At that, a low murmuring swept through the room. Green allowed the crew a few moments to talk amongst themselves about what he had said, then he held up his hand. Silence fell as every eye turned to him. Tucker voices the question that was on all their minds.
"What makes you so sure that they weren't pirates? I mean, they coulda been just really mean pirates, the pick-up-the-pieces kind of guys that are more scavengers than anything."
Green shook his head. "No, what they shot at us wasn't meant to disable or stop; it was meant to destroy. I guess that they could've come in afterwards and picked through what was left, but soon as they saw us, they armed. After we said where we'd been, the firing started. Near as I can figure, we'd either just gone someplace they were upset about, or they thought we'd picked something up from where we'd been."
As Green continued detailing the attack and the capabilities of the ship that had fired on the Wind Dancer, Archer took a look around the room to see how his officers were taking it. They were all intently focusing on Green, but Archer could see that Mayweather was more intense than the others were. He made a mental note to talk to Travis and make sure that he understood that it was vital to keep his emotions in check. Just then, he saw T'Pol's eyes go wide, and she threw him a quick glance. Archer looked over at the head of the table and saw that Green had used the computer to help him create a detailed depiction of the pirate ship.
It was a sinister looking thing, full of sharp lines and angles, dark in color and menacing in shape. It was bristling with weaponry, and looked fast. Archer could almost feel the hostility radiating off the picture. T'Pol's reaction interested him. For a Vulcan, the widened eyes and the swift look were as telling as a loud gasp would have been from a human, if one was aware of it. He saw that Tucker had also noticed T'Pol's reaction, which didn't surprise Archer at all. Trip's efforts to cultivate a friendship with T'Pol made him very aware of everything she did.
Archer raised his eyebrows and T'Pol took it as a signal to proceed. She quietly interrupted Green's speech with a simple sentence that brought everyone's head whipping around to her: "I know that ship."
Taking in everyone's stares and the utter silence her statement had brought, T'Pol continued. "I personally have not encountered a ship of that type, but my people have reported incidents involving them. They are not pirate ships. They are mercenary ships, and they are always sent to kill. Someone sent that ship out on a mission, and if, as you said, the ship did not fire on you until it learned where you had been, then it is involved in something from that area of space."
Green's eyes narrowed. "Then that ship might have something to do with Kesslyn. You see, the area of space we'd passed through was once home to a colony from the losing planet in the civil war that brought Kesslyn to us. If that ship was attacking us because we'd been through there, they probably think we either helped someone or picked up something they want."
"Did you?" asked Archer.
"No. It's a pretty devastated area of space. We went through as fast as possible. But Captain, I'd really like to know what it is about that place that makes it a target. And if it helps me figure out some more of Kesslyn's past, I have to track it down. Besides, I owe it to Captain Kistral and the rest of our crew to hold their killers responsible," he finished, with an angry sheen in his eyes.
With that, the meeting was pretty much over. Reed drew Green over to a corner to discuss what he remembered about the ship's weapons. T'Pol, having some knowledge of the ships, joined them. Tucker took a copy of the picture Green had outlines, and, along with Green's observations of the ship's movements, went to see if he could modify Enterprise's controls to deal with the swift mercenary ship.
Archer saw that his crew had things in hand, so he went down to sickbay to see how Hoshi was dealing with Kesslyn. The young linguist looked up as he entered. He noticed that she was by herself; Kesslyn was huddled against the far wall, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. He gestured to Hoshi, and she got up and walked over to him.
"What did she say?" he asked her.
She frowned. "Not much. She told me a little about her ship, but as soon as I asked about the attack, she stopped talking. I asked her again, but when she started crying, I thought it best to stop."
"Did she say anything that's helpful to us?"
"She was able to remember the exact sector of space they passed through before the ship attacked. She said she'd been learning to navigate the ship. Oh, and I got the feeling that her place on her ship was more than just an assignment; it defined who she was."
"Why do you say that?"
"Just a hunch, Captain, but she didn't mention anything without connecting it to her position on the ship. Besides, it makes sense. She told me that she wasn't human, and that she doesn't know what she is. That would make anything that gave her an anchor, anything that gave her a place in the world, even more important."
Archer nodded. "Good work, Hoshi. I appreciate it. You can go back to your station now."
She walked to the door, then paused and turned to look at the captain. "Sir, I think you might have some success talking to her. When she was talking about her ship, she mentioned her captain and her friends Nick and Alex as being closest to her. I think she would feel more comfortable talking to a man, and with you being the captain, she might even feel more secure in talking to you."
With that, Hoshi left sickbay. Archer contemplated her words as he looked at Kesslyn. Finally, he walked over to her. It couldn't hurt to see if Hoshi's theory was right. He sat himself down on the floor close to Kesslyn, but with enough distance to allow her a small section of personal space. After a few moments of silence, she lifted her head and stared at him. Archer was struck by her eyes. He'd never been close enough to really look at them before. He remembered Green saying that his first glimpse of Kesslyn's eyes had captured him, and he could see how that was possible. Her eyes were large and wide-spaced, fringed with long, thick black lashes, and the color was extraordinary. Sea-gray, with a narrow black ring circling the iris, they were beautiful. And so full of pain and sorrow that Archer felt his own heart ache for her.
"We weren't formally introduced," he began. "Captain Jonathan Archer, at your service." She was silent. "I'm so sorry about your ship, but I am glad that we were able to help you and Mr. Green."
"Why?" she whispered.
"Why what?"
"Why did you help us? You saw the area, the damage to the ship. You must've known the possibility that it would explode. Why risk it?"
Archer was a little surprised. Had she expected that another ship would simply leave them when they were clearly in distress? "Your ship was in trouble, and we were there. We were able to help. We wanted to help. We're Starfleet officers, and that means we don't just leave a ship if we can do something to help."
"You should have left us alone. You only saved two of us. Everyone else died, my friends, my family died! I would rather have died with them than be alive and alone."
"Would you have made the same choice for Mr. Green? Have him die too?"
She shook her head. "No," she whispered brokenly. "I don't want him to die. I just wish Captain Kistral had put Alex and Nick on that pod by themselves, and left me alone. Alex is human, Captain. He has family back on Earth. He'll be fine. Me, I only had a place on the Wind Dancer. I should've been on her when-"
"No," Archer interrupted. "Never wish yourself dead. It was a horrible thing to happen, but you survived."
"You don't understand," she replied, turning away from him. He could hear the tears in her voice. "You don't understand at all."
"What don't I understand? Kesslyn, please, talk to me. I just want to help. Your ship was attacked and destroyed, and that's a tragedy. But obviously your Captain Kistral cared enough about you to want to see you safe-"
"But it was my fault!" she cried, turning to face him. Archer was startled to see that tears were streaming down her face, her hands clenched into fists. "It was my fault the ship was in that area of space at all. I caused this, me, it was my fault!"
Archer gripped her shoulders warmly, reassuringly. "What do you mean, it was your fault? How could that ship attacking you be your fault?"
She drew in a deep, shuddering breath. "Captain Kistral thought I should try to get into Starfleet Academy. He said I was smart enough and knew enough about space. But they do checks, and I know nothing about my past, my people. He told me that we were going to go back to an area near where they'd found me, to try and get some answers. He told me not to tell anyone, that it was going to be a surprise. H-he wanted to be able to t-tell them that I was going to apply to Starfleet, that their little orphan was g-going to be a success." By now she was crying freely, shaking, and Archer struggled to hear her words through the sobs. "Th-they didn't even know why they d-died! My fault, m-my f-fault…"
Archer gently drew her to him, letting his uniform soak up her tears as she cried. He made soothing noises and softly stroked her dark hair. God, what a burden she'd been carrying! He knew that it wasn't her fault, that none of them could have known anything about the ship, but he knew that in her mind, she was to blame. He wasn't sure how he could convince her of that, though. So he just sat and held her until her sobs eased off into sniffling and irregular, hitching breaths.
He saw Phlox coming towards them with a concerned look on his face. Archer waved him off, and Phlox nodded and turned away to other work. Archer carefully pulled Kesslyn away from him and looked into her face. It was red and puffy, tear-streaked, and her eyes still held so much sorrow, but Archer could see that the crying had allowed her to release some of her pain. He remembered the word for it: catharsis. The pain could have been destructive if it had built up more. He didn't know if he could say anything of comfort, but he decided to just go ahead and talk to her, a straight-ahead approach that seemed to work for him.
He tipped her chin up to make her look at him. "Kesslyn, I want you to listen to me, and I mean really listen. It wasn't your fault. I know, I know," he said, holding his hand up to stop her from protesting, "you think you were the cause. But let me ask you some questions. Did any of you have any idea that there were ships like that out there? Did your ship or crew disturb anything in the area of space you passed through?"
When she shook her head, Archer continued. "Now this is the important one, Kesslyn. Is it possible that you might have gone through that area anyway, to either trade to a nearby area or as a shortcut to another trading post?"
"Yes," she whispered, after a few moments of consideration. "It was a little out of the way, but it was along the route to our next stop. Captain Kistral said we were near, so we might as well try to find information. But don't you see, if he hadn't wanted to do that for me, we wouldn't have gone through then and-"
"And you might have gone through at a later time, and still encountered that ship," Archer interrupted gently. "T'Pol, my first officer, says that ships like that are sent out on killing missions, which means that they probably patrol. What if your ship had taken a short cut on your way back from your trading, and had been hit? Would you blame your captain then?" She shook her head. "Then why are you blaming yourself? Your captain wouldn't have wanted that, or your friends. I think they'd be glad you survived. They accepted that space holds a lot of danger, and I don't think they'd be angry that you wanted to find out more about who you are."
"We wouldn't be angry, Kesslyn, none of us," a voice said from the entrance. Kesslyn gave a little cry as she and Archer looked over to see Alex Green in the doorway. They hadn't even heard the door open. Green quickly walked over to them and knelt in front of Kesslyn, taking her hands in his. He nodded and thanked Archer, who rose and stepped away.
"Kesslyn, I knew about Captain Kistral's idea, and so did Nick and a couple of others. We just didn't want to tell everyone." He watched as her eyes widened, and she gazed at him in surprise. He smiled a little and gave her a little shake. "All of your best friends knew, Kessa. We wanted to do something nice. Now listen to me, and listen good. Never, ever, blame yourself for what happened. That ship came out of nowhere. It was them, Kessa, not you. Them. And they're not getting away with it, OK? Do you understand?"
Her eyes searched his own, and she nodded and flung herself into his embrace. He kissed her hair softly as a few more tears leaked out from under her eyes. He gestured to Phlox to come over, and with Kesslyn's agreement, Phlox administered a sedative to allow her to sleep and heal her body and mind.
Archer accompanied Green out the door, but was halted by Green's hand on his arm. "Captain, thank you. Thank you for being there for her. She's as close to a little sister as I've ever had, and I appreciate what you did for her."
"No need for thanks, Mr. Green. She shouldn't have had to carry that inside her. I just hope we can help both of you."
Green nodded. "With your permission, Captain, I want to find out what I can about who might've sent that ship out. I owe it to Kesslyn; more than that, I owe it to the crew of the Wind Dancer. They deserved much better, Captain, and I intend to make sure that whoever did this will not get away with it." His eyes turned hard and cold at the last statement, and Archer, understanding the man's anger all too clearly, nodded his assent.
