind of figured that with Tactical Alert and the rocking of the boat. Assemble the Alpha Team and get to the Cargo Bay area on the double."
"Yes Sir!"
Hayes glanced round the Turbolift door to see the three intruders vanish around a corner. He didn't hesitate as he followed.
Well, I've survived the Xindi, first "diplomatic" contact with Klingons… Third time's a charm, right?, he thought. Yup. Just keep telling yourself that, Matthew. He flicked the internal switch to full MACO mode.
"What the hell is this?," Archer demanded, as the Turbolift opened behind him, and Reed, T'Pol and Hoshi stepped out to take their posts.
To define Archer as angry right now would be an understatement. "You approach us under peaceful pretence and then open fire on my ship?!"
From the viewscreen, the frowning Klingon glared back at him unapologetically, his prominent ridges only enhancing the effect. "Yes, yes Human. We know all about your little trip to Qo'nos. But not all warriors of the Klingon Empire share the same regard for your species as do some of those on the High Council. That aside, this is not what this encounter is about. It would be a waste of weapons fire and we have no desire to do any more damage to your precious little starship than is necessary," he said with a leer as he leaned closer to the viewscreen. "IF you give us what we want," he concluded before leaning back.
Archer knew that Enterprise wasn't up to a firefight with a Klingon Bird of Prey in the best of circumstances. If there was any chance of a diplomatic resolution, he'd see how far he could take it. "Care to explain?," he asked, folding his arms, keeping his scowl intact. T'Pol would be proud of the logic of my thought process, he thought to himself.
Malcolm had been keeping an eye on internal sensors. "Captain. Sensors indicate that three Klingons have beamed aboard."
Matthew peered around the corner to see two Klingons enter Cargo Bay 2, while one remained standing outside at the door. Malcolm had mentioned this was where the beacon was being stored and while Hayes had no idea why it would be important to the Klingons, he made an educated guess that this must be the focus of their interest.
Matthew took one of the spent power cells from his pocket. Let's hope some of them are as dumb as they look, he thought to himself and tossed it over the head of the guard so it landed the far end of the corridor. The Klingon swung his weapon and fired instinctively, while in that instance, Hayes took a low crouched run at the alien, knocking him to the ground. The other two Klingons turned momentarily from the target of their hunt and were heading back towards the door, shouting, when Hayes' team made an appearance.
Ah, the Cavalry, Hayes thought, as he laid a couple of hard punches to the face of his prone opponent.
He was just about to roll away and let his team finish the job when from behind him, he heard one of the intruders shout, "jol ylchu!" He watched in horror as the swirling energy of a transporter beam surrounded him.
