A/N: Here we go! Thank you for the nice reviews, too.

CHAPTER 22

A crowd of Imperial soldiers stood poised to enter the airlock at Archer's command. As far as Hoshi could tell, the boarding party was under Hawthorne's direction, but he was deferring to Archer. She'd already come to the conclusion that, although Archer surrounded himself with capable people, he was a control freak. It must be the sense of power, or the potential glory, that made him want to be at the forefront.

Shran could have just as easily come to him. She was surprised Archer hadn't insisted upon it. Such a demand would have been in keeping with the way the empire treated subject species. Archer's decision to include himself in a boarding party was, to her way of thinking, quite reckless. He could be injured or killed on the Andorian ship. But in his mind, she was sure, the benefits outweighed the dangers.

If something did go wrong and Archer was suddenly out of the picture, she had no idea what would happen to her. With a start, she realized she had no idea who was the first officer aboard Archer's ship. Back home, it was T'Pol. Here, that was highly unlikely, as Vulcans were subservient to humans, although Archer had left her in charge of the bridge in his absence. Maybe Tucker was first officer. He was of a suitable rank, although his engineering duties often prevented him from being on the bridge. It would be just her luck, however, that someone like Reed would be in charge if Archer was incapacitated or killed.

Her attention was drawn back to the moment as a muted thump of metal mating with metal came through the door, and the airlock indicator light turned green. The door slid open. The soldiers rushed into the airlock but had to pause in their advance as, on the other side, the door of the Andorian ship rumbled open more slowly.

During those few seconds, Hoshi had a premonition. Something bad was going to happen. She just knew it. She braced herself, believing it entirely possible that Shran's ship would suddenly go to warp and break the airlock apart, casting soldiers, Archer, and herself into the cold embrace of space.

But no such thing happened. The soldiers entered the Andorian ship unimpeded. Archer then swaggered through the airlock as if he was taking a leisurely walk. Hoshi wished she could put up as brave a front as well, but her heart was beating so rapidly she thought it would explode. She might have balked at entering the airlock except for the ever-present Mayweather behind her. Archer had specifically ordered him to look after her safety.

Stepping across the threshold into the Andorian ship, Hoshi saw that the soldiers had taken up positions along a dimly lit corridor leading from the airlock, with Hawthorne close to the entrance. Although she had thought she was becoming numb to constant surprises, the sight of the lone blue-skinned Andorian waiting for them almost made her gasp out loud. In her universe, the person waiting for them had died from a phase pulse infection after being shot by one of Gral's assistants. In this universe, however, Talas was alive and well and, to judge by the sour look on her face, none too pleased.

Archer wasn't pleased, either. "Where's Shran?" he demanded.

Talas took her time replying, her antennae waving languidly, as she glanced down the corridor as if counting the number of soldiers, then back at Archer. "Your escort does you honor," she said, but her scornful expression indicated what she thought of someone who had to have such a large armed escort. "He awaits your convenience, Captain Archer. If you will follow me?" Talas turned on her heel and walked away.

Archer had no choice but to follow, and that meant Hoshi and Mayweather had to follow him. Two of the soldiers, rifles at the ready, fell in line behind them. As Talas turned a corner several strides ahead, Archer leaned toward Hoshi and said, "If they say anything in Andorian that is important, I want you to tell me immediately. I don't care if they know that you're translating."

Hoshi nodded that she understood. This was getting weirder by the moment.

They rounded the corner to see Talas waiting for them in front of a set of double doors. Bold inscriptions in Andorian stood out on the panels. Hoshi had no trouble making out what they said: "Andoria Before All" and "Death Before Dishonor." The latter made her wonder if Shran was using a Klingon ship, but then she remembered T'Pol saying the ship's specs matched those of an Andorian heavy cruiser. All the same, if the inscriptions were in keeping with the Andorians of this universe, they would be just as belligerent and difficult to get along with as those she knew.

At their approach, Talas pushed a button on a keypad outside the doors. They immediately split apart, sliding into the bulkheads on either side, to reveal a spacious compartment. Rich, dark wood furnishings filled the room, and vibrant tapestries adorned the bulkheads, but the focal center was a large, ostentatious desk in front of two massive windows. Directly above the desk was a piece of metal fashioned to look like a giant Ushaan Tor, the curved ice blade used by Andorian miners, its downward-pointing prongs gleaming menacingly.

Seated at the desk was this universe's Shran. He remained seated as Archer and Hoshi came to a stop in front of the desk. As with all the previous times she'd encountered people who had counterparts in her universe, this Shran looked exactly like his. The only difference she could see was that he was wearing an electric blue tunic with a gold sash draped over one shoulder, trappings of his position as chancellor, instead of a military uniform. He glanced in seeming indifference at the two human soliders who had positioned themselves inside the room on either side of the door and at Mayweather several paces behind Hoshi before he addressed Archer.

"You're looking well, pinkskin," Shran said with a smarmy smile. "Perhaps better than the last time we met."

Hoshi would have given a lot to know what had happened the last time the two men had met, for Archer was scowling. Shran apparently knew how to irritate Archer, just like he did in her universe. Given that humans were the dominant force in this universe, however, she thought Shran would have shown a little respect.

"Cut the crap," Archer said. "Call off your invasion force. You've already taken this farther than you should have."

Shran rolled his eyes. "But we agreed--"

"Now!" Archer thundered.

Hoshi was bewildered. From the conversation, it almost seemed like Archer knew in advance that the Andorians were going to attack Panmikar. But that couldn't be possible -- could it?

Shran was staring at Archer, the previous humor in his eyes replaced by something harder. "As you wish," he conceded. He looked levelly at Talas. "Send a message to the commander of the attack force to stand down."

Hoshi let out a long silent breath at his words. She wasn't sure what Archer would do next, but he had to be pleased that the attack on Panmikar had been averted, and that Imperial ships wouldn't have to engage in combat. As with almost every armed conflict, casualties weren't limited to one side. The Andorians wouldn't have been the only ones to lose lives.

Talas walked over to a free-standing console near the windows. Hoshi heard faint clicks and beeps as the Andorian officer opened a channel. Her earlier premonition returned with a vengeance. Something was wrong, but she didn't know what it was.

Then it hit her. Talas, if she was typical of Andorians in Hoshi's universe, should be practically vibrating with outrage, especially since a human was ordering her leader around. But the woman's antennae weren't straight up with anger, but somewhat curled, indicating suppressed excitement, and her arm and hand motions were smooth, not sharp and jerky. To Hoshi, she appeared eager to send the message, not resentful, as was to be expected. As Hoshi had tried to tell Archer before the Balantian mission, there was more to language than mere words, and right now, Talas's body language was not speaking the way it should in response to what Shran had just ordered her to do.

She strained to hear as Talas started speaking in Andorian into the audio pickup.

The relief that had flooded Hoshi when Shran had agreed to call off his forces vanished with Talas's first few words.

"She's telling them to begin the attack!" Hoshi blurted out.

Talas continued speaking, more hurriedly, leaning closer to the console's pickup.

A phase rifle blast came from one of the soldiers behind Hoshi. Talas fell to the floor, blue blood oozing from a wound in the middle of her back. Beside Hoshi, Archer had his phase pistol out of its holster and aimed squarely at Shran still seated at the desk.

Shran, for his part, had both his hands on the desktop in plain sight. The stillness of his body belied the agitation in his eyes.

"You double-crossed me!" Archer said.

Shran managed a shrug. "You would have done the same to me. In fact, this pompous little visit is part of your double-cross, I believe."

Archer took a step closer, the gun still aimed at Shran. Hoshi noticed that Archer's hand was shaking, most likely with rage. But it could be with surprise. He and Shran had made some sort of deal that she didn't know about, and Shran had reneged on that deal.

"I should shoot you right now and get it over with, but that will only make things worse," Archer said through gritted teeth. "Get up! You're coming with me."

Shran slowly got to his feet. The fingertips of one hand brushed across the desk as he came around the side. Hoshi was looking at him when it happened. His index finger put pressure on the desktop, causing a small square section underneath his fingertip to give way.

Hoshi's eyes went wide as she realized what Shran had done. "He pushed a hidden button!" she said.

A flash of bright light blinded her. She felt herself thrown violently through the air to the accompaniment of a loud crackling sound that hurt her ears.

And then she didn't feel or see anything else.