xxx

Third Planet from Siva, aka 'Archimedes'

Archer couldn't tell whether it was night or day, or how long they'd been hanging there, waiting for their captors to come back. It seemed like forever and he knew if he asked T'Pol she'd come back with something like fifty-seven minutes and thirty-six seconds, so all in all he preferred not to know.

"Someone is coming," she suddenly announced. The sound of her chains told him she was moving. The next second there was a creak and the door opened, throwing a rectangle of white light on the earth floor. Archer squinted against the glare of the door. He couldn't tell who it was but there were a few of them. One of the dark shapes came closer. Archer couldn't see the man's face but he recognized the heavy brown leather boots. There must be the imprint of their eyelets somewhere on his body. He'd nicknamed the man 'Big Boots'. Not the most imaginative moniker but descriptive enough.

Archer eyed the ridged crests along the man's arms, all the way to his shoulders. Some kind of exoskeleton. That would explain the sleeveless vests. It also made their punches a lot harder. Big Boots planted himself in front of Archer. "So, are we feeling more like talking this morning?"

"I'm always happy to talk," replied Archer. Through his swollen lips that sounded like "I'm alwaysh shappy to talk." The combination of sounds was funny to his ear but he made an effort not to look amused. From experience these aliens had no sense of humor whatsoever.

"Who sent you?!" Big Boots was getting angry.

There, no sense of humor. "We came in peace," Archer replied, "we just wanted to explore the planet, nothing else."

"All right, if you won't talk, we'll start again." Big Boots flipped his chin and one of the other men drew closer. Archer squinted against the light until he recognized the man he called "Snagtooth". Again, not terribly imaginative, but descriptive.

Snagtooth veered towards T'Pol. Now that Archer's eyes had adjusted to the light streaming in the cell he was able to see the Commander. His breath caught in his throat. Suddenly what she said came back to him, 'they are familiar with Vulcan physiology'. One of her eyes was swollen shut, dried blood from her ears down her collar and along her jaw. Compared to her, his interrogation looked like a walk in the park.

"Leave her alone!" he yelled at Snagtooth.

Big Boots turned to him, "Tell us who sent you."

"I told you, nobody!"

Big Boots motioned Snagtooth to keep going. Snagtooth grabbed T'Pol by the chin, turning her head for a better aim, and drew his arm back and high for a punch.

"STOP!" Archer yelled so loud that all froze. "Stop!" he said again. "Ok, I'll tell you the truth."

Big Boots took a step closer, half-threateningly, "You tell us! Now!"

"Yes, yes... we came... on a mission." Archer hesitated as he saw the upward curve of T'Pol's eyebrow. That was news to her, too. He really had no choice, he hoped she'd trust him and follow his lead. He looked up at the chains holding him then at Big Boots, ""I will tell you all about it, but first you untie her. And me."

A few seconds went by with nobody moving. Archer thought perhaps he'd overreached. Just then Big Boots said, "All right. But you talk or we start again!" He turned to the others, "Take her down!"

T'Pol fell to the ground in a heap and stayed there. Archer was glad she'd remembered lessons from basic training, always make the enemy feel you are more injured or weaker than you are. To make it even more convincing, she pulled into a fetal curl. That wasn't part of basic training, though. The thought made him swallow. He didn't have time to think about it. He was released next and went to the ground like a limp mass. He waited a few seconds before pulling himself to a seating position, exaggerating the slowness and pain of his movements. He saw that T'Pol hadn't moved and swallowed again.

"So?" Big Boots asked. The other men crowded around him in a half-circle, listening intently.

Archer looked up at Big Boots. "You're right, we were sent here," he started, carefully looking at the man's expression. He saw T'Pol's head move slightly. Good. At least she wasn't unconscious.

"By whom?!" Big Boots barked.

"Who do you think?!" Archer asked, and waited. If he played it right, he would get the answer.

"The Erial Clan! I knew it! I told you it was the Erials!" Snagtooth shouted. Archer nodded. That told him two things, that Snagtooth was impulsive and could be a source of information.

"Quiet!" Big Boots bellowed, then he looked at Archer, "Was it the Erials?"

"They used code names but they knew a lot about you," Archer helped along.

"It had to be the Erials," Big Boots agreed. "What did they ask you to do?!" he added.

Archer was thinking fast. Since they were captured, they'd learned their captors were rebels, one of several competing factions on the planet. It was a little like the time on Coridan. He had to proceed carefully. It was fifty-fifty but from experience rebel groups rarely stayed put. "You're going to be on the move soon?" he asked.

Big Boots inhaled through his teeth, straightening from where he was bending over Archer. "They know we're going North..." another rebel said, his voice trailing. "Shhh.." Big Boots quickly silenced the man.

That wasn't lost on Archer. "They know you're on the move soon," he doubled-down, "they're not interested in where you're going, just what happens when you get there." He waited, fairly certain now Big Boots was going to fill in the blanks for him.

Except he didn't.

"What are you talking about?" Big Boots was nonplussed. "Nothing's planned."

Archer was thinking furiously. He might have miscalculated. He had a sudden inspiration, "Everyone will be there, right?" he made it sound cryptic, as if conveying a hidden truth. He couldn't see T'Pol's face from where he was but he could well imagine the eyebrows.

The insinuation succeeded. A light shone in the rebel's eyes. "The Overseer!" He exclaimed in a whisper. Then louder, "They want you to get close to the Overseer!" The other rebels nodded as if the story matched some feared scenario.

Archer nodded, "You must be right," then realizing he was the one supposed to know, "Yes, that's it."

Big Boots looked at the circle of rebels. Snagfoot took the opportunity for a question of his own, "Get close for what? To kill him?"

Archer shook his head. "No, we're offworlders, nobody would know who did it." He had a sudden stroke of genius, "We're supposed to get in touch with our handlers once we're there, wait for additional orders."

The men started talking among themselves animatedly, ignoring the Starfleet officers. Archer couldn't follow what they were talking about. An undersized rebel in the back suddenly piped up, "We must kill them."

Archer eyed the man narrowly, making sure he'd remember him. That was made easy by the man's bushy eyebrows, like downward mustaches around his eyes. He would keep an eye on Eyebrows. Not that the man had the power to decide their fate. Or did he?

Fortunately he didn't. "Nobody's doing anything until Ayt Olbiad arrives!" Big Boots shouted over the din, "He'll decide what we do."

"Eight Olbat?" Archer kept his expression neutral. He'd thought Big Boots was the leader, that wasn't the case?

"Ayt Olbiad," Big Boots corrected. "He's the regional leader," he added by way of an explanation.

Archer looked at his chained feet, at T'Pol prone a few feet away. He had an inkling their troubles were just starting.