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 for Xindis underground.

Chapter Summary: Archer asks for help and get it. Hayes, Tucker and Sato have a conversation that reveals a little more of themselves.

Timeline: Set before the episode "Azati Prime" in Season 3.

Author's Note: I love Steven Culp. He is fantastic on "Desperate Housewives," totally cracks me up. As much as I miss him on "Enterprise" he is so much more fun where he is now. And on that note, I've decided to add more humor to his character Hayes because I adore the actor so much! Hope you guys don't mind.

Spoiler: Everything up through "The Hatchery," (I'm being nicely cautious here) and the second or third episode of Season 1. (I don't think it matters at this point.)

Key: "Spoken" "Thoughts"

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Chapter Eleven – Little Revelations

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"Tell me I have nothing to be concerned about," Archer stated as he marched onto the bridge.

T'Pol's finely sculptured brow raised a fraction of an inch. "I cannot make such an account, Captain. It is unlikely that we shall be leaving the system without some sort of contact with…"

Jonathan frowned lightly at his second-in-command. "T'Pol, you really need to learn about rhetorical statements. No answer was necessary or needed." He turned and stared at the screen, unable to keep the sigh from escaping his lips. "How many?"

"Two cruisers."

"Two," he repeated under his breath with some resignation. "On the one hand, I suppose we should be thankful and grateful that we found the right place since the Reptilians feel it necessary to protect it. On the other hand, I've got ten people on the planet that have no idea they're being surrounded by the enemy." There were moments on this mission when he wished to hell he had listened to his mother and became a geologist instead. Heck, at this point he was pretty certain his mother would have been happy with him pursuing his high school dream of becoming a famous water-polo player. "Second question of the day: why are they here?"

Of the many times T'Pol had considered the humans to be illogical, these were instances that stood out clearly in her mind. "It is safe to assume that they are here to reinforce their defenses."

"Thank you, T'Pol," Archer growled, obviously annoyed now. "Because otherwise, no third year cadet with any basic intelligence could have figured that one out."

T'Pol answered as she usually did, with a raised brow and a censuring look.

Under normal circumstances, Archer would have been much more patient with the Vulcan's misunderstandings of human communication. But today was not such a day. "Any sign of their detecting us?"

"None."

"Good, let's keep it that way," he frowned at the screen. "I want to know if and when they do. Also, put the second away team together and prepare them for launch. I want to be able to send a rescue team in if an opportunity presents itself to us, no matter how slim our chances are of getting such a window."

"Yes, captain."

"I'll be in armory if you need me," he told her before leaving, not bothering to wait for a reply or acknowledgement. His day was simply not going well at all. While lunch had been enlightening in a good way, the meeting with the communications team in the afternoon had the complete opposite effect. Not only did he not receive the kind of report he wanted without Hoshi watching the rest of the communications, he also had to deal with the fact that the rest of the department was now in fear for their lives. With the exception of Ensign Tanner, no one else could meet his eyes through the entire fifteen-minute interview he conducted with each individual. He was going to have to put Hoshi in a supervisory/reviewing position to save her work and time. "Yeah, that's going to go over well with the older officers."

He was also going to have to sit down with Hoshi and talk about her propensity to overload herself. It was simply going to have to stop, even if he had to order the doctor to issue a medical leave of absence and lock her in her quarters for a week.

Stepping into the armory, he took note that there were as many MACO officers there as Star Fleet ones. All eight of them came to attention the minute he stepped through the door. "At ease," he shook his head with some amusement and even more exasperation. The formality was just not his game.

"As you've all been informed," he watched their eyes carefully, noting the directness that each officer met his gaze, "The Reptilians have taken defensive positions around the planet. We've got ten crewmen and friends that are on that planet for the very the same reason these ships are now surrounding it and effectively cutting us off from our people. Normally, I'd have Cdr. Tucker, Lt. Reed and even Major Hayes at a table, strategizing their way out of this. But they're not here." Archer moved slowly about the room, watching their faces for reactions. He didn't getting any. They were all well trained and sure of themselves and their duty to the ship. "Instead, they're on the planet, insuring that the Reptilians aren't going to be using a weapon of mass destruction on us and those we were sent here to protect."

Several crewmen seemed to straighten in their stance; their sense of purpose solidified with the voiced danger that was suddenly very real to them. Their eyes tightened with determination and their faces set in firm resolve.

"I need ideas; I need a plan to get our people out with as little danger to our ship as possible." Archer looked around, at the faces of the men and women that protected his ship and everyone on it with zealous enthusiasm. "Can you do that?"

"Yes, sir!" the unanimous response was both overwhelming and humbling at the same time.

"Consider this your strategy session. I want a report of any viable options we have in two hours." He nodded his head and took his leave with the confidence that in two hours, they undoubtedly will have come up with a dozen scenarios to save their friends. "After all, if the situation were reversed, they know the away team would do the same thing."

Jonathan smiled for the first time in a several weeks, feeling his body relax for a moment. "It's nice having a good team."

-&-&-&-

"You know, you'd probably feel better if you took off your pants."

Major Hayes thought for a moment that he had heard incorrectly. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Take off your pants," Hoshi repeated a little louder this time.

The major blinked. "That's what I thought you said."

Ensign Sato frowned at him, annoyance clearly written on her face. "Then why'd you make me repeat it?" She knew she sounded like a sulking child but she didn't care. She was cold, hungry and, at the moment, quite naked under the cloak Sergeant Coates had kindly helped her into after she had shed and wrung out her very wet clothing. No matter how uncomfortable her nudity made her, Hoshi couldn't bring herself to put them back on. She really wished now that she hadn't used her robe to dry her hair. On the other hand, she didn't particularly want to sit around with hair that was retaining more water than her underwear had.

"Hoshi's right, Major," Commander Tucker interjected as he sat down next to her, offering water and inedible rations only to have Hoshi respond with an 'are you crazy?' face. He had doubled his cloak up and wrapped it tightly around his hips after shedding his wet pants. "You'll freeze your nuts off if you keep them on."

Laughter erupted from Hoshi's mouth; she just couldn't help it.

Matt wondered if he was blushing.

Tucker grinned unabashedly. "Modesty's got no place when yer' up against practically. 'Sides, you ain't got anything we ain't got, and ah'm sure ladies will turn their backs…not that they'd mind a show or two." His grin only grew wider as Hayes scowled at him. The man definitely needed to be teased more often; it was simply too much fun to watch. "So as Hoshi says, off with your pants."

If his face were the color of an over ripe tomato, Matt wouldn't be much surprised. "You are having too much fun at my expense, Commander." He grumbled some more as he imitated the commander the tucked the thick blanket around his hips before reaching under it. Ensign Sato's unwavering gaze stopped him. "Do you mind, Ensign?"

"Not at all," she said sweetly batting her eyes playfully at him.

Trip collapsed on the ground wheezing with laughter. He could always count on his Hoshi to back him up.

Hayes gave her something near a death-glare.

Nearly choking on her giggles, Hoshi hoped that the major's sense of humor was still in tact from their icy dunk and she wasn't in danger of being court-martialed for insubordination. Deciding not to tempt fate any further, she scooted around in her seat to face the power unit, giving the Major her back.

It had taken the rest of the away team less than an hour to resurrect the ancient unit, which turned out to be a lot lighter than expected needing only four people to carry it aground. That is, of course, after they rescued Sanchez from a watery grave. The three commanding officers had collectively agreed that Sanchez would keep watch, replacing Lt. Jamison at the cave entrance, and Tucker and Sato would do water scouting. Except for a stubbed toe when Sato attempted to help move the unit out of the water, there were no more unexpected incidents. Now they were all simply waiting for Tucker and Sato to get warm and rested enough to start working.

The writings on the unit were in a simplified form similar to the old religious scriptures that Hoshi had studied two days ago at an old crumbling temple. The curving lines were written vertically as opposed to the new horizontal writings utilized by the new religious sects that vied for dominance. A lot could be told about a culture by the way they wrote and the changes made throughout their history. It was quite fascinating really. Absentmindedly, Hoshi picked up a jagged rock and began the unenviable job of scratching translations on the eroding metal.

Ignoring the embarrassment of disrobing once again in front of Ensign Sato - even if her back was turned and he had a giant cloak around his hips - Matt wiggled a little to get the tight-fitting, wet garments off. Synthetic fibers rubbing against wet skin made the experience painful and tedious. When the pants and shorts finally dropped to the ground with a wet plop, he almost groaned with relief. Sitting down to rub some feelings back into his numb legs, Matt Hayes had to admit some relief after shedding the icy garment that was likely to - as Commander Tucker so delicately put it - freeze his nuts off. Just removing the sopping pants helped to alleviate the discomfort.

Unfortunately, Matt was also now half naked. "Course, it could be worse; you could be completely naked…" He winced as his thoughts drifted to where he had no business going. "Like Ensign Sato." There was no stopping his eyes from turning in the wrong direction, made especially bad when Hoshi chose that moment to shrug off enough of her cloak to bare one shoulder, releasing her arm to work. That destroyed whatever reassurance (hmm…"self-control" maybe?) he had before.

"Major?" Sergeant Kemper offered a cup pf coffee with a slight frown as he witnessed the wince of pain. "Are you all right, sir?"

Clearing his throat, Matt nodded quickly and accepted the warm drink. "I'm fine. Thank you."

Kemper tilted his head and studied his CO for a moment. "Are you sure sir? You're looking a little flushed."

Hayes closed his eyes and prayed for his usual self-control. "This couldn't possibly get any worse."

He was wrong. Oh boy, was he wrong!

Tucker flopped himself down next to the major and grinned at Sergeant Kemper wickedly. "Wanna know what ah think?"

Kemper raised a brow in curiosity, not quite sure how he was supposed to response to the cheerfully teasing tone of a commanding officer; a manner that Hayes had never employed with them. When the major made noises that sounded rather distressful, he decided it was best to get all the facts and deal with the consequences later. So with the best of intentions, Kemper nodded.

Hayes was tempted to hit his subordinate upside the head. The commander's insuppressible humor did not need encouragement.

"Ah think the major here's having some not-so-boy-scout thoughts." Tucker's eyes were positively glowing with delight as color crept up Hayes' neck. "Just say so if ah'm getting it all wrong, Major."

Opening his mouth to do just that, Hayes could practically hear his mother. "Matthew Edward Hayes, I didn't raise you to be a liar. Don't you even think about it!" There was something about mothers and their lessons (taught from diaper-age up) that could instill fear…even with a few thousand light years between himself and the indomitable woman. So with that firmly in his head, he kept silent.

Tucker snorted with amusement.

Kemper felt it wiser not to comment, though he was having some trouble keeping the smile off his face.

Because he lacked any other kind of defense, Hayes tried the oldest one in the book: change the subject. "Lt. Reed has already checked the energy output of the cell, we should have plenty to amplify the charges and bring down the entire area around the molecular de-stabilizer, seal off any chances of recovering any piece of the weapon."

Dismissing the sergeant with a nod of his head, Cdr. Tucker cleared his throat and decided that he'd plagued the major enough. Besides, the man could probably beat him to a pulp if he had half a chance. "Once Hoshi's got all those drawings figured out, we'll allocate the flow of power to…" Trip's eyes narrowed as he studied Hoshi's back. Something was not quite right. "Hoshi?"

Dropping her arm, Ensign Sato looked tiredly over her shoulder.

Trip just barely kept his jaw from dropping before he scrambled to his feet. He felt more than saw Hayes follow just behind him. "Jesus, Hoshi. Are you all right?"

Hoshi blinked. Her confusion was obvious in her droopy eyes.

"Hey, hey now, no sleeping when you're looking like death warmed over." Tucker tugged on the blanket, careful not to bare any more skin, and tucked her arms into it before wrapping it tightly around her. He wished there were more blankets to… Wait. "I'll be right back." He scrambled to his feet. "Keep her alert, Hayes; and see if you can warm her up."

Matt watched the commander go before turning back to the fragile china doll in front of him. It was easy to see what had alarmed the usually nonchalant commander. Ensign Sato was sporting a pallor that would frighten a mortician. Her lips were tinged with blue from lack of circulation and deep shadows encircled her dark exotic eyes. Her skin was dry, glass-like in its delicacy, looking like it would shatter into a million pieces if touched. He handed her the still-warm coffee in his hands. "Drink this."

She shifted in her tent-like covering for a moment.

"On second thought," he said quickly, one hand reaching out to keep the cloak tightly closed, "Why don't you let me help you?" He carefully lifted the cup to her mouth.

Hoshi dutifully took a sip of the bitter coffee and briefly wondered why anyone would want to drink it on a regular basis. "Where did you get that?"

Hayes glanced at the cup. She'd only taken a tiny sip of the warm beverage. "Kemper and Romero are sticklers for Java in the morning. They carry it around in thermal containers."

"Oh," she made a face and shrugged her shoulder in complete confusion as to why anyone would want to do such a thing. "Can I ask you a question, Major Hayes?"

Eyeing her cautiously, he nodded. "Go ahead."

"How many younger brothers and sisters do you have?"

Whatever he was expecting, that wasn't it. "Excuse me?"

"Younger siblings," she repeated before taking another sip when Hayes nudged the rim of the cup against her lips again.

"There is just no understanding women," Hayes decided then and there. "None, ma'am."

"Ma'am?" she made a disagreeable face. "Are you ever going to quit that?"

He smiled, amused by her show of offense. "It's a matter of protocol."

"Really?"

"That and to watch you get all huffy with indignation."

She stared wide-eyed at him.

Matt squirmed a little at her silence. "That was a joke, Ensign."

She continued to stare. "I know. I just couldn't believe you made a joke."

Hayes had a feeling he'd either been made fun of again or just plain insulted. Shaking his head and deciding that he really ought not to play rhetoric games with a linguist, he went on to do what he does best: be useful. "Give me your feet."

Hoshi eyed him curiously. "Why?"

"I want to check your toes," he informed her and lifted the edge of the cloak as if to locate them himself.

Deciding that Major Hayes was just being a good guy - that and he looked pretty determined to find her feet - Hoshi unfolded her legs and rested her feet in his lap. "So, no brothers and sisters?"

"Oh, I've got plenty of brothers and sisters, just none of them are younger." He stared at the purple toes for a moment and thought she had painted the nails, but at second glance, that was not the case. "I was afraid of this." Cupping his hands over his mouth, he blew warm breath into his palms and rubbed them vigorously together.

"Afraid of what?" Hoshi asked, wiggling her toes to make sure they still functioned. They all moved accordingly.

Matt gave her an apologetic smile. "This is going to hurt."

"What is?" she managed to vocalize just before his warm hands closed over her bare icy toes. The contrast in temperature was so great it was painful. Letting out a shriek, she tried to pull her feet back but he had a firm grip on them. She whimpered as the initial shock wore off and Hayes proceeded to rub her right foot between his palms.

"Major, what are you doing to my Hoshi?" Trip dropped to his knees by Hoshi, draping two more blankets around her shoulders and another over her lap.

The possessive term took Hayes by surprise and he hesitated a moment before answering. "Getting circulation back in her feet, sir."

Hoshi let out a long painful breath and tried not to fall over. "I didn't know I lost it."

"First thing to be effected by frost bite is the feet, toes really." Hayes glanced at the blankets with curiosity as he rolled a toe with his fingers. "Where did you get those?"

Trip grinned. "Your men happily volunteered them."

Hayes glanced over. 'His men' were all grinning back at him like proud mischievous children. "Oh, they are so dead."

"Well, that was awfully nice of them." Hoshi said obliviously and tugged the blankets more securely around her.

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that, Hosh," Trip took the cup that Matt had set down and made her drink some more. He was fully aware of what was being tossed about now among the MACO's, not that he could blame them for their curiosity. Heck, he was just a mite bit curious himself of what was going through the prim and proper Major's mind in regards to a certain you linguist. "How are you feeling?"

"Still cold," she admitted with a pathetic smile.

"Might be better if you get up and walk around," Hayes suggested, switching feet. "Even better if you put your clothes back on."

Hoshi agreed wholeheartedly.

"I'll get Coates to help you." Trip was up and gone before the other two could say a word.

Sato stared after the commander for a moment. "Well, that was weird."

Matt could only be thankful the commander didn't add anymore comments. "Good grief, you're beginning to think like that man." Shaking his head, Matt continued to rub Ensign Sato's feet with more care. The little purple toes were turning slightly red now. "Well, at least it's kind of working."

"So, no younger ones at all?" Hoshi asked unexpectedly.

Hayes looked up, startled that they were back on that line of conversation again. "None. I have three elder brothers and two elder sisters though. Why?"

"So you're the youngest?"

"Yeah. Why?" he asked again.

She shrugged. "No reason. You just have that whole 'protect' thing down to an art form so I just figured you'd be the eldest in the family or something; kind of an instinctual thing. Never took you to be the baby though."

"I was kind of an unexpected addition to the family," he replied easily as his fingers slowly kneaded the bottom of her foot, relaxing the muscles there and forcing the blood to circulate through the pads of her feet.

"Really?"

Matt chuckled softly. "With five kids already, the last thing my parents needed was another. There's a six year difference between me and my youngest elder brother."

"'Youngest elder,'" she repeated with a frown. "There should be something wrong with the way that was structured but for the life of me I'm not sure what."

"Don't think so hard," he suggested and got to his feet as Cdr. Tucker and Sgt. Coates approached with Ensign Sato's survival pack. "Sergeant, I leave the ensign in your hands. Keep her warm and get her dressed. We'll discuss night rotations later."

"I'm standing right here," Hoshi grumbled as she got to her feet as well, offering the female MACO a quick smile. "Thanks for helping out Katie. I really appreciate it."

Katie smiled back easily. There was something horribly disarming about the young ensign that made everyone else around her forget to observe proper military conduct. "No problem, let's get you warm again."

"I don't think that's possible until we get back on the ship," Hoshi complained as they moved to one side, away from the guys.

Trip watched the two for a moment before turning to Major Hayes. The major was studiously examining the power unit and carefully avoiding looking anywhere near Hoshi's direction. Trip was having too much fun watching the poor guys fall into the same trap he'd seen before. "She's got you wrapped around her little pinky, don't she?"

Hayes didn't comment.

"Don't feel bad, she's got that 'protect me' look." Tucker sighed and stretched his muscles out. With the translations pretty much completed, the next step belonged to him and Malcolm. "Hey, do me a favor will ya?"

Matt looked up, his brows rose in inquiry.

"Hoshi's got to sleep tonight. She ain't going to be much better than she was today if she don't get some real rest soon."

"I thought she did remarkably well today," Hayes interjected with a frown. In fact, Ensign Sato exceeded any expectations he may or may not have had in the back of his mind.

"I know that." Trip shook his head. "I ain't ever in doubt of Hoshi's talents. She's the best there is on this side of the universe."

"Oh…" Hoshi's voice was an unexpected addition as Tucker turned and found her not three feet away. "So you're the one that threw me to the wolves in Star Fleet uniforms."

Trip blinked at the unexpected reappearance. "How did you get dressed that fast?"

"I didn't. I forgot to get a comb," she replied then made an unpleasant face at him. "Did you know Captain Archer used that exact phrase the first time he came to Brazil to interview me? 'Best there is on this side of the universe,' I had wondered where he could have possibly heard that from. I should have guessed it was you." Hoshi glared at him dangerously.

Holding his hands in a 'Who? Me?' gesture, Trip failed miserably at containing his grin. "I may have dropped your name in front of him a few… hundred times."

"Why would you do such a thing knowing me and my problems with enclosed spaces? It's a space ship; a tin can out in the vacuum of space. It doesn't get more enclosed than that!"

Hayes was tempted to point out their current situation but doing so would direct Hoshi's ire towards him. His survival instincts kicked in enough to keep his mouth shut. Besides, this was quite interesting… and he was most assuredly not above being curious as hell. Plus it was nice to see someone else on the squirming end of a conversation/confrontation with Hosh… Ensign Sato.

"Now Hoshi…"

"Don't you 'now Hoshi' me. I nearly lost my mind that first month."

"Now, that's just not true."

"Really?" She gave him a look that probably should have singed Tucker's brows. "Can I remind you of the dead-alien-on-a-hook incident?"

Trip winced remembering how badly she had been frightened by that unexpected encounter. Not exactly anyone's ideal first-encounter scenario. "May I remind you that you made the captain proud in that 'incident'? Saved our collective asses from them angry aliens too."

"That's not that point," if she hadn't been naked, she would have thrown her hands up in exasperation. "You set Jonathan Archer on me!"

"Only 'cause I knew Earth had run out of challenges for ya to deal with. The next logical step was something beyond our little pond. What better setting than Enterprise? You gotta admit; you've been exposed to some pretty darn interesting languages that ya never would have laid ears on if you hadn't taken the assignment." The brow-rising look the chief engineer gave her was smug and delighted; smug because he was right and delighted that he came up with it on such short notice.

"Did you know that Captain Archer lobbied my superiors at the University to get me to go?"

This was certainly new to him. "I had heard you turned him down."

"The minute I found out why he was really there."

"What did you think it was?"

"A position with Star Fleet to teach Vulcan."

"Jon told you that?"

"Yes."

"Wow..." he nodded his head. "He's good."

"Trip…"

"Oh come on Hosh." He gave her a stern look that was more brother than commander. "You were completely wasted at U of B. Anyone with half your working knowledge of Vulcan could have taught that class with their eyes closed. I didn't convince you to join Star Fleet to sit around and teach languages you already knew. I wanted you exposed to more… well, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind but still… You gotta admit, just these last two days has shown you more than you could ever find on earth. You were limiting yourself when there was no need to."

Hoshi stood there and watched him for a moment before she sighed with resignation. He was right; absolutely damn right. She had joined Star Fleet hoping for a chance to get out and learn more. She had been only nineteen at the time, having already mastered nearly thirty languages and frustrated at the fact that she simply couldn't find a Vulcan outside of Star Fleet willing to talk to her much less teach her. So she joined Star Fleet, picked up another six languages and hungered for more. This assignment on Enterprise had been a godsend; coming at the junction in her career where she was ready to just give into the inevitable and resign herself to the limitations of Earth.

"Come on Hoshi-girl," Trip nudged her with his elbow. "Tell me I was right."

She slanted him a glare, embarrassed when she caught Hayes' indulgent smile before feeling her humor rise to the occasion at how ridiculous this must all sound to the MACO commander. "Fine, fine, you horrible man. You were right."

Tucker's grin split his face and he gave her a one-arm hug. "Besides all that, I knew you'd rise to the occasion and a little claustrophobia wasn't going to stop you."

Hoshi rolled her eyes and went to get her comb.

Matt moved slightly over to his left and whispered the question that had been burning in his mind. "Did you really?"

"What?"

"Know she'd get over this fear of enclosed spaces?"

The commander had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. "Kind of."

"But you recommended her anyway?" There was no surprise in Hayes' tone or the look he gave the chief engineer.

Trip smiled softly as he watched Hoshi tug the comb ineffectively through her hair as she headed back to the corner she and Sgt. Coates had designated 'The Girl's Corner.' "I've known Hoshi since she was sixteen and knocking them over at the consulate. First time she spilled punch on my uniform and I thought she was some ambassador's little girl; imagine my surprise. Struck up a friendly conversation with her, wrote correspondences and had a couple of nice chats with her, even hooked her up with the Japanese delegates for the global warming talks in the Yucatan. I've got plenty of confidence in the girl. Just can't understand why she thinks so little of herself."

"We all have our hang-ups."

"True," Cdr. Tucker frowned thoughtfully. "But it's different with Hoshi. She's brilliant, anyone can see that. But she's never sure of herself, like someone's been telling her all her life that she just ain't good enough."

Matt's eyes went unerringly to the girl in question. "Why would anyone do that?"

Shaking his head, Trip sighed with frustration. "You got me."

-&-&-&-

"Alright," Captain Archer crossed his arms and leaned again against the phase cannon controls. "Let's hear it."

Second Lieutenant Jean Marie McKinsie spared a glance at her fellow MACO's then at the beta shift of Star Fleet Armory officers that had elected her the mouthpiece of the group, and steeled herself for what was to come. "Sir, we're not looking at an easy situation or very good odds. We're one to five with fire power on both sides armed for war. There is almost no chance for Enterprise to get out of this without damage."

They weren't telling Archer anything that he didn't already know. "Go on."

"That being said, we want to minimize the damage that can be caused by diluting the fire power."

"Yes?"

Taking the data pad from Corporal Chang, she handed it to the captain with bated breath. "We'd like to play a game of hide-and-go-seek with the Reptilians, sir."

Archer frowned as he stared down at the schematics in front of him. "What is that?"

McKinsie nodded to Lt. Howards, shift commander for the armory. The man took a breath before speaking. "The shuttles are equipped with homing beacons for emergency usage if a shuttle is lost. We have one shuttlecraft on the planet now but the Reptilians cannot locate it unless they are scanning for it. Thankfully, they aren't because they have no idea our people are down there. Let's divert their attention and give them another target to chase after. Something Star Fleet and something loaded."

The pieces came together.

"Loaded? As in a torpedo?"

Howard nodded his head slowly. "Modified to go off once the enemy is in range."

Archer considered it a moment from all angles. "I'd rather not sacrifice a shuttle, Trip really isn't going to like that, but if it's to save our people…"

"We're not going to." Lt. Omar spoke up before she could truly consider what she was doing. The captain's eyes turned immediately to her and she felt like swallowing her tongue. "I mean… sir."

Pushing away his annoyance at the lieutenant's hesitation, Archer gave his permission with a nod of his head.

Lt. Omar cursed her wayward tongue and looked to a scowling Howard for help. But it was too late, she made her bed and now she had to sleep in it.
Taking a breath, she pushed forward with the explanation. "The plan is to load the shuttle with three torpedoes that are equipped with homing beacons and sensors. We take it out into space, launch them and set the homing devices. The Reptilians will pick up the signals and investigate. Once the sensors have them in range, they detonate. We cannot be completely sure of what the resulting explosion will do; damage or complete destruction."

Archer nodded, his face brightened at the plan. "But it should be enough to send the rest of the ships out to investigate the cause…"

"Yes sir."

Clasping his hands, Archer smiled at them. "I like it. It's worthy of Reed and Hayes." Straightening from his position, he nodded his consent. "Talk to engineering and get to it people. Good job. Your commander would be proud of you."

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

Teaser Line: "I'm awake, I'm awake." Hoshi grumbled and rolled to her side to sit up. "How's anyone supposed to sleep with the two of you arguing back and forth is way beyond my reasoning?"