DISCLAIMER: Enterprise, Star Trek and all related characters are the property of Paramount Pictures, Inc. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money has changed hands. The original characters and events are the sole property of the author and may not be used without permission.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: First, to head off what I expect will be some peoples' response to this chapter, Yes, I know the season is over, but since the show is coming back next year, the problems displayed in the show this year are still valid, because the same writers are coming back with it.

And let me respond specifically to "zippy" who seems to be fuzzy on the concept of a nitpick. A "nitpick" is a commentary on a flaw that doesn't necessarily detract from the substance of a story. For instance, if I were to mention that I noticed in a couple of eps the make-up people failed to properly disguise Jolene Blaylock's real eyebrows (and as such T'Pol looked like she had two sets of them, one dominant and one recessive) THAT would be a nitpick.

Nothing I've mentioned in this fic can be considered that trivial specifically because of the nature of "Enterprise: Season 3". The Xindhi Story Arc was essentially a WAR STORY. Earth was attacked. Millions of people were killed. ENTERPRISE was recalled from her exploration mission and given a TACTICAL one: "Find Who Did It And Stop Them From Doing It Again, Or From Doing Worse". Under those circumstances some story flaws that might seem unimportant when the ship is off "Exploring Strange New Worlds" become very important when the ship is sent to "Stop People Trying To Kill Us"!

The Rank flaw is therefore not a nitpick. On the front line you follow the orders of your superiors and give orders to your subordinates in order to achieve the goals defined by the mission. This is hard to do if you aren't sure who you're superiors and subordinates are, and especially difficult if someone who should be your subordinate acts like your superior and is not schooled by your mutual superiors on the errors of his ways. The pissing contest between Reed and Hayes should not have lasted past the first ep, much less most of the season, because anybody with a brain can tell Hayes Outranked Reed. The fact that Hayes resolved it by subordinating himself to Reed speaks volumes about four characters: It says that T'Pol is incapable of doing her job as First Officer, which is to maintain discipline among the ranks. It says that Archer is so damn anguished about being a warship commander instead of a glorified astronaut that he can't actively step in and solve an internal dispute that might ultimately jeopardize his ship and his crew. It says that Reed is a pussy, who is so insecure about his standing as an Officer and a Man he can't abide the presence of someone aboard with a similar function that does not answer to him directly. And it says that Hayes, out of all these people, was the only one putting the success of the mission above his insecurities, his angst and his pride. The fact that the writers let this little soap opera drag on through the bulk of the season, and didn't truly solve it until the end (with Hayes's death, of course. No ranking officer, no problem for Reed. Yay, Reed. (Pussy...)) is more than just an unimportant problem. It is a blatant and persistent disregard for realism and common sense and therefore an insult to the viewer's intelligence. T'Pol's position as First Officer is another example of this disregard. Nations going to war do not make Civilians from Neutral Countries ranking officers on their ships. Period. They get battlefield commissions or they get sent home. T'Pol should not have been "considering" joining Starfleet at the end of the season. Archer should have put her in it before they departed Earth Orbit. The fact that he didn't is something else that calls into question Archer's competence as a commander.

And I shouldn't have to explain why Starfleet's design philosophy is not a minor problem. Look at the situation: The ship is heading into an uncharted area of space dominated by a race that can build continent-gouging Death Asteroids and cross distances via "warp vortexes" in minutes that it would take Earth ships weeks to cover, which is in turn sponsored by a race that can see the future and distort reality. Would you seriously want to go into a situation where you are already hopelessly outmanned and outgunned riding in a ship lit so brightly and radiating so powerfully that a blind man in a cave on the surface of a gas giant could track it"

Again, no nitpicks here. These are all serious indications of a writing and production staff that has let sloppiness and whimsy cloud their work simply because they're sure that brainwashed fans - like zippy - will simply accept and digest everything they dish out without question. Want more proof" Recall the episode that inspired the following:

"REALITY CHECK", by DARRIN A. COLBOURNE

"Intelligence"

She stood there, fearful, apologetic, looking into the angry eyes of Captain Archer. He was standing at the other end of the corridor with a phase pistol in his hand and aimed at her chest. There was an awkward silence in the air, a long moment of quiet tension that threatened to drive her insane. Finally, desperate to know what he was thinking, she found her voice.

"I had no choice." She said.

Archer's mouth twisted up as he acknowledged her statement with a grunt.

"They told me that if I didn't help them they'd attack my world." She continued. "I had to do it."

Archer's fingers flexed around the handgrip as his face reverted to a frown.

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone!" She said. "T'Pol would be fine if she hadn't resisted! And now I know they were wrong about you. I can tell from what I've seen..."

Archer adjusted his grip so that he could check the setting on the phase pistol without moving his whole arm. It was set for "Kill". Once he was sure of that, he took aim and fired.

The phase beam hit her right between the eyes. Her head disintegrated instantly. Her decapitated body managed to remain standing a full three seconds before it keeled over, trailing a waft of smoke from her neck all the way to the deckplates.

Two MACOs arrived in the corridor just as the ship's PA system sounded. "Bridge to Captain Archer."

Archer went over to a comm panel. "Archer here." He said into it.

Reed answered back. "Two Xindhi ships approaching, Sir."

"I'll be right there. Archer out." With that he approached the body. The MACOs were standing near it, waiting for orders.

"She was headed for the airlock." Archer told them. "Let's help her off the ship."

When they were in visual range, the Xindhi watched as ENTERPRISE went to warp as soon as their spy's lifeless corpse cleared the outer airlock door.

FINAL AUTHOR'S NOTE: Pop Quiz, Trek Fans: You bring a cute blonde alien with nicer hooters than your Science Officer's onto the ship. You let her romance you and tell you sob stories about her life, then you go merrily about your business while she proceeds to Mind-Suck your crew, put the aforementioned Science Officer into a coma and try to escape with vital information to bring to people trying to Destroy Your Entire Race. When you encounter her in a corridor with a pistol in your hand do you A) Stand there agonizing and listening to her tell you more sob stories long enough for the aforementioned Genocidal Aliens to reach your ship, board your ship, wound more of your crew, grab her and get away, or do you B) OFF THE BITCH?

How hard is this to figure out? She's a spy! She works for the bad guys! All the information she stole is in her head! Do the math and pull the trigger!