CHAPTER 14

A security team had been transported to the surface of Balanti IV. Archer and Hoshi were on the platform, waiting for word from Reed that it was safe to be transported down.

"Ready?" Archer asked her.

Hoshi nodded.

"You're sure you understand their language?" he asked tersely.

Hoshi gripped the portable UT a little tighter. She didn't think she was going to need it, but it was a good precaution to bring it along. "Yes. It's a relatively simple language. It's very similar to Akaali, which I know."

The transporter operator, a red-haired man who Hoshi didn't recognize as having a counterpart on her ship, interrupted their discussion. "Sir, Lieutenant Reed reports that it's taking longer to secure the site than he previously anticipated."

Archer nodded curtly in acknowledgement. He turned back to Hoshi. "Akaali? I don't think I've heard of that."

Probably because the empire wiped them out long ago, Hoshi thought cynically, but she didn't say that. "The Akaali were one of the first alien species my Enterprise encountered. Their civilization wasn't very advanced. They were on a level with Renaissance Europe on Earth."

It had been an interesting experience to disguise herself as one of the Akaali and walk among them to learn more about their civilization. Come to think of it, those people had been exploited by an outside race, sort of like what the empire was doing to the Balantians. Unlike the empire, however, the Malurians had operated stealthily. Their covert mining operation for a component used in making explosives had been contaminating the Akaalis groundwater, sickening and even killing some of them. She'd been very proud of her Captain Archer when, even though he didn't have to, he had sent the interlopers packing.

The similarity of the two languages, Akaali and Balantian, was intriguing. It might be that the Balantians had originally come from Akaali, if there was such a species in this universe. Archer had said he wasn't familiar with the language.

A buzz came from the transporter control panel. "All clear now, sir," the operator said. "Lieutenant Reed has sent the coordinates."

"Send us down," Archer ordered.

Hoshi straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath. She supposed they could have taken a shuttlepod down to the surface, but she'd figured out Archer's reasoning for using this mode of travel. Transporter technology would impress the inhabitants of a poor, backward planet, and reinforce that the empire was a lot stronger than they were.

She wanted to help the Balantians if she could. For that reason, she had worn her own Enterprise uniform today. She felt that it symbolically distanced her from the empire and its oppressive policies, as well as reminding her that, where she came from, people tried to help each other.

Hoshi shut her eyes as the transporter beam surrounded them. She had never liked being transported, especially that time she'd been in the beam for something like eight seconds but which had seemed like several days. Her mind had cooked up a whole story about the ship being in danger, not to mention that she'd thought she was slowly disappearing as her molecules lost their cohesion.

She tried to put that experience out of her mind as the transporter beam ramped up. There were the usual sensations: a tingling on her skin, a high-pitched whine that hurt her ears, and a moment of dizziness followed by a few seconds of disorientation as she opened her eyes to new surroundings. She found she'd been holding her breath, so she exhaled heavily as she took stock of where she was.

They'd been transported into the center of a large, brightly lit room. It had a high ceiling but no windows and only one door. There was no furniture. This room was easily defensible from outside attack, if the need arose. Indeed, Reed and his team, holding phase rifles, were ranged at strategic points around the room. She wondered if Reed had considered that, with only one exit, this could also be a room in which they could become trapped if the transporter suddenly became unavailable. Then she remembered his counterpart in her universe, and she was certain this Reed was aware of that possibility. His arrogance and perceived superiority, along with a very large starship parked in orbit, probably had led him to dismiss these people as a threat.

The only other people present were two Balantians standing near the door. They were both men of average height, slender, and with dark hair. They could have passed for human but for small horizontal ridges on their foreheads, reinforcing Hoshi's surmise that these people had originated from Akaali stock.

Hoshi took her place beside Archer as he waited for the aliens to come to him. As the Balantians slowly approached, she tried to read their expressions. They were putting up a brave front, but she could see they were scared. A small trickle of blood came from the corner of the the mouth of one of the men. She wondered if he had been part of the reason the site had taken longer to secure than had been anticipated. She also noticed that while the simple clothing of the pair appeared well worn, it was neat and clean. They might be poor, but they had pride.

Archer didn't say anything. He stared dispassionately at the Balantians, which made them more nervous. Hoshi could see Reed, a smug look on his face, several paces behind them. He was enjoying the Balantians' discomfort. He probably was the one responsible for the injury.

Hoshi didn't dare break the awkward silence. Her eyes kept moving from Archer, to the Balantians, to Reed, and back, as she waited for a cue to do something. The only thing she was certain of was that, as translator, it was not her place to be the first to speak.

At last, the Balantians seemed to overcome some of their fear. The man with the cut lip spoke haltingly in his native language. Hoshi was able to easily translate what he said without the aid of the UT. She glanced at Archer, who, looking at her from the corner of his eye, nodded.

"He says welcome to their planet, and thank you for responding to their invitation," she said.

"Invitation?" he asked in a deceptively mild tone, staring at the Balantians. "It was blackmail, and the empire doesn't tolerate blackmail. Tell them that."

Hoshi swallowed and did as he ordered. The Balantian who had spoken didn't even blink, but the other began to wring his hands. Hoshi decided the speaker was the higher ranking of the two. She was looking at him when he spoke again, and she was ready to give Archer the translation as soon as he'd finished.

"He says they are not trying to blackmail the empire." She heard Archer inhale deeply, so she hurried on with the rest of the translation before he could speak. "They are telling you the truth when they say they cannot meet the empire's quotas and are not holding anything back."

"Tell him to explain," Archer said.

At Hoshi's prompting, the Balantian spoke at great length, his words tumbling out so fast that she almost couldn't keep up. As the explanation dragged on with no sign of the Balantian stopping, Archer began to fidget. Hoshi held up her hand to cut off the Balantian.

She said to Archer, "He's going into great detail--

"I could tell," was his sarcastic observation.

He obviously wasn't interested in details, so she cut to the bottom line. "Because of conditions on this planet, they are unable, despite their best efforts, to comply with the empire's wishes."

That piqued Archer's curiosity. "What conditions?"

"There have been unusually heavy rains that caused mudslides near the deuterium mines this year. They've had to halt production until the slides have been cleared away. They've been at it for close to two months. It's taking longer than it might have because the few pieces of earth-moving equipment they have are old and break down often."

"They should have asked the empire for the the proper equipment," Archer said.

"They did. Several times."

Archer's head jerked around to look at her. "There was no mention of that in our mission orders."

Hoshi, who had gone over those same orders when he'd allowed her access to information in preparation for this mission, was aware of that fact. "They never received a response from the empire," she said, adding bitterly, "Until we showed up, that is."

Archer turned away. She could tell by his tight frown and clenched fists that he was angry. He had been ordered into a potentially dangerous situation without having all pertinent information at his disposal. Based on that incomplete data, he'd also decided to make the Balantians comply or exterminate them. She had to try to help the Balantians before he made any more decisions.

She stepped closer to him and asked softly, "Does it matter how this is resolved, just so long as it is resolved?"

He glared down at her. "Your point?"

"Get some of your engineers down here. Have them fix the Balantians' equipment," she suggested.

Archer raised an eyebrow. "Why should I do that?"

She almost lost her nerve under his stony gaze, but she couldn't back down without looking foolish. "You can have T'Pol run some scans of the planet if you don't believe these people, but I don't think they are lying. They're too scared to lie. If you help them fix their equipment and get it back up and running, the deuterium shipments will resume more quickly than if you slaughter them and bring in replacements. Isn't that what matters in the long run? Getting the shipments back on schedule as soon as possible so the empire can have its precious deuterium?"

Hoshi waited, holding herself as still as she could, as he considered her. After a long moment, he said, "That is what our mission orders are." He held her gaze, but then she saw the corner of his mouth quirk up in an approving smile. "I have considered your advice, and have decided it is the best course. Inform them that we'll be sending repair teams down shortly."

Hoshi swung back toward the Balantians. She smiled, trying to lessen their anxiety, and told them the good news. When the full impact of what she'd told them sank in, the more nervous of the aliens made a move as if to kiss her, but caught himself when Reed, still standing behind them, slapped his rifle down into firing position. The Balantians hurried out of the room, leaving the Enterprise contingent behind.

Archer opened his communicator. As he contacted the ship for their departure, he motioned for Hoshi to take her place beside him. Dreading the moment the beam would take her, she was trying not to tense when Archer said, "We wouldn't have exterminated them."

She stared at him. From earlier conversations about other civilizations in this universe and how the empire had treated them, she'd just assumed that would be the case. Maybe, she thought with a small smile, she'd been too hasty judging this universe.

Just before the transporter beam engulfed them, Archer said, "We would have shipped these people off to a work camp where they would have spent the rest of their lives. We wouldn't have exterminated them unless they rebelled against relocation."

Hoshi's smile was gone when she rematerialized on the transporter platform on the ship.