Phlox was waiting for them in the transporter pad. As soon as they materialised he bent down to Raya and began to scan her, looking at where the knife was protruding from her lower abdomen.
"Let's get her on a stretcher and off to Sickbay." Raya was carefully lifted onto the stretcher and carried off. Malcolm and Travis followed quickly behind.
A few minutes later and Captain Jonathan Archer and Commander Charles 'Trip' Tucker entered sickbay to find out how their patients were doing. Travis was sitting up on one bio bed and the two men moved over to him.
"How are they doing?" Archer said as he saw Phlox near a wall monitor. Archer patted the Ensign's shoulder.
"Ensign Mayweather will be fine. As for Ensign Tagia there are a couple of things that i don't understand about her." Malcolm knew what was coming. Archer and Trip looked at each other then back at Phlox as they moved over to where she was lying on a bio bed. She was unconscious and her breathing was slow and regular. Phlox had successfully managed to remove the knife that had been left in her stomach, now he was just waiting for her to wake up.
"What do you mean?" Archer asked as he followed him over to the bio bed.
"Ensign Tagia… when she first came on board she told me that she was human, however… her DNA isn't human." Phlox informed them. Archer, Trip and Travis were in shock. Malcolm just stood there. He already knew all of this.
"What is it then?"
"I don't know." Phlox replied.
"She's Half Betazoid and half… something else." Malcolm replied. The men turned round to look at him. Each of them thinking the same thing…. 'How the hell does he know that?'
"How do you know?" Archer inquired.
"Because she told me Sir." Malcolm replied.
"Why did she tell you and not any one else?"
"Because I'm carrying Malcolm's child sir!" Raya replied. As they had been talking she had woken up. They all turned to look at her. "And the other half of me is Hanachi."
"What?" Archer's eyes grew a little wider as he took in the news.
"I'm pregnant. And Malcolm's the father, so i had to tell him what i was. I couldn't tell anyone else because Betazoids have always be met with fear about what we're able to do." Raya began.
The conversation was suddenly cut short as the ship rocked and the sound of groaning metal could be heard.
"T'Pol to Captain Archer. Please come to the bridge." T'Pol's voice came through and Archer made for the door. He turned.
"We'll talk about this later." He said sternly. Raya only replied by nodding her head slightly. Malcolm could tell they had some explaining to do. Archer left and Trip, with a look at both Malcolm and Raya followed suit. Malcolm looked gently at Raya.
"It'll be okay." He quickly left sickbay following Archer.
Raya closed her eyes and sighed. She looked at Travis then at Phlox. She knew she should start explaining things to them seeing as they were there.
Up on the bridge Archer and Malcolm entered hurriedly. Quickly taking their places.
"Report!" Archer shouted at his science officer T'Pol.
"Two ships left orbit of Gorgaria and headed towards us. They opened fire." T'Pol calmly replied looking at Archer. Archer nodded at Ensign Hoshi Sato, the COMM officer and she began to work on her station. T'Pol moved back round to take her place at the science station, located behind Hoshi's area.
"No response sir."
"Keep trying" Archer ordered. Hoshi nodded back. Just as he sat in his chair Sato's console bleeped.
"They are hailing us Sir"
Archer nodded and a Gorgaran male appeared on the screen. He looked somewhat annoyed.
"We want them back. Return them or be destroyed" he spat at Archer
"Return who?" Archer asked through gritted teeth at the Gorgaran in front of him.
"Dracona, the girl and the black male. Return them immediately or prepare to be destroyed" The Gorgaran male issued back. No emotion.
"I don't know who Dracona is. As for the girl and the male they are members of my crew."
"Sir. Dracona is a girl i met down the planet." Malcolm then went into a whisper. "She looks like a Gorgaran but she isn't - at least that's what she told me." this indeed was important information that he knew he couldn't hold back on, and after what Archer had recently discovered in sickbay it was wise to tell him as much as he could, or Malcolm would probably get into a lot of trouble.
Archer looked at his tactical officer but returned to look at the unwanted visitor.
"We don't care what they are part of. We want them back. You return them to us and you won't be destroyed"
"Why do you want them?"
"They escaped. We don't like it when prisoners escape. It sets a bad example" He looked agitated the way this conversation was going. This species asked too many questions. "You have five minutes to decide. We'll hail you. Your decision better be a wise one, Captain." The male left the conversation, the screen went blank. Archer sighed. 'Things are going great. Just great'. Well, he wasn't giving his officers away so readily
"Sir. What are we going to do?" Malcolm hesitantly asked.
"I'm not giving them away. They are staying here." Archer said back. Five minutes came and indeed they were hailed again by the Gorgaran vessel.
"So...what decision have you made?" the Gorgaran asked, showing no emotion.
"I told you five minutes ago they're members of my crew. They're staying where they belong, and they belong on this ship. So i suggest you leave us alone. Why did you take them prisoners in the first place?" Archer continued still through gritted teeth
"That's none of your concern" The male equally returned. Annoyed at the other's decision. "You made an unwise decision, Captain." he left off. The screen blanked out once more and again, the ship rocked from enemy fire.
"Malcolm, return fire"
"Yes Sir!" Came back a reply.
After a few minutes they were losing the battle. They gave every move they could give. Two Gorgaran ships were too much for one Earth vessel. All of a sudden a red light appeared near the Gorgaran ships. Archer felt better as soon as he saw that this strange red light was effecting their ships.
"Both ship's weapons and shields are down" T'Pol reported. Soon the cause of the strange light appearing flying with ease onto one of the Gorgaran ships' hull. The crew saw this creature tear at the hull and she was soon off again. Its head turned to the other vessel and it soon backed away and left the area, returning to Gorgaria. The creature nodded slightly and looked at Enterprise. The crew realised it was a dragon. An emerald green dragon with emerald green eyes and a large pendant hung round its thick scaly neck. It neared the ship. Archer wasn't sure what to do. This thing, this Dragon had saved their ship and its crew but what it did to the Gorgaran ship could easily be done to them. whatever it was the Dragon gave no inclination of doing so. Malcolm recognised the eyes almost immediately. It took a moment to sink in but he did know them. He thought about the girl, Dracona and asked himself if that was her. He never expected the question to be answered.
"I am who you think i am Malcolm. Tell your Captain I'm sorry they came." The voice sounded distant as though he was dreaming it.
"What the…?" Malcolm said a little too loud. Archer turned to look at his Armoury officer who had the look of someone in complete confusion and surprise.
"Lieutenant?" Archer asked turning to see a shocked expression on his officer's face.
"Sir, i think that Dragon is trying to communicate with me."
"How would you know?"
"The girl i met down on the planet is that Dragon. She's telling me to tell you that she's sorry they came. I think she's telepathic" Malcolm replied.
"I am. Those ships originally came after me but when they saw you in their territory they changed direction. I flew fast as i could. If your captain wants to know more i can speak with him, but i can only see him in person to talk" she replied using her telepathy.
"What is she saying Malcolm?"
"She is saying that those Gorgaran ships came because of her, but when they saw us they changed direction. She also says if you want to know more, she can meet you"
"Ask her how"
Malcolm thought the command that came from his CO.
"I change into a smaller being, like a human. Within 10 minutes of my changing i have to be transported aboard. I can stay in space only when I'm a Dragon."
Malcolm relayed the answer to Archer and everything went silent. Archer eventually nodded. Malcolm thought it back to Dracona
"All right. I'm changing." Malcolm heard her reply.
"You'd better get down there Lieutenant." Malcolm nodded and exited the bridge. Dracona nodded and Archer knew she was telling them that she was going to change now. She started getting smaller and smaller till eventually, she was in a human form. 3 seconds later, she was transported on board. Archer went down to meet her.
After an hour or two being with Dracona, Archer decided to go and get some answers from Raya. Both he and Malcolm made their way down to sickbay. When they entered they found her sitting up on the bio bed with Phlox taking scans of her.
"How is she?" Archer asked as he moved over. Both doctor and patient looked at where the voice was coming from.
"She'll be fine in a few days." Phlox replied. He then slowly moved away, allowing Archer to step closer. Raya didn't look too happy.
"Raya. You said earlier that Betazoids have always been met with fear about what they can do. What did you mean by that?"
"Betazoids are a species who are telepathic. We can communicate with each other telepathically, read other's minds and also sense other people's feelings. That's the reason i have black eyes. All Betazoids have black iris'." She replied. Archer sighed. He looked at her eyes, and they were jet black, like no human's. He knew she was telling the truth.
"And the other half of you is...?"
"Hanachi. Not many people know about them. They're a race that is a little less primitive than humans. Their technology is a little more advanced than humans. Hanachi also have the ability to transport over small spaces. Of course we have to be able to see where we're going to be able to transport. It was my mother that was Hanachi." She sighed, hoping that Archer was understanding all of this.
"And what about the baby?"
"Malcolm is the father. I'm 4 months pregnant. And i told Malcolm everything because he should know, as he is the father of my child. Captain i didn't mean to deceive you, you have to believe me about that. I had to keep everything a secret because of how Betazoids have been 'greeted' in the past. Most species have tried to kill us as soon as they know what we're able to do. And i understand that. All Betazoids do."
"So do i. but you should've told me. I need to know things like this." Archer paused. "So even Doctor Phlox didn't know?"
"No sir. Not even about the pregnancy. I couldn't risk being found out." Raya sighed again. She knew she was going to be in trouble. She knew she was now going to be thrown out of Starfleet for keeping back all this personal information that could've jeopardised the missions. "I'll understand if you want me to leave Enterprise." Archer looked at Malcolm then back at Raya.