Between A Rock and… Another Big Rock
By Didi
Disclaimer: (Hate these things.) I do not own any of the recognized characters, places or things in this story. This is purely as pleasure writing and no profit shall be made from it. Any copyright infringement I may be committing is unintentional and without malice. I would be more than happy to STOP, just tell me. There, does that cover it all?
Rating: PG 13 for now.
Story Summary: The crew goes hunting underground for Xindis.
Chapter Summary: The MACOs make a couple of observations and Archer finally see what his behavior is doing to his crew.
Timeline: Set before the episode "Azati Prime" in Season 3.
Author's Note: Okay, chapter two isn't without its faults. Some of the character may be a little out of character simply because I needed them to do certain things that didn't always match up with what we see on the scene. If there are any complaints… well, I'll apologize now.
Spoiler: Everything up through "The Hatchery." (I'm being nicely cautious here.)
Key: "Spoken" "Thoughts"
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Chapter Two – Tense Crew
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
"I heard you got call in for a 'talk,'" Liz Cutler said as she slid up beside her tired friend. Seeing Hoshi's pale face and grime set lips, she lost all her jovial countenance. "Whoa girl, what happened?"
Pouring hot water into her cup, she dropped in her tea bag and placed it on her tray. "Let's sit down first."
Gathering jell-o and chocolate mousse and an extra helping for cake, she had a feeling it was going to be needed; Liz followed the communications officer to a quiet corner toward the back of the mess hall. The very fact that Hoshi chose such a secluded table when she usually like to sit in the middle of the room so she can people-watch was a clear indication that the day had been particularly hellish. Setting her tray down, she took a sip of the aromatically wonderful coffee before getting down to business. "Okay, who picked on you this time?"
"No one picked on me; I screwed up," was Hoshi's response as she played with the pasta on her plate. She wasn't particularly hungry but knew that she had to eat. Or at least pretend to eat so Travis and his big mouth don't rat her out to the doctor again. One lecture on nutrition and the proper maintenance of her energy level was enough for one lifetime. "You know those pictures of the caverns we took?"
"Yeah," Liz prompted.
"I just got reamed out for not taking proper security measures before doing it."
Liz closed her eyes and groaned. "Did you tell them it was my idea?"
"No, I kept you out of it," Hoshi replied with a sigh. "Why should both of us suffer?"
"Thanks, Hosh, I owe you." She would have enjoyed going up in front of Captain Archer.
"Forget it," she picked at her food some more, hardly taking a bite. "Besides, at the rate I'm going, one more black mark on my record isn't going to make much of a difference."
"Stop that," Liz reprimanded sharply before pushing her cake toward Hoshi. "You are the best linguist on this ship and don't you dare forget it. So what if Lt. Reed is a sticker for the regs," she had no doubt that it was Reed that pointed out the breach in protocols; she doubted that the captain care as long it progressed the mission. "The bottom line is that you got the job done. So we bend the rules a little here and there, if it gets us a little closer to those bastards, what of it? You really think they're going to court martial us for doing our job, which is to get the Xindis before they get to us? I don't think so."
"Liz," she argued, "If we start bending the little rules, who's to say we don't start bending the big ones. And then what would that make us?"
"The winner," Liz retorted with a grime look. "The survivor. All is fair in love and war. And this, my dear innocent Hoshi, is most assuredly war."
Hoshi looked decisively uncomfortable as she considered that.
-&-&-&-
"Wow does she look miserable," Sergeant Coates murmured as she sat her tray down and took a sip of coffee; the only thing that was keeping her going.
"Who?"
"Ensign Sato," nodding her head toward the corner of the room as she took another sip of coffee. The last three hours had been spent reviewing regulations on combat training; she'd rather be doing hand to hand with Major Hayes than paperwork, and those sessions usually resulted in days of bruising, the major didn't go easy on anyone for any reason. "Who rained on her parade today?"
"Probably the captain," Corporal Chang interjected as he glanced up. "I heard from Lt. Mindez that the ensign got called into a pow-wow with the top brass this morning. She didn't look too great when she came out."
"Ensign Roberts says that he heard the Captain yelling at her last week," Private Sanchez remarked around a mouth full of mash potatoes. The food on Enterprise was vastly superior to anything he's gotten in his other assignments. "And it wasn't the first time."
"She's been getting a lot of heat lately," Sergeant Coates observed sympathetically. "I overheard Ensign Cutler telling Lt. Linube that the captain's been taking a lot of his frustrations out on her because the translations of the Xindi stuff aren't going fast enough."
"Can't be easy being the only one on board that can read Xindi," Chang said with a shake of his head as he watched the young ensign talk quietly with her friend. "And then get your head chewed off for it." There was been more than one discussion on Ensign Sato's talents among the MACOs she had attempted to befriend. It was a unanimous agreement that Ensign Hoshi Sato was one 'cool chick.'
"That just sucks," Coates chewed thoughtfully on her steak.
"Are you children through gossiping?" Major Hayes asked dryly as he gazed at his people with a frown that spoke volumes.
"You're not even a little curious, sir?" Coates have the benefit of having served under Major Hayes for longer than anyone else; she didn't feel quite as nervous about conversing with the quietly stern and almost unapproachable commanding officer. "I mean, you've worked with the Fleeters more closely then the rest of us. You don't find it kind of weird that of all the people on this ship, the captain picks Ensign Sato to harass just because we aren't progressing as fast as he'd like? I mean, anyone can see she works probably three times harder than the rest of the crew does cause she's the only that gets all this Xindi…
"I don't speculate as to what my superiors do, Sergeant," Hayes replied firmly, "And neither should you," putting an end to the conversation.
Privately Matt Hayes agreed with his subordinates; Ensign Sato has been bearing the brunt of a lot of stress stemming from the fact that they were running out of time and the captain knew it. Without meaning to, Major Hayes eyes wondered to study Ensign Sato as she sat dejectedly in the corner. On more than one occasion he's seen the young communications officer in the gym, her eyes glued to her PADD as she paddled away on a bike, working her own frustrations out physically; her friendly face so taunt with concerns that she appeared to have aged ten years since the MACOs first met her only months before. He had been tempted, several times in fact, to go to her and offer help; it seemed like a friendly thing to do and she had made the first welcome to them when the rest of the ship practically ignored their existence. But he couldn't ever bring himself to approach her.
Hoshi Sato had about as much in common with Major Hayes, or any of the MACOs for that matter, as water had with fire. She was academia, Star Fleet and delicately soft; exactly the fragile-flower type to bring out all the ancient protective instincts in a man. He was a solider, military by choice and tradition, and had more muscles then body fat (a feat none of his subordinate has yet to figure out considering how he eats); he guarded Enterprise and everyone in it, including her. Her job was to talk. His job was to fight. Her job was to find a solution. His job was to make the solution happen. She was a voice: soothing and calm. He was silence: nothing but arms, legs and a good pulse rifle. She finesses; he punches. She laughs; he scowls. She was silk and lace. He was leather and… okay, that wasn't the best analogy to be going for.
"Major?" Sergeant Coates asked breaking into her CO's thoughts, her eyes twinkling with amusement as she peeked slyly at the ensign. "See something you like, sir?"
If looks could kill…
"Major Hayes," the sound of the captain's voice broke through the unusually jolly mood of the MACOs as they all scrambled to their feet in attention. Amused, Captain Archer saluted them in a formal fashion. "At ease, men… ur… soldiers." Sergeant Coates gave him a cheeky grin, which he returned. "I need a moment Major, please join me in the conference room at fifteen hundred."
"Yes, sir," was the reply since nothing else would have done.
"And bring your strategy book," the captain advised with a grime smile as he patted the man on his shoulder and walked away.
There was a pause before the MACOs sat down again, all watching Captain Archer as he made his way across the mess hall to talk to Cdr. Tucker and Lt. Reed, pausing to study Ensign Sato for a moment. He frowned, noting her drooped shoulders and unhappy face and the fact that she was pushing food, including her favorite dessert, around on her plate but hardly taking a bite. Liz Cutler was urgently talking to her, their whispered conversation inaudible to the rest of the room but was obvious of a vital nature. For a moment, the captain appeared to want to approach but stopped himself. Shaking his head, he continued toward his chief engineer and armory officer.
"What was that?" Private Sanchez asked in confusion.
Corporal Chang frowned and watched the captain for another moment before turning to his companion. "Which part? The part where he invited the major to a sit-down or the part where he looked like he was actually sorry for the way he's been treating the ensign?"
"You got a crush, Dave?" Sergeant Coates teased.
"Why not?" Chang responded cheerfully, watching his CO, who was expressionless. "She's awfully cute."
"Don't go there," Sanchez advised going back to his dinner (he pretty much always thought of his stomach first) and missing the subtle glances between his teammates. "Reed would skin you alive. You know how protective he is of all Fleeters; death to all those that crouch upon his territory."
"You saying Reed and Sato…"
"No, I meant Fleeters in general, not just Sato. I'm just saying that Reed's got enough reasons not to like us," he glanced at his CO, offering a grin as he remembered a certain fight that made its way around the ship and the reason behind it, "Don't give him another one."
"Don't give anyone a reason to kick your ass, Corporal," Hayes warned unexpectedly blunt as he got up to prepare for the meeting. Chang was too charming for his own good sometimes and he was going to make sure it doesn't cause any harm. "You've been given notice," and gave him a stern look before leaving.
Coates was wise enough to wait until the major was out of ear shot before commenting, "Looks like Lt. Reed isn't the only one feeling protective."
-&-&-&-
"I've asked Major Hayes to join us as you've suggested," Archer said as he sat down with a sigh. It's been a while since he sat in the mess with the rest of the crew and he just remembered why. He felt like an elephant in the middle of a china shop, every step had to be watched.
"Thanks Captain," Reed murmured without looking up.
"Whoa, when did you and the major get all buddy on us?" Trip laughed, pushing his coffee toward the tired looking captain. He would eat his shoes if Archer was getting more than four or five hours a night; it was beginning to show.
"We need fresh eyes," Reed explained with a sigh. "Plus the man might actually know a thing or two."
"MACOs are trained for ground combat; we're not. Let's use them where we need them the most. I want to utilize every means at our disposal if it can get this finished faster," Archer rubbed his face and glanced over his shoulder, noting that several crewmen were still watching him. "I feel like I'm under a microscope here." He made a face and turned to Trip, "Is it always like this?"
"Like what?" chewing on limp vegetables that he had no desire to eat but knew was necessary. "What I won't give for a good fruit salad with fresh Georgia peaches."
"The staring," and then caught sight of Hoshi again. She was still pushing food around her plate. It didn't take a medical doctor or a scale to see that the ensign has lost a considerable amount of weight. Plus the look she had given him earlier today still haunted him.
"It's only 'cause you're here," Trip pointed out and continued his meal. "You've eaten yet?"
"Yeah, I grabbed something when…" he frowned as he watched his communication officer stood, shook her head at her friend's urging motions and left without having tasted her meal.
"Captain?" Lt. Reed inquired with a quick glance at the shrugging Commander. "Is something the matter?"
"Have I been too harsh lately?" Jon wanted to know, his eyes reflecting that of a friend asking for an opinion rather than a captain asking for an evaluation. Something about the way Hoshi had been looking at him, and the way some of the MACOs have been looking at him earlier, it made him extremely nervous. "I mean, have I been a complete ogre?"
Trip's fork paused halfway to his mouth as he stalled for time. "Well…um… you're been under…um… you've been under an awful lot of stress lately," he managed diplomatically.
Jonathan frowned. "That wasn't an answer at all."
"We've all have," Reed interjected hastily when the captain continued to stare at them. "It's only natural that tempers become rather short and…"
"I've been a monster, haven't I?" Archer asked, his eyes searching his best friend's. He knew that when push came to shove, Reed will be diplomatic in every way, especially to a superior officer. But Trip… that was a whole other story. "Trip?" warning his friend that he wasn't going to take little white lies well this time.
Commander Tucker swallowed the suddenly dry food and gave Archer a resentful look for putting him on the spot. "You have been kind of unreasonably angry at everything and everyone, 'specially Hoshi when she gives you reports of her progress. You ain't exactly happy that the translations from those Xindi probes are going so slow."
"How bad have I been?" a sick feeling forming at the pit of his stomach.
The two officers traded quick looks before looking away, neither one willing to answer the question.
"How bad, boys?" he insisted in that captain-voice of his.
Reed looked at Tucker.
Tucker looked at Reed.
They nodded in reluctant agreement before responding, "Bad."
Archer's forehead hit the table with a soft thump, sending several crewmen to their feet in a mad rush to check on the captain. He stayed there, in that exact same ridiculous position while Reed and Tucker played interference and sent the rest of the anxious crew away. It took nearly five minutes to settle into some semblance of order once more as the captain stayed there, head on the table thinking of all kinds of bad things about himself.
Trip patted Jon on the back, thinking of ways to offer sympathy but couldn't find any. He had on more than one occasion seen Ensign Sato leave the captain's ready room close to tears. Several of his own engineers dread giving reports to the captain in fear that he should find fault in their often hurried work. Jon Archer, the most easygoing man he's ever known, has reduced more than one crewman to tears with an unconscious censure that was lost to him but cut to the bone. "If it makes a difference, they know that you've been under a hell lot of pressure too."
"That doesn't excuse my abominable behavior," Archer murmured as he sat up and rested his chin in his palm and sighed. A crew is supposed to be able to trust their captain, trust him to be fair and reasonable, not a tyrant. "Next time you think I'm even close to crossing the line of acceptable behavior, I don't care in front of whom it is, you kick me. Got it?"
"Captain," Reed's face reflect amusement and mortification at even such a thought.
"Don't play the good officer with me, Mr. Reed," the captain said with a much disgruntled glare at his support staff. "If you and Trip hadn't been so 'diplomatic,' the rest of the crew wouldn't be thinking I'm so sort of bad-tempered despot."
"Oh so now it's our fault?" Trip ask, mockingly offended.
"Yes."
Reed's twitched as he continued his meal. "Has the Sub-Commander been informed of the meeting?"
"Yeah," the captain answered tiredly as he stole more coffee from Trip. "She's playing devil's advocate at the moment."
"Against us, huh?"
"I'm not exactly too keen on the idea of sending my crew into a subterranean city with Xindis running amuck either," Archer muttered with a frown, concerned that he's already voicing a plan of action without any discussion with his people.
"What? You ain't going to insist on being the one t' lead this away mission?" Trip grinned mischievously. Though he said it rather lightheartedly, he knew that this is a much debated point between Archer and Reed; Reed can't rationalize allowing his captain to risk his life and Archer can't allow himself to risk his people's lives.
"Not unless I want to get an earful from T'Pol about the backlog of Sphere research that she's done," he said sheepishly, "And there is also a stack of translations that Hoshi's been doing that I haven't really gotten around to."
Chuckling, Tucker looked up from his potatoes, "In other words, Phlox still won't clear you for off-ship duty cause everyone's still afraid you're go all maternal on little Insectoids we might run into."
Glaring at his best friend for making light of his most recent Xindi problems while Reed attempted and failed to suppress his laughter, Archer got up and gave Trip's shoulder a squeeze had left the chief engineer's right arm numb, "I'll see you gentlemen at the meeting. Don't be late."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Teaser from Next Chapter: "This isn't trivial," he snapped, snatching the PADD away with more force than necessary. T'Pol gave him a censuring look that made Jon feel like a six year old with his hand in the cookie jar. Taking a deep breath, he made a show of calming down. "Change the away mission rooster," he ordered. "I need to have a little talk with my crew."