Chapter 1
"Embedded reporter?" Archer asked as he walked towards the launch bay with Lt. Malcolm Reed and Ensign Hoshi Sato.
"It's a term that's been used since the early twenty-first century," Hoshi explained. "It basically describes a journalist who traveled with a military unit for the purpose of observing and reporting on news as it happened."
"Some of them were able to provide remarkable observations on the action," Malcolm added, albeit in a grudging tone. "It helped the general public see what the troops experienced. As such, the jobs the soldiers and sailors performed were viewed more favorably by the citizens. Though I'm sure, having an embedded reporter underfoot must have been a nuisance at times."
Archer nodded. "Well, Admiral Forrest and the rest of his cronies think it's a good idea for this reporter to experience life on board Enterprise. We are to afford, um...er..." He tilted his head toward his Communications Officer.
Hoshi brought her dataPADD up and punched a few buttons. "Michael Leighton," she supplied.
"Yes, we are to afford this Michael Leighton as much leeway as is possible," Archer continued. "He will be traveling with us on our trip into Vulcan space and back again to Earth."
"I do think it's prudent to review security protocols with all department heads at our earliest opportunity, Captain. We can't be too careful," Malcolm said.
The trio turned the final corner before they reached the launch bay when Archer stopped and turned to face his Security Officer. "Just remember, Malcolm, that there are a lot of people on Earth who are questioning the expense involved in keeping Starfleet and Enterprise in particular, up and running. We can't afford to receive bad press. You are to cooperate and give Mr. Leighton everything he needs, within reason. And remember, Malcolm, that's my reason, not your own. I'm sure if you had your way, he'd be lucky if all he had to report on was what Chef was serving for lunch."
"Aye, Sir," Malcolm replied, sounding rather dejected.
The sound of footsteps could be heard approaching them. Archer looked past his Armory Officer and down the corridor. "Sub-Commander T'Pol," he said.
"I am sorry I am late, Captain. Ensign Phillips was experiencing a problem with her science station, and it took longer than anticipated to locate the source of the difficulty."
"No harm," Archer assured her. "If we're all set, we'll go in."
Archer, followed by his three officers entered the launch bay. As soon as the door slid open, they could hear the sounds of laughter. The laughter was punctuated by pauses while someone spoke, which in turn elicited louder guffaws from all in attendance, save for the four who just entered the launch bay. Trip Tucker extracted himself from the group of crewmembers and walked towards the quartet, a wide grin plastered on his face.
Archer smiled at his engineer, noting the man's jubilant mood. "How'd it go, Trip?"
Trip bent his head nearer to Archer's so he couldn't be overheard by the other senior officers. "Just let me say, Jon, that you ain't seen nothing yet."
Archer was baffled by the comment.
"Just trust me, Cap'n, you don't want to miss what's to come," Trip said, pulling back.
Trip looked very smug, Jon thought. He wanted to ask Trip just what he was referring to, but from the sly look on his friend's face, he knew Trip wasn't going to explain. He'd seen that look before on the engineer. A look which said -- if I could sell tickets to what's about to happen, I'd make a fortune. So the sooner the mystery was revealed, Archer thought, the better.
Archer then noted the noise in the launch bay wasn't abating; if anything, it was getting louder. "Malcolm," he said, his lips drawn into a fine line, his brow furrowed. "Can you get their attention?"
Malcolm nodded curtly, brought his fingers to his lips, and whistled shrilly. Abruptly the voices and laughter ceased, with the sole exception of a petite, effervescent blonde who worked in engineering. She was trying hard to stifle an outbreak of contagious giggles. Noticing the senior officers in attendance, in particular the Captain, the crewmembers including the bubbly blonde finally moved away to allow them access to the guest of honor.
Archer and T'Pol started to advance towards the reporter. Michael Leighton, Archer noted, was bent down, picking up his travel case and had his back to them. He was dressed in a black turtleneck, the long sleeves pushed up on his tanned forearms, and a pair of form-fitting black leather slacks. When Leighton turned around, the officers paused. Tucker stood with a hand covering his mouth obviously trying hard not to laugh. Archer and Hoshi looked dumbfounded. T'Pol simply rose one eyebrow.
-- End Chapter 1 --