Chapter Sixteen: Everything, Part II
Hoshi faced Archer a few feet away.
"Son of a—" The Suliban firmly holding Hoshi charged his weapon as a warning and Archer froze.
Another Suliban picked Trip off the floor and pushed him against the wall. "What the hell is going on!" The Suliban aimed his weapon and Trip raised his arms. "Whoa."
"Isn't it obvious?" a voice asked from the captain's chair. "You're under siege."
"Silik," Trip said, not hiding the disgust in his voice.
The chair swiveled and Silik faced the helpless bridge crew. He stood up and looked at Archer, aiming his weapon.
"Get off my ship," Archer said with authority.
Silik smirked. He heard a sound and aimed his weapon, while another Suliban uncloaked himself and trained his weapon on the captain.
"I don't think so," Silik said to the man who froze.
Malcolm stood straight, his face expressionless. With his eyes, he counted the Sulibans. There were eight.
"You can't see all of us," Silik gloated.
"What do you want from us?" Archer asked, catching Silik's attention.
"I'm so glad you asked. You see, our species has spent years developing a wonderful tool." He grinned. "We're not sure how powerful it is yet, so we decided to have a little test." He held up another pistol. "This contains the most deadly virus about to be known. When it shoots a victim, it secretes into the body, not like any wound that can be easily healed."
"You're crazy!" Archer bellowed.
Silik laughed. "The smartest of the villains were always crazy, Archer." He aimed the weapon at Archer. "I set this to full dosage. I think it's about time to see the effects."
Hoshi knew she was the closest to the captain. She had to think fast. What were the steps Malcolm taught her in self-defense? In a moment, she stepped on the foot of her attacker and dug in with her heel. The Suliban released his hold on her and grunted. She back-handed him in the face and ran.
Hoshi gasped as she felt the hit to her back. She stumbled and almost fell to the ground, but Archer caught her. She looked at him, shocked and scared. She smiled at him, sadly. "Everything is for the Enterprise, right Captain?"