*High Command Headquarters*

Admiral Forrest was running on desperation and adrenaline. Work had been stepped up on the NX-02, but even at this heightened rate it would still be two months before it even left Spacedock for a test run.

He'd asked the Vulcans for assistance, and yes, they looked worried—but the Admiral was skeptical as to what they were worrying about. He'd only seen two additional support craft arrive from Vulcan, and they were, to say the least, ill-suited for the task of taking down the Klingon armada. He harbored suspicions that the Vulcans would retreat once the battle was underway and rush to the safety of their home world.

He couldn't blame them.

After looking at the Vulcan database, he'd determined that even the Vulcans would have a tough time countering this fleet. Small comfort. He began nervously drumming his console, anxiously awaiting Enterprise's reply.

***

Aboard Enterprise, the briefing room was filled yet again. Captain Archer paced up and down the floor with his brow furrowed, hoping to think of a way out of the situation.

Trip leaned forward. "Hoshi, is there any way you can ask them to stop this? I know it's a long shot, but—"

Hoshi shook her head. "Forget it, sir…I've already tried. They aren't responding to any of our hails."

Reed exhaled in disbelief. "Captain, there's no conceivable way that this ship could destroy any three of the Klingon vessels, much less all of them together. There're simply too many ships and too many guns."

Archer sighed. "Anything positive, anyone?"

Reed stood up tentatively. "Sir, when we visited Q'Onos, the world was in pretty bad shape. This assault must be drawing at least two-thirds of their fleet, probably more, most likely leaving the planet vulnerable. Should the Vulcans care to aid us," he shot a quick glance T'Pol's way, "they could send a fleet to the Klingon home world and force them to surrender."

T'Pol shook her head. "That kind of attack would be foolish. We have neither the information nor the resources to launch such a campaign against an interstellar power."

Trip rose angrily. "What I think is foolish is the thought of Vulcans risking their lives for the people on Earth!"

Reed eyed T'Pol coldly. "It'd be logical to assume that the needs of a planet would weigh more heavily than the safety of the small fleet that would be required for that operation."

Hoshi shook her head. "Look, T'Pol doesn't get any say in this matter anyway! It's not her fault that her people won't listen—"

Trip sighed and sat down. Reed followed suit, glancing apologetically at T'Pol.

Archer stood up. "A probe," was all he said, drawing a few confused glances.

Reed nodded. "Right…T'Pol, where's the Vulcan ship closest to Q'Onos? They could send a warp probe to check the status of the planet."

T'Pol raised an eyebrow. "The Sulik is expected to come within a half a light year of Q'Onos tomorrow. Perhaps I will contact my superiors about it, with Captain Archer's permission, of course."

Archer almost smiled. "Sure, why not?"

***

It was 0200 hours when Admiral Forrest was awakened by a priority one message alert. As early as it was, all thoughts of sleep fled from his mind. Enterprise!

Had circumstances been different, Forrest would have laughed at Archer's face. Looks almost as bad as I do. When the transmission started, however, he was paying full attention.

"Admiral, I just received your transmission an hour ago. We're heading at Warp 5 to Earth—we should get there in three days—tomorrow for you. One other thing…damn, Admiral, I'm sorry. You told me not to screw things up. Well, it looks like I went too far. I…I'll see you later. Archer out."

Forrest looked out the window. Of course I don't blame you, Jon. You're doing the best you can. The more he thought about it, though, the more a tiny doubt crept into his mind about that statement. He shook his head. Snap out of it, Forrest. Now's the time for action. He stepped to his window, watching the sun go behind Earth. He stayed there for a long time.

***

T'Pol entered the bridge. "Captain, I have contacted the Sulik. They have reluctantly agreed to send a probe to the Klingon home world—we should be receiving data within the next ten hours."

Archer nodded. "We've got to spend every minute of those hours thinking up a way to defend Earth. Malcolm, you and Hoshi need to go to astrometrics. Find out what kind of advantages we can gain from the solar system itself. Trip, go and see if we can't speed up our engines a little. Mayweather, I want you to help Trip—maybe you two can find another use for the warp core if all else fails. T'Pol, I need for you to contact Vulcan High Command and explain the situation. And one more thing—good luck to all of you…I know you'll need it."

The bridge crew nodded and left. Archer went to his ready room to wait for a response from Starfleet Command. While he was waiting, he brought up the Vulcan specs on the Klingon ships. We'll be ready for them.

***