Cobra Attack

From a story suggestion provided by Dee. Gracias Amiga.

Disclaimers. Enterprise characters belong to the creators of the show. Only the OC’s and the story are mine. Any similarity to another show is the fault of the muses. I make no income from this story. Everyone knows they do not have money on Starships

The 1/7th Rangers were never called Rangers in episode, The Expanse. They came into being in my story "Into the Valley of Death". So far my OC’s are: Sergeant Major Benjamin Snowden, Sergeant Joe Layne, Sergeant Tina Alvarado, and Sergeant Manda Alvarado. Dana Heard belongs to Dee.

Satorians are the creation of Dee.

The poem used is from the movie 13^th Warrior

Captain Jonathan Archer lay on his bed, tossing a ball to Porthos while watching a replay of a Stanford versus UCLA water polo match. He paused the game when a beep at his door interrupted. "Enter."

Commander Trip Tucker walked in. "May I speak with you Captain?"

"Sure Trip. What’s on your mind?"

"Captain, I signed up for this trip so I could explore new worlds. Everything that Zephram Cochran talked about. I didn’t expect to explore space from the belly of Enterprise."

"Trip, you are the Chief Engineer."

"I understand that but except for pulling you, Reed, T’Pol and Hoshi from that planet when you were being turned into aliens, I haven’t been off this ship since we left Earth."

"Trip, do I need to remind you that you were with me at the mining colony? I haven’t been off the ship much either."

"Almost drowning in an alien sewer doesn’t really count."

Archer stood up. "It doesn’t? I was there with you and later I almost, well no was actually turned into an alien. Neither one of those things can be construed as fun and games."

"I know Captain, but you took Reed, T’Pol and Hoshi with you and never gave me a thought."

"Trip, Hoshi is an excolinguist, T’Pol is our Science Officer and Reed is head of Security. I had no need for an Engineer. I think you are jealous."

"Damn right I am. Hell, Captain we used to be friends."

Archer glared at Trip. "We still are. Friendship has nothing to do with my decisions. I notice you don’t call me Jon anymore."

"Well that little trial kinda told me where we stood."

"The jurors were all picked by lot. I think you would have been more upset if I had known about the trial and hadn’t been there."

"What was the vote Captain." The red in Trip’s face showed his building anger. "No, don’t answer. I imagine you were the only one who voted for acquittal while the rest were ready to space me."

"How do you know who the jurors were?"

"I saw you all leave the ready room. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who was on the jury. I’ll bet that T’Pol and that spitfire little Ranger Herd couldn’t wait to drop me out of the airlock."

"Trip, the vote was 9 to 3 to acquit. For the record, T’Pol and Sergeant Herd voted to acquit. The rest of the vote is none of anyone’s business."

"They voted for acquittal? Why? T’Pol is so damned logical and Herd hates my guts because of Joanna. Wait. You. You voted against me, didn’t you?"

"Trip, How any one voted is none of your business. The trial was off the record and never officially happened. Therefore it is not in any records. How did your staff react when you returned to duty?"

"They welcomed me back, everyone of them."

"Good. I’ll tell you what; you will be on the next away mission. Don’t blame me if it’s a ball buster."

"Thank you Captain."

"You’re welcome. Now do you want to watch the rest of the Stanford/UCLA match?"

"Thanks, Cap . . . Jon, but watching Stanford trash UCLA fifteen times is enough for me. I am going to bed. I have to admit I have been sleeping better since the trial."

"I hear confession is good for the soul. I take it you are no longer getting massages from T’Pol?"

"No way, Jon. It wasn’t my idea, it was Phlox’s. He convinced T’Pol, even though she didn’t want to do it. I really am sorry I put T’Pol through that."

Captain Archer walked on to the bridge at the start of his shift. "Morning everyone."

T’Pol was bent over her telescopic scanner. "Captain, I am detecting a ship five thousand kilometers off the port bow and an ion trail leading away."

Archer grinned and looked at T’Pol. "Good morning to you too, T’Pol. Put it on screen."

A small image of a ship appeared. "Maximum magnification."

The screen was filled with a derelict ship, obviously on fire. Several large holes could be seen across the hull.

Archer looked over at Reed. "What can you tell us about it?"

Reed looked at his console. "The ship has the same earmarks as the probe that attacked Earth. There are no life signs but the engine is going crit . . ." The screen was flashed with a bright light as the ship exploded. "ical."

Archer looked back at Reed and then to T’Pol. "What about the ion trail?"

Reed looked up. "The trail leads to a planet approximately fifteen thousand kilometers off starboard. The ship is just barely in scanner range. "He looked back down to the console. "Captain, the ship is Satorian."

Archer nodded. "That might be useful. Travis, you have the bridge. Malcolm, T’Pol please meet me in the Ready Room. Hoshi, please have Major Hayes and Sergeant Major Snowden meet us there."

Archer waited until everyone was assembled and then glanced at T’Pol. "Satorian. What do we know about them?"

"They are a violent humanoid race. Their bone structure is double plated making killing them extremely difficult. They can withstand our phase pistols with no problem. We would be hard pressed to defeat them in a battle. Their ships are equal to or more powerful than Enterprise."

Archer looked at his Security chief. "Do we have anything than we can use against them?"

T’Pol stood up. "Captain, the only weakness the Satorians have are their eyes and their throat. Many people have fought the Satorians but except for the Vulcan Special Force few have survived. They are warm-blooded and they can procreate with other alien life forms, even human. The mixed child looks like the alien species but with the bone structure, strength and even their eyes are Satorian, also they attitude. Their white blood cells are unusual in that the cells surround any poison or wound until the infection or wound is healed. The cell exits the skin and then the wound hardens like a bandage and extracts the infection. Satorians do not have Doctors as such except to inject them with transmitters or non-reproductive shots."

Snowden laid a weapon on the table. "Starfleet does not, but it is possible that the Rangers do. Everyone

uses a particle weapon of some sort. We have a couple of things that might be useful."

Archer nodded. "Go ahead."

"First of all we know they are light sensitive. A series of 500 watt halogen strobe lights in the corridors, bridge, engineering and any other sensitive areas will cripple any Satorian boarding party."

Archer scowled. "That would be fine if we are boarded, but how would we kill them?"

Snowden grinned. "We brought aboard modified M-101s and hand weapons along with 200,000 rounds of explosive steel jacketed hollow points. In the 20^th Century they were called cop killers without the explosive characteristic."

Trip looked aghast. "That would ventilate the hull."

Snowden nodded. "We will be careful. We also have hand cross bows with razor sharp titanium alloy heads. Rangers have been trained to shoot a 1-inch diameter target 100-yard away. Based on T’Pol’s description, I would suggest head shots, primarily the eyes. The round should pierce the skull and explode the brain. In hand to hand combat the bayonet, honed razor sharp, can be used to slit their throats. If we are boarded, some of the Rangers will join forces with Security while the rest will travel the Jeffries tubes and drop behind the enemy,"

Archer nodded. "Sounds good. Anything else?"

"Yes. Sergeant Layne and Sergeant Manda Alvarado along with Commander Tucker have constructed a second Cobra fighter from the spare parts we were given. They have also modified some weaponry of their own. They will carry two magnetic mines under the belly. These ships are fast and maneuverable. We have trained them to attack a ship from high and low until they reach their target. They are small enough that they could fly into the blind spots and deposit their mines on the hull, probably near the bridge and airlock or hanger door. They should be powerful enough to disable or destroy a ship the size of Enterprise or even larger."

Archer stroked his chin with his hand. "How long before all of these things could be in place?"

Snowden looked at Hayes and the two Rangers grinned. Snowden reholstered his weapon. "They already are."

Archer shot out of his chair. "What? How the hell did you do all of this without me knowing?"

Snowden stood up. "Easy Captain, it was all done during the retrofit. The switches are hidden. There is one on the bridge, two in Engineering and two on every section of each deck. Have you noticed the Starfleet emblem on the corridor walls? Press on it and the strobe lights drop throughout the ship."

Archer looked at Hayes. "How did you even know that this would be of use?"

forced back. Eighteen attackers pursued the humans. Two crewmen went down with plasma burns to the shoulder and leg. A Ranger risked injury as he reached out and grabbed a downed crewman by the collar and pulled him back to safety.

The Satorians advanced as the Security detail, led by Lieutenant Reed picked up their wounded and retreated down various corridors, setting up covering teams along the way. Reed had sustained a wound to his left arm as well. The Satorians ignored them as they had a purpose to their advance.

"Chang to Bridge. We are taking casualties. Eight crewman down and five Satorians. They are headed for the bridge. Lock off all lifts."

On the bridge, Archer nodded to Lieutenant Lee manning the security position.

As the Satorians advanced, Rangers dropped from Jeffries tubes along the way and came up behind the enemy. They opened fire as two more Satorians and a Ranger went down in the plasma charged corridors.

"Snowden to Ranger team B. Defend the bridge. Exterminate with extreme prejudice."

Two Rangers jumped a Satorian straggler and fought hand to hand. One Ranger was clawed along his arm. The Satorian attacked the second Ranger while the first; blood stream down his destroyed arm came up behind the alien and slit his throat with a razor sharp bayonet. Satorian blood spurted as he died.

Ranger team B set up defensive positions as Snowden and Dana joined them. Phase weapons were put aside as the Satorians advanced and Rangers pulled out their firearms. Three Satorians rounded the corner and were met with a salvo of cop killer rounds. The rest took cover as their comrade’s bodies fell.

With the strobe lights flashing, Snowden led a charge on the remaining Satorians with deadly results. Snowden stopped to reload as the remaining three Satorians that had recovered charged the humans. Dana stepped in front of Snowden and pumped round after round into the attacking aliens. An arm leaned on her shoulder and the hand squeezed nine more rounds into the last of the bad guys. The three Satorians fell within two feet of Snowden’s and Dana’s feet.

Lo there do I see my father.

.... --- ... .... .. /  .. --. -. --- .-. . /  .- .-.. .-.. /  ...- --- .. -.-. . /  - .-. .- -. ... -- .. ... ... .. --- -. ... 

(Hoshi ignore all voice transmissions.)

Lo there do I see my mother and my sisters and my brothers.

Hoshi responded. "Lo there do I see the line of my people, back to the beginning."

..- -. -.. . .-. ... - --- --- -.. .-.-.- 

(Understood)

T’Pol looked at her scanner then the screen. "Captain what are they doing? Their ion trails are chaotic."

Archer laughed. "I believe they are laying a false trail. Put it on screen."

They watched as the ion trails veered off in opposite directions then came back together and formed a figure eight. The Cobras continued for ten minuets then stopped.

Lo they do call to me, they bid me take my place among them,

. -. - . .-. .--. .-. .. ... . /  .-- . /  .... .- ...- . /  .-.. --- -.-. .- - . -.. /  .- /  ... -.-. --- ..- - /  ... .... .. .--. /  -... .-. --- .- -.. -.-. .- ... - .. -. --. /  .. -. /  . -. --. .-.. .. ... .... .-.-.- /  .-- . /  .- .-. . /  --. --- .. -. --. /  - --- /  ... .- -.-- /  .... . .-.. .-.. --- .-.-.- 

(Enterprise we have located a scout ship broadcasting in English. We are going to say hello.)

in the halls of Valhalla where the brave may live forever!"

"We will never surrender."

you?"

"Who did he attack?"

"You are aware that we have been hearing reports of a human vessel called the Enterprise having entered the Expanse in search of the Xindi?"

"Of course. He didn’t?"

"He did. We know that the humans have fairly new to space travel. They stick their noses into situations where they are neither wanted nor appreciated."

"Yes, they are compulsive and ill equipped for space travel. So why are they here?"

"According to our sources, the Xindi attacked their world resulting in seven million deaths. The Humans are her to avenge the attack and prevent another one."

"Ah. They are on a vendetta. Very honorable."

"Frake determined that the fact that the humans also show mercy they are weak. We do know that their weapons will not harm us or our ships."

"True. Even the Vulcans and Romulans need three or four to destroy a Satorian Battleship. So now that Frake has destroyed the humans, you think he will try for command?"

"Well, not exactly. Frake is dead along with the entire crew."

Krotal turned on his subordinate. "What?"

"It would be easier to show you." He turned on the visual display. "Here is the human ship. It was traveling at warp one when Frake disrupted the warp field. He drew up along side and sent a boarding team across. Notice these two blips? They came out of the Human ship and attacked the cruiser several times. They flew in, hit and left all in the cruiser’s blind spot. Now here is where Frake made his mistake. He moved away from the prey so he could get some maneuverability. The humans attacked from above and below and disappeared. A few minutes later they appear again. It is presumed that they landed on the cruiser, placed a total of four magnetic mines and took off. A minute later there were four explosions. One at the bridge, the airlock and above and below the engines."

The Commander scratched his chin. "What about the soldiers?"

"A scout ship found their bodies floating in space. They were killed in battle. The humans left them as a tribute to their bravery."

Krotal laughed. "Or as a warning. What happened afterwards? I presume there is more."

"The humans left in a hurry, while the fighters attacked the cruiser. Then we lost track of it. We tracked the fighters by their ion trail. See how chaotic they were? It was as if the were celebrating or are crazy."

"How about clever. You see all of this. Where are they now?"

"A Xindi scout ship attempted to trap them by playing a recording of their language. The fighters broadcast to their ship but it made no sense. The Xindi ship suddenly found itself with a fighter in front and one on top of them. Less than a minute later the Xindi was space dust."

"Do you have what they broadcast?"

"Yes." Jahid handed the Krotal a data PADD.

"This sounds like a warriors chant."

"Shall I order our ships to attack?"

Krotal shook his head. "These humans have been portrayed as weaklings and ill equipped to be in space. I don’t think we shall underestimate them." He started to walk away then stopped and turned around. "I just thought about something else I heard. Their Second in Command is a Vulcan isn’t she?"

Jahid nodded. "Our sources also indicate that she was a member of the VEF."

"The Vulcan Expeditionary Force? The humans at least know how to get the best. We shall leave them alone for now." He started to walk away. As he reached the door he turned to Jahid. "How many of our soldiers did that idiot take with him?"

"Forty."

Krotal frowned. "How many did he leave on the Earth ship?"

"Eighteen."

"You realize that reprobate took almost half of our soldiers with him? We now have fifty soldiers. The Human crew twice that amount and they are on a vendetta against the Xindi. Now they will focus their attention on us."

"We are superior to them, Commander."

"We may be superior but they killed eighteen soldiers with their inferior weapons. This group of humans is not the same as the humans we encountered on their cargo ships. These are warriors with a blood lust. If I were that Captain, I would focus their attention on us."

"They wouldn’t dare, Commander."

"We are vulnerable on the surface. Prepare the ship."

"Commander, we have a little problem. Frake had been taking supplies from the Battle Cruiser to upgrade the Attack Cruiser that he took. That includes ninety percent of the Dilithium. We have to bring in more from the storage facilities which will take close to four hours."

A female in uniform knocked on the door.

Krotal turned to her. "Sir we have received a hail from a ship calling itself Enterprise."

"What do they want?"

She looked at the PADD she held. "This is Captain Archer of the Earth Ship Enterprise. One of your ships attacked us without provocation. We have scanned your planet and we know your only ship is low on fuel and we out number you 2 – 1. We demand compensation in the form of 5000 liters of Dilithium and 200 liters of liquid Trillium-D. If you do not respond, we will take it. If you try to stop us you will be destroyed. You have fifteen minutes to respond."

Krotal snarled at the woman. "When did this come in?"

"Twenty minutes ago."

Jahid looked at the scanner. "Sir, we are under attack."

T’Pol searched her scanner. "Captain, The scans of the planet are complete."

"Good, what do we have?"

"There is a Satorian Battle Cruiser on the surface, but it is low on fuel. I am detecting fifty individual life signs; ten of those are not pure Satorian. There is a storage area of Dilithium and Trillium D approximately ten kilometers from the compound. The compound is protected by three turbo lasers."

"Are the Cobras on board?"

Reed looked at his scanner. "Yes, Sir. The ships are being refueled and rearmed."

"T’Pol how long before we can get to the planet?"

"Fifteen minutes at Warp 2."

"Go to Warp 3. Hoshi hail the planet."

T’Pol looked at Archer. "Captain, Satorians will not talk to those they see as prey."

Archer nodded. "Hoshi, record and broadcast the following message. This is Captain Archer of the Earth Ship Enterprise. One of your ships attacked us without provocation. We have scanned your planet and we know your only ship is low on fuel and we out number you 2 – 1. We demand compensation in the form of 5000 liters of Dilithium and 200 liters of liquid Trillium-D. If you do not respond, we will take it. If you try to stop us you will be destroyed. You have fifteen minutes to respond."

He signaled for Hoshi to end transmission. "Travis take us to warp 3 and hold just out of range of their canons. Have Commander Tucker. Sergeant Major Snowden and the Cobra pilots meet us in the Ready Room, on the double."

Archer looked at a diagram of the planet compound as the Rangers walked into the Ready Room. He pointed to an area 10 kilometers from the compound. "Sergeant Major, I want you to take Ranger one and one shuttle pod to the surface and secure 5000 litres of Dilithium and 200 litres of liquid Trillium D. Commander Tucker, you wanted an away mission, you have one. You know what we want. The Rangers will insure you get it." He looked at Manda and Joe. "I want you to attack the compound, specifically the laser canons and the ship. Keep them busy so we can get those supplies."

Twenty minutes after Archer broadcast his message to the planet, the two Cobras escorted Ranger 1 and a shuttle pod to the storage facility. The eight member attack team led by Sergeant Major Snowden exited Ranger 1 and set up a perimeter as the pod landed with Commander Tucker and two of his engineering staff. Snowden approached Tucker. "The perimeter is secure Commander. There were no hostiles present. We have fifteen minutes to load and leave."

"Ok Sergeant Major. We will take what we can in the shuttle and set up markers so Enterprise can transport the rest."

The Cobras attacked the three laser canons immediately, setting off explosions in the compound. Joe flew lead as he fired the first set of plasma bolts. He continued to the second canon as Manda hit the first canon again, setting off secondary explosions. Before the remaining canons were able to respond, Joe and Manda fired. Primary and secondary explosions rocked the compound. As they made their last pass, they circled and fired at the grounded ship. They made one pass then landed on the cruiser to deposit four magnetic mines over the engine and departed to fly cover for the attack team.

The attack team hustled and in the allotted time, 2,000 litres of Dilithium and 200 litres of Trillium D were on board the shuttle pod. Tucker walked over to Snowden.

"The shuttle pod is loaded and we have set up beacons on the rest."

"Ok, Take your men and get back to Enterprise."

"No. I want to attack these Satorians. Teach them they had better not mess with us."

"Commander, our mission was to secure the supplies and go, not enter into a firefight."

"I am taking over. You will order your men to attack."

Dana ran up to Snowden. "Sergeant Major, we have movement a have click away."

"Well Commander, while you were standing here arguing, they have had time to mount an attack."

"So we fight." Tucker pulled his phase pistol and ran to engage the enemy.

Snowden turned to Dana. "That man is bound and determined to get me killed. Let’s go save his ass."

"Why should we?"

"Dana, we don’t leave a man behind, even if he is an incompetent cowboy. Lock and load."

Tucker started firing his phase pistol at the Satorians. Even though he scored several direct hits, the Satorians remained on their feet. As Snowden reached Tucker’s side, A Satorian plasma beam scored a hit on Snowden’s right side. Snowden went down. Tucker took a look at Snowden and backed up. He found the barrel of a weapon stuck in his back. Dana turned him around.

"Pick him up and get him to safety."

"He’s dead. We can’t help him anymore."

"You bastard, we don’t leave a man behind living or dead." She leveled her M-101 at the Satorians and ripped off a burst. The advancing Satorian went down as the cop killers penetrated his throat and head. She picked up Ben’s pistol and fired three rounds at another Satorian with the same results. The remaining enemy stopped and took cover. Dana glanced over her shoulder as Trip reached Ranger 1 and was loaded aboard. Other Rangers were firing at the enemy. She whistled and gestured them to retreat to the shuttle.

The Satorians advanced to the positions vacated by the Rangers. Dana glanced over to the area where the Dilithium and Trillium D had been placed. She noticed they were gone and she climber aboard the shuttle. As the door closed, she fired one round in the direction of the Satorians. The round struck a container, which exploded as Ranger 1 lifted from the ground.

Dana turned to Ben with a tear in her eye and a lump in her throat. "Damn you Benjamin Snowden you do not have my permission to die." She pounded on his chest with her fist. "Ow."

"Don’t you know Kevlar hurts when you hit it?" Dana looked down to see Ben smiling at her. She turned her head. "Medic."

Three Rangers rushed over to Ben and helped him sit up. The plasma burn was still smoking as Dana ripped off his shirt and found a layer of Kevlar, There was another layer underneath that the first. "Damn you. Why are you wearing two layers of Kevlar?"

"I wasn’t sure one layer would stop their weapons. I was right it takes two, but man it hurts."

Tucker walked over to Ben. "Glad to see you came through ok."

Dana whirled on him and threw the astonished Commander up against the bulkhead. "You son of a bitch. You almost got us killed and were willing to leave him behind and now have the balls to talk to him? I ought to space you right now. Maybe an accidental discharge of my weapon."

Trip gulped. "With all these witnesses, you wouldn’t dare."

"What witnesses?"

Trip looked at the rangers and they all had their backs to him.

Snowden got to his feet and walked over to Dana. "Dana, don’t. Commander Tucker, you are here by put on notice that no Ranger will serve with you on any away mission. You want to get someone in Starfleet killed fine. But I will not lose another Ranger because of your stupidity." He looked at the pilot. "Tina, get this bird in the barn as soon as possible. It stinks in here."

Archer met the shuttle pods as they arrived in the hanger bay. He watched as the Rangers left Ranger 1 without speaking. Snowden’s uniform was burned and torn and Trip’s face was white. He walked over to the Commander. "Trip, how did your away mission go?"

"I screwed up and almost got Snowden killed. I attacked the Satorians with a phase pistol that had no effect. Sergeant Herd threatened to space me again."

Archer shook his head. "Trip, you almost got her man killed. The Rangers are a tight knit organization. You hurt one; they will all take it personal. Somehow you had better make amends."

"How do I do that?"

Archer shook his head. "I don’t know Trip, I just don’t know. I thought that trial had taught you a lesson. Obviously it didn’t. You should have listened to Snowden and none of this would have happened. Now go get some rest and think about it."

Trip sighed. "Good night Jon."

"Good night, Trip."

Archer walked into sickbay and spotted Sergeant Major Snowden sitting shirtless on the biobed. Doctor Phlox was examining the Ranger’s black and blue welt. "Is this a bad time?"

Phlox turned to Archer. "Ah Captain, I was just finishing up. It is amazing how resilient the human body is. Just think, the Sergeant Major took a direct hit of a plasma weapon and he is only slightly bruised."

Archer looked at the bruise. "You call a five inch diameter black and blue mark s slight wound?"

Phlox cocked his head. "Well, it could have been worse."

Archer looked at Snowden. "How did you manage to survive a plasma blast?"

"Two layers of Kevlar." Snowden laughed. "Ow. I guess I shouldn’t laugh."

Archer looked around sickbay. "Where is your shadow?"

"My shadow? Oh, Dana. She is doing what every Ranger does after a mission. She is cleaning her weapons and checking gear to make sure it is ready for the next time."

"Archer frowned. "The next time? You expect another fire fight?"

"In our line of work Captain, there is always another fire fight. Staying alert and prepared helps to keep us alive."

"You have a point." Archer walked over to another biobed and hopped up on it. "I wanted to thank you for not letting Dana to space our Chief Engineer."

"She would have needed to open the hatch and that would have been dangerous. The only reason she didn’t leave him on the planet was because we don’t leave anyone behind, living or dead."

"Which is what Trip was going to do with you."

Snowden nodded his head. "It was bad enough that Commander Tucker took off after the Satorians

Armed only with a phase pistol, but he was going to leave me when I got shot. Dana won’t forgive him for that."

"Is Commander Tucker in any danger?"

"He is more dangerous to himself than from Dana."

"Are you sure?"

Snowden sighed. "No."

"Is there anything Commander Tucker can do that she would accept?"

"You mean short of exiting the airlock on his own? I don’t know. You would have to ask her. She comes from a long line of hardheaded passionate women. I have known her for some time Captain and when her hackles get raised, there is no stopping her. She would make a Klingon quiver in fear."

"Will you come with me to talk to her?"

"Sure. I am finished here anyway." He grabbed his shirt and put it on. He looked at the hole. "Do we have a seamstress on board?"

Archer picked up the Kevlar and fingered the dented blackened vest. "Maybe all of us should wear these."

Snowden laughed. "Or we could stop getting shot at."

"Attention all hands, fire on D Deck. Fire crews report on the double."

Snowden and Archer looked at each other and raced down the corridors. They rounded a corner to find Hoshi fighting a fire with a fire extinguisher. "Dana, Dana answer me!" Dana’s body was up against the wall with flames all around her.

Archer and Snowden reached Hoshi at the same time as Trip and several Rangers and crewmen. Archer pulled Hoshi away. "Hoshi what happened?"

"Captain, Dana and I were walking down the corridor to the Mess when there was an explosion. I was thrown over her. Dana is on the other side of the fire. She isn’t answering."

Snowden looked at the flame as Trip dove into the flames with a fire extinguisher and rolled to a stop. He pulled the pin and squeezed the handle. He sprayed the area to keep the floor clear of flames and away from Dana’s crumbled form.

A Ranger and a crewman carved a pathway through the flames as Trip picked Dana up in his arms and carried her away from the fire. As soon as he was clear, five halon extinguishers let loose and smothered the fire. Two Ranger medics and Doctor Phlox took Dana from Tucker and laid her on a gurney. Phlox placed a respirator on her and the three raced her back to sickbay, Snowden at her side. Manda Alvarado put down her extinguisher and walked over to Trip and ripped off his smoldering uniform blouse

"Manda what are you doing?"

"Idiot, you are on fire." She turned her extinguisher on his blouse.

Archer walked over to Manda and Trip. "Manda will you please take Trip and Hoshi to sickbay? They both need to be looked at."

Manda nodded. "Yes, Sir. Trip, Hoshi lets go."

An hour later Archer walked into sickbay. The Captain went to Phlox. "How’s Dana?"

"She is conscious, but she has a cracked rib and a concussion. She took in some smoke but generally she is in good shape."

"What about Trip and Hoshi?"

"Hoshi has some minor burns on her hands. Commander Tucker has burns on his hands, back and arms. They should be able to return to duty in the morning."

Archer turned and walked over to the bio beds where the two injured officers and the ranger were sitting up. Snowden stood next to Dana.

Dana sighed. "Ben told me what happened and what both of you did. Hoshi that was very brave of you to try and fight the fire until help arrived. I heard you calling but I couldn’t respond." She faced Tucker. "Commander, I thank you for saving my life, but if you think I will forgive you for getting Joanna killed or almost leaving Ben behind, forget it. What you did on the planet boarders on desertion under fire. I had every right to terminate you. Ben has convinced me that we have a mission to complete. There will be plenty of time when we get back to Earth to pay the piper. That is if you survive the Expanse."

Ben walked over to Tucker. "Commander, You have my thanks for saving Dana. That did take guts to do what you did. You have a long road to hoe, Commander to make amends for other things you have done."

Trip looked at Dana. "I didn’t do anything special that anyone else wouldn’t have done."

"The point is Commander, no one else did."

Trip lowered his head. "I am just glad you stopped her from spacing me."

"T’Pol to Captain Archer."

Archer walked over to the comm unit. "Go Ahead."

"Captain we are being hailed by the Satorian Commander. He wishes to speak with you directly. This is highly unusual as Satorians normally do not speak to those they consider prey."

"Put into sickbay."

The vid screen showed the Satorian Commander. Archer studied the man. "This is Captain Archer of the Enterprise."

"Captain, I am Commander Krotal. I want to congratulate you on a successful mission against us. I am sorry you lost your officer, but they would all gotten away if that hot head hadn’t charged our troops."

"I am sorry Commander, I don’t understand. We lost no one."

"Interesting. Let me show you the security clip." The clip played and showed Trip charge the Satorians with his phase pistol. Ben and Dana ran up and Ben took a shot to the chest. Trip backed up until Dana put her rifle to Trip’s neck and motioned to him to pick up Snowden. The Ranger then fired and brought down the Satorians. The clip ended. "Surely, You remember this?"

Snowden walked into the view area. "Commander, I am Sergeant Major Snowden and I am very much alive, a little sore but alive."

"Amazing. Captain with Officers like this, you are a formidable force."

"Sergeant Major Snowden is the highest of the enlisted ranks. He is not an Officer."

"Are experience with humans shows them to be weak and led by emotions and mercy, neither quality is admired by the Satorians. Your crew is a puzzle. You show mercy and compassion but you are fierce fighters. What would you say if I told you that we were leaving the planet to finish this battle?"

"Commander, I would not suggest it. If your ship rises more than 500 feet in the air, four altitude mines will detonate and your engines will be destroyed. We are here for one purpose and that is to do business with the Xindi, not fight the brave and honorable Satorians."

Krotal laughed. "I like you Captain. I doubt we will ever be friends but we won’t be adversaries. I would like to make a suggestion."

"Ok."

"That fool that charged us I presume is a lower ranking enlisted personnel."

"No he is our Chief Engineer."

"You should either keep him in Engineering or space him. The man that attacked your ship was the same type."

Archer looked at Trip. "Thank you Commander, I will keep that in mind. Can you assist us in locating the Xindi?"

"All we know is that they are scattered. I will send the latest intelligence that we have."

"Thank you Commander Krotal."

"Safe journey, Captain." The vid screen cut out.

Trip looked the others in sickbay. "Why is everyone wanting to space me?"

Phlox walked over. "Maybe Sub-Commander T’Pol could help you with meditation or neural blocks."

Archer coughed. "I don’t think that would be advisable."

Phlox furled his brow. "I don’t see what harm it would do."

Archer looked at Trip then Phlox. "I might space him myself."

Trip got off the biobed. "I think that is my queue to leave." He walked out of the sickbay unaware of the grins on the faces of Snowden, Dana and Archer.

Dana looked at Archer. "Permission to space Commander Tucker. A Captain should not have to do the dirty work."

Archer frowned. "Then what fun would I have? Permission denied." He turned and walked out of sickbay. "For now," he mumbled under his breath.