Into the Jaws

Virtual Season 3 Episode 2

By Jim Guy jimguy46@hotmail.com

Beta’d by Mana

Disclaimer: Enterprise is not mine it belongs to Paramount and Viacom. I am just allowing the characters to stretch their legs and play with my OCs.

Travis stared at the purple cloud of the expanse as Archer walked up behind him. “You think you can pull off L-4 at this speed?”

“I can try, Sir.”

“Then look for the densest cloud formation you can find.”

Archer stepped back “Captain Archer to all hands, hold on!”

Travis concentrated on the swirling clouds when he noticed a point at 1 o’clock.

“Captain.”

Archer walked over to Travis and saw what the helmsman was looking at. “Looks good to me.”

Travis pulled the joystick to the right and turned the Enterprise into the thick cloud. Immediately he pulled back sending the Starship into a loop. As the ship pulled up, Travis couldn’t help thinking of his Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather who was one of the Tuskegee Airman flying his P-51 Mustang into the jaws of death while protecting the B-17 Fortresses as they flew over Germany during World War II. The first pilot in the family had been credited with killing fifteen German ME-109 Messerschmits. Then he thought of his Great-Great-Great Grandfather who flew F4 Phantoms against MIG-21s in North Vietnam flying into the jaws of death while dodging red SAM fire. As the ship pulled to the bottom of the loop, he thought of his Great-Great Grandfather flying F-16s in Iraq dodging flak and small arms fire in his jaws of death. Now here he was the best boomer pilot in the fleet flying a Starship like a fighter plane.

As the Enterprise pulled up on the Bird of Prey Archer stood up straight. “Fire.”

As the Bird of Prey exploded, the Enterprise pulled through the debris, Archer patted Travis on the shoulder. “Nice going Travis.”

Travis continued to look straight ahead. “I hope you don't ask me to do that too often, Sir.”

Hoshi looked at Archer. “The expanse is ahead, Captain.”

Archer looked at Trip. “Did you lose any more of those injectors?”

“No, Sir, We're good to go.”

Archer turned towards T'Pol at her station. “Sure you still want to tag along?”

T'Pol looked at Archer. “It's only logical.”

Archer turned to Travis. “Straight and steady. Mr. Mayweather. Let's see what's in there.”

Travis wiped the palms of his hands on his pants. He guided the big ship into the largest Jaws of Death that Travis could think of. He put his hand on the stick and looked at it questioningly. Something did not feel right. It was nothing he could put his finger on but it was there.

Archer turned to T’Pol and Trip. Lieutenant Reed you have the bridge. T’Pol, Trip will you join me? It will probably be awhile until we get a chance to eat.”

The threesome entered the turbolift and descended to E deck to the mess hall. As the Captain, T’Pol and Trip walked the corridors towards the Captains Mess, Archer noticed two armed Rangers followed them. Armed Rangers were noticeable near sensitive areas of the ship. The men following them took up positions at the door of the Mess when the three bridge officers entered.

A crewman entered and placed silverware on the table as the officers sat down and left. Sergeant Major Snowden knocked on the door. Archer looked up. “Enter.”

Snowden entered and stood at attention. Archer smiled. “Sergeant Major, what can we do for you?”

“Excuse me for bothering you, but I am requesting permission to run a surprise drill on the crew.”

“For what purpose? All of the crew has gone through your training over the last few months.”

“Yes, Sir. However as you know training never stops. The Rangers are in some sort of training every day. The action we just encountered could very easily have ended up with us being boarded.”

“Is that why your men have taken up positions around me?”

“Yes, Sir.”

T’Pol looked at Archer. “The Sergeant Major’s request is logical and his placement of the Rangers is strategically sound.”

“I don’t think that the crew needs extra training, but a drill might be of use. You have my permission. When will the drill take place?”

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if you knew, Sir.”

Archer smiled. “Very well. Can you tell me what form the drill will be?”

“No Sir, only that it will be very realistic.” He snapped to attention, pulled an about face and left.

Trip looked at Archer. “If he goes by the book any more, he will become a Vulcan.” He glanced at T’Pol/ “No offense, T’Pol.”

“None taken. I think you gave the Sergeant Major a compliment.”

Three days later Archer sat in his command seat watching the unknown stars fly past. He stood up and walked over to T’Pol’s Science station. He barely made notice as the two men with ski masks and dressed in black raced onto the bridge and started firing. One man fired at Reed, who took the first shot then at Travis. His partner fired at Hoshi and aimed at Archer as T’Pol leapt over her station and took the shot intended for the Captain. She jumped up as both attackers shot her again. Archer tried to rise as a third man entered the bridge. Sergeant Major Snowden walked up and held his hand out to Archer.

“Captain consider yourself dead. The bridge crew has been slightly stunned but will recover in a minute.”

“Snowden, what the hell is going on here?”

“Surprise drill Captain. This is stage one. If you will please have a seat, we will continue the drill.”

Archer sat down as the attackers helped T’Pol sit down. Hoshi, Reed and Mayweather recovered but were shocky. Snowden turned to Reed. “Lieutenant, in the name of security and the success of the drill, please do not attempt to alert the crew. Officially you are dead.”

Snowden turned to Hoshi. “Ensign Sato, if you please, open the ship wide intercom. “This is Sergeant Major Snowden. The bridge has been attacked and the bridge crew has been disabled. I am in charge. All personnel please report to the shuttle bay immediately for evacuation.”

Archer looked at Snowden. “Now what?”

“Lieutenant Reed, you have monitors that can watch the shuttle bay, please turn them on.” Archer and Snowden walked over to the monitor. They watched as the entire crew came into the bay. Snowden talked into a communicator. “Now, Corporal.”

A white searing light blasted the bay and then the lights went out.

Archer looked at Snowden.

Snowden looked grim. “Captain, in fifteen minutes the bridge crew was “killed” and the entire crew has just been spaced. Drill over.”

Archer nodded at Hoshi. “This is the Captain. This has been a surprise drill conducted by the Rangers with my authorization. More information will be relayed to you, but I can tell you that since we failed the drill, all personnel from the Captain on down will be receiving more training. Trip, please report to my ready room.”

A few minutes later Archer sat in his ready room with Reed, Trip, T’Pol, Snowden and all members of the Rangers.

Trip was red faced. “Captain, what the hell is going on here. We came out here to kick some Xindi ass and this gung ho Sergeant just zapped us.”

Snowden turned to Trip. “Commander we understand how you feel. I ran this drill to make everyone understand just how dangerous this mission is. Everyone must be properly trained. For the next two weeks all Starfleet personnel will train among themselves. The following two weeks, Starfleet personnel and Rangers will operate in mixed training. The mixed training is intended to make everyone operate as a team.”

Trip was furious. “Look Snowden. I lost my sister to these bastards and I intend to make them pay.”

“I understand Commander.”

“Don’t you dare patronize me. What would you know about it? My sister is dead because of them.”

Snowden nodded to his Rangers. As the men and women of the Ranger unit walked up to the table and gently placed a picture, face up, Archer, Trip and T’Pol stared at the faces in the pictures. Snowden was the last. He placed his picture in front of Trip. Trip looked down to see a blonde woman with three little girls. Snowden’s gentle voice actually echoed in the quiet room. “Commander, you lost a sister. Every one of the Rangers lost a spouse or a child or both. That was my wife and daughters. We all were stationed in Florida. We were on maneuvers is Georgia when the attack came. We know your pain and believe me, you aren’t the only one who wants revenge. The difference is that we also know that blind action is a good way to lose the mission.”

Trip looked at the glistening in Snowden’s eyes. He felt moisture in his own. He held out his hand to Snowden. Snowden took Trip’s hand and hugged him. Trip found himself surrounded by the Rangers and in moments, twenty-one men and women were encompassed in a group hug softly crying. Archer and T’Pol watched Trip’s shoulders shudder. Archer nodded to T’Pol and they quietly walked out of the ready room.

T’Pol looked quizzically at Archer. “Captain, I don’t understand. All of those people lost families in the attack. We have been with them for seven months. None of them has shown the slightest indication of anything but professionalism. It is not logical.”

“You are correct T’Pol. It is no more logical than you giving up everything to stay and serve the Enterprise.”

T’Pol gently placed her hand on Archer’s arm. “Captain, I did not stay to serve the Enterprise. I stayed to serve you. Yes, you might have chosen a new Science Officer, but you, Captain need me. You need T’Pol, and T’Pol needs you.”

Archer stared at T’Pol and felt her eyes burn into his mind. He felt something flutter across his consciousness and then pull away. Her lips seemed to beg for him to kiss them. He leaned forward as the Ready Room door slid open.

Trip walked out and stopped. He looked at the Captain and T’Pol and remembered the adage two’s company three’s a crowd. As he coughed, T’Pol and Archer pulled back and looked at him. “Excuse me Captain, Sub-Commander, Sergeant Major Snowden would like for you to join us.”

The Rangers snapped to attention as Archer, T’Pol and Trip reentered. “As you were, Sergeant Major.” The Rangers dropped to parade rest, feet two feet apart and hands tucked behind their backs reminding Archer of T’Pol’s common stance.

Snowden stepped forward. “Captain, I apologize.”

“No need to apologize, Sergeant Major, You needed to convince me that the crew needed training. What the hell did you shoot us with?”

“Sir, we used standard Ranger training weapons that are similar to the old taser weapons of the early 21^st Century. We modified them so they do not use the wires the originals had and only disrupt the nervous system for a minute or so, just to let you know you have been hit.” Snowden never moved position. “Sir I was not apologizing for shooting you, I was apologizing for the unprofessional display you just witnessed. Very unprofessional.”

Archer looked at T’Pol and then Snowden before standing up. “Sergeant Major, in the seven months that you have been aboard, never once did I know that any of you lost family. You repressed your emotions so much that I would almost take you to be a Vulcan.”

Snowden narrowed his eyes. “Sir there is no reason to be insulting.”

Archer smiled at T’Pol. “It was a compliment, Sergeant Major. I mean that you are prepared to do a job and you are in more pain than the rest of us, except Commander Tucker.”

“I understand Captain. We studied the way Vulcan’s repress their emotions and incorporated them into our Ranger training.” He glanced at T’Pol. “No offense Ma’am.”

“None taken, Sergeant Major.”

Archer sat back down. “How do you want this training to operate?”

Snowden handed Archer, T’Pol and Trip each a PADD. “Here is the training schedule that I devised. Sub-Commander I will let you schedule the Starfleet crew. I plan on training the crew for a week and then for the next two weeks the Rangers will be an aggressor force. After that we will integrate the crew and the Rangers and switch off being the aggressor force. T’Pol, would you please schedule the Captain and yourself at different times so the ship will have at least one of you available for normal duty?”

T’Pol nodded. “I will have the duty roster to you in the morning, if that is acceptable.”

Snowden nodded.

T’Pol drew closer to Snowden. “I must compliment you on a most successful demonstration. I have only seen Suliban able to carry out such an operation.”

“We are Rangers, Ma’am.”

Travis sat in the mess hall playing with his mashed potatoes as Trip walked in and got a cup of coffee. “Hey Travis, why so glum?”

“Commander, I have a bad feeling.”

“Hell everyone is nervous about this mission.”

Travis frowned. “It’s not the mission, Commander. It’s the ship.”

“What the hell do you mean, the ship?”

“The helm control. It was ok before I pulled that L4. Did you ever drive a soap box derby car?”

Trip grinned. “You bet, I had the fastest car in the race.”

“Remember how the steering was made?”

“Sure. A wire on the front axle on both sides of the frame. Wait, you were raised in space, what do you know about soap box derbies?”

“We came home one year when I was eight. Stayed the whole summer. I learned then. Anyway, did you ever have a car that where the wire stretched?”

“Yeah, almost crashed the car. Shook like crazy just before that.”

“That is the feeling I get when I touch the joy stick. It sort of shudders.”

“That doesn’t make sense Travis. Our helm doesn’t use wires.”

“Hell, Commander, I know that, but I am telling you that is how it feels.”

“Have you talked to any other helmsmen?”

“I asked Ensign Thomas and the rest but they don’t feel anything. Maybe I am crazy.”

“Travis, you are the best boomer in the fleet. If you say it doesn’t feel right, then it needs to be investigated. I will get people on it immediately.”

“Thanks Commander.”

“I owe you for the L4. Didn’t you tell the Captain that you don’t do an L4 in a Starship? You do it in a shuttle.”

“No time, Sir. We had a Klingon bent on killing us.”

Trip grinned as he left the mess hall for Engineering.

Archer sat in his ready room when the doorbell beeped. “Enter.”

Sergeant Major Snowden entered. “You wished to see me Captain?”

“Please sit down. I am confused. Why did you put your men on me, before the drill?”

“To protect you in case of boarders.”

“How did you know that Duras threatened to board us? You weren’t on the bridge.”

Snowden smiled. “We heard it on the radio.”

“Radio? Even if you picked up the transmission, how would you know what he said? Are any of your people linguists?”

“We are all trained in several human languages as well as a few non human ones. Our Universal Translator worked it out.”

“Wait, how did you get a Universal Transmitter?”

Snowden grinned again. “We are military, Captain. We can get a lot of things, and what we can’t get through channels, well we appropriate on midnight runs.”

“And how did you get Klingon? As far as I know only the Enterprise has that information.”

“Not quite, Sir. During the retrofit of Enterprise, we downloaded the Enterprise database and appropriated certain information.”

“How did you know I was going to ask General Casey for you?”

“We didn’t. But it was logical.”

“What if I hadn’t asked for your help?”

“Then we would be the only Ranger unit to be able to understand alien languages.”

“I am impressed. I am glad you are on our side, Sergeant Major. You are a definite asset.”

“Captain, you stole a Vulcan out from under the noses of the Vulcan High Command. I am impressed.”

“I didn’t steal her, it was her decision.”

“Her wanting to come and you accepting it are two different things. No you stole her. She is smart, logical and strong. You do know that she took a hit from a taser for you, don’t you? That is one brave Vulcan. Totally illogical.”

“She did the same thing for a Vulcan Officer who had come to take her back to Vulcan.”

“She has guts, Sir and if you don’t mind me saying so, quite a looker. When are you going to make the move?”

“The move?”

“Sir, may I speak freely?”

Archer nodded.

“I have seen the way you look at her. In plain English, you have the hots for our Vulcan Science Officer.”

Archer slumped back in his chair. “Not another word, Sergeant Major. The subject is off limits. That will be all.”

Snowden stood up and snapped to attention. “Yes, Sir.”

Archer watched as the Sergeant Major left. He stood and looked out the porthole at the unexplored stars. \Am I that transparent? I thought I had kept my feelings buried. I wonder how she feels about me? \

Archer sat back down and remembered the video from the Vulcan ship Vaankara.

Soval had used it to try and dissuade Archer from the mission. Hell, it wasn’t his planet.

He remembered Solval’s words. “It's important for you to see what you'll be facing. The Vaankara was in the Delphic expanse for less then two days when we received a distress call. This transmission arrived six hours later.”

Archer watched as muttering and screaming Vulcans went, mad killing each other before the transmission ended.

“Less then an hour later, the Vaankara was destroyed. There was no malfunction or an attack.”

Archer had looked at Soval. “Are you suggesting the crew was responsible?” He remembered that Soval did not directly answer the question.

The door beeped, bring Archer back to the present. “Enter.”

T’Pol walked with a thoughtful look on her face.

“T’Pol, what is wrong?”

“Captain, We have just come through the Expanse and I have been feeling apprehensive. My emotions are becoming unrepressed, however since I have been with humans, especially this crew for a long time, I have not been overcome. I have been thinking of the crew of the Vaakara. I can understand why a full Vulcan crew might become mad.”

“In other words, T’Pol, being illogical humans might actually be a good thing?”

T’Pol arched an eyebrow. “As illogical as it may sound, I think that in this case you are correct.”

Archer laughed. “Still think coming along was logical?”

“Logical? No. Glad I came along?” She walked over to Archer and squeezed his hand. “As you humans say, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

Archer stood up and looked T’Pol in the eyes. He put both hands on her shoulders. “I am glad you came along. I would rather have you safe, but I can’t think of anyone I trust more than you.” He slipped his right hand behind her head and brought her close. He gently kissed her lips.

The doorbell beeped.

Archer and T’Pol looked at each other the pulled away, their hands lingering. “Come.”

Trip and Travis walked in. Trip noticed the looks between T’Pol and Archer. “Sorry for the interruption, Captain but Travis has a problem.”

Archer turned to his Chief Engineer and Helmsman. “What kind of problem, Travis?”

“I know it sounds crazy, Captain but the helm doesn’t feel right.”

“When did you notice it?”

“Right after that L4. The other helmsmen haven’t noticed anything but it just doesn’t seem right to me.”

“What have you done so far?”

Tucker stepped forward. “Travis told me about it and we have been checking the helm controls, staring from both the Helm and Engineering. So far everything checks out.”

Archer looked puzzled. “Travis, what does it feel like?”

“Like a stretched wire on a soap box.”

Archer’s head came up. “If that’s what it feels like, then we just might have a problem. Trip put all resources on this.”

“All ready done, Captain.”

“Good. Now I want to ask you about the Rangers. What do you think about them?”

T’Pol remained where she stood, but Trip moved to the porthole. T’Pol waited for Trip, but when he didn’t respond, she did. “They seem very efficient, but I wonder how they will respond in an actual combat situation. They seem very young.”

Trip turned around. “That’s sort of what I am thinking also, Captain. What do we know about any of them? I know our crew since we have been together for a long time and went through a lot.”

Archer picked up some papers. “Have a seat. Travis, you can go and find the gremlins which are bugging you.”

“Aye, Captain.” Travis left as T’Pol and Trip sat down.

“I have their personnel records and I must say I am impressed.”

He picked up a PADD. “Sergeant Major Benjamin David Snowden, is thirty-five years old. He enlisted at the age of eighteen and was assigned to the Airborne Assault Command. He later transferred to the Special Forces and quickly rose to the rank of Non Commissioned Officer. He has been in ten combat operations has made ninety parachute drops, fifteen under fire. He has also been the NCOIC (Non Commissioned Officer in Charge) of a terrorist response team. He holds a Silver Star, Bronze Star, and five Purple Hearts. He is named for a great great grandfather who also served in the Special Forces and died at the age of twenty nine during the Vietnam Conflict in the 1960s.”

Trip looked surprised. T’Pol nodded. “Very impressive, Captain. What about the rest of the Rangers?”

Archer picked up another PADD. “ They are all combat veterans and were hand picked by Snowden out of one hundred volunteers. They have all served under Snowden for a minimum of three years. They are specialists in incursions, languages, electronics, medicine, communications, demolitions and I might add, scroungers. They actually downloaded all of the Enterprise language database and incorporated the UT into their radios. Oh and they all have at least ten parachute drops, several under fire. I don’t think General Casey could have sent us anyone else. He did say they were the best of the best.”

T’Pol glanced at Archer. “With his background I am sure he would make a fine officer.”

Archer nodded. “His last three stripes were blood stripes, Sub Commander and he has been offered two battle field commissions to Second Lieutenant.”

“What are blood stripes?”

“They are stripes that are earned in combat when the person wearing them is killed and the next in line takes over.”

“I see. If he was offered a commission, why didn’t he take them? It is illogical.”

Trip grinned. “Sun-Commander, do you know what the life expectancy of a Second Lieutenant in combat is?”

“No I don’t.”

“Thirty seconds.”

“I see. Then I recant my previous statement. It is logical to assume that he was not as brave as his record indicates.”

Archer put down the PADD. “I suggest you rethink that. He didn’t turn down the commissions because he wasn’t brave. He just wanted to live a little longer. The military revolves around its NCOs, not the officers. That is why we do not have an officer in charge of the Rangers. Sergeant Major Snowden is the most respected and well known Sergeant Major in the military and his people will follow him to the gates of hell and back.”

T’Pol almost smiled. “There may be a chance they will do just that, Captain.”

Ensign Sato walked into the mess hall, picked up her tray and looked for a place to sit. Most of the tables were empty, except for one where a Ranger Corporal sat. She looked around for another seat.

“I don’t bite, much, Ensign.”

Hoshi turned around in surprise as the man had spoken to her in Klingon.

“Excuse me, did you say something?”

“Pardon me, Ensign but I said I don’t bite much.”

Hoshi was taken back as this time the man spoke Vulcan. She shook her head as she thought she must have been hearing things. The young man stood up.

“Ensign, I am Corporal Joe Layne.”

“I am Hoshi. How did you learn to speak Klingon and Vulcan?”

“I have you to thank for that. I have been studying your work on the database that we downloaded. I also speak Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, Norwegian and Russian. I am afraid that my Chinese is a little rusty.”

“I am impressed. How is it that you are in the Rangers instead of Star Fleet? Star Fleet is in need of good linguists.”

“My dad was a career Marine and I lived in Japan until I was 10. I broke family tradition and joined the Army. Linguists are also used in the Army so we can blend in when in combat.”

“Wait. You downloaded the database? That is secured. How did you do it?”

“Sorry, that is classified. Your Captain is aware that it was done, he just didn’t know at the time.”

“There are times when I wish I had some help. Some of the languages are very difficult for one person.”

“Well Ensign Hoshi Sato, I would like to apply for the position.” He smiled at her as Hoshi blushed. I have been watching you for the past seven months. I saw how you handled yourself during the training. I am sorry I shot you.”

“That was you on the bridge? You guys were so fast, I hardly had a chance to realize that you were even there. Just promise me something.”

“What’s that?”

“Don’t ever do it again. It was not a pleasant experience.”

“I promise. I have been hit with it on too many occasions and you are right, it isn’t pleasant. It does train you to be faster, however.”

Hoshi twirled her chopsticks in the bowl of Yaksoba. “Joe, would you like to come to my quarters so we can discuss this language stuff?”

Joe grinned. “Hai. It would be a pleasure.”

When they finished eating, Joe disposed of their trays and the two walked to Hoshi’s quarters on D deck “Joe, I never see the Rangers much. Where are your quarters?”

“The Rangers are on B deck.”

Hoshi scowled. “There aren’t any quarters on B Deck.”

“There weren’t until we came on board. There were some modifications done on the ship. Did you know there is a fireman’s pole running from B deck to E deck in a storage locker?”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope. We have to take the turbo lift to get back up, but we can drop 3 decks in seconds in full gear. Oh, and those tasers we used, that was the lowest setting. Full setting would drop a bull elephant in a heart beat.”

“We use phase pistols, why would you want tasers?”

“Suppose you encountered a species of aliens that had boarded the Enterprise? Say they were wearing armor that would deflect phase pistols. Tasers are designed to disrupt the nervous system. It would surprise the hell out of them. Don’t tell anyone but we also use gunpowder and lead bullets.”

“I think I want one of those tasers. Oh, here we are.” She entered her code and blocked Joe from seeing.

“That might be arranged. And your code is 5824.”

Hoshi turned around quickly. “How did you know? Have you been stalking me?”

“Not at all, I heard the beep as you pushed the numbers. They may be low, but I could hear them. We are trained to know the sounds. It does help when you are breaking into an enemy stronghold.”

“Or a woman’s quarters?”

Joe grinned. “I never break in. I am invited.”

“Are you bragging?”

“Would you like to know more on a personal level?”

Hoshi blushed and then faced the open door. She walked in and closed the door.

Joe saw the door close and stood staring at it, when the door opened again. “Well, are you coming in or do you plan on standing at my door all night?”

Joe grinned and walked in. The door closed behind him.

Starting at the impulse rockets, Trip crawled through the jeffries tube along deck F until he reached the Stage 3 Plasma accelerator. He worked quickly, checking the electrical schematics for helm control. “Tucker to Mayweather.”

“Mayweather, here.”

“Travis, where are you?”

“Deck B near the deuterium tanks. Where are you?”

“Just reached Stage 2 Plasma accelerator. So far everything is as it should be.”

“Same here Commander. Taking the jeffries tube to Deck C.”

“Tucker to T’Pol.”

“T’Pol, here.”

“Have you seen any thing on your scanners?”

“Nothing yet, Commander. Wait. I saw a momentary blink on my scanner. It is not logical and I almost ignored it.”

“Where is it coming from?”

“The Stage 1 Plasma accelerator”

“Tucker to Mayweather.”

“Travis here.”

“T’Pol saw a blink on her scanner near Stage 1 Plasma accelerator. I am going to check it out.”

“I am on D Deck, heading for Main Engineering.”

“Ok I will meet you there.”

Minutes later, Trip and Travis met at the Stage 1 Plasma accelerator and started taking off panels. Travis pulled off one panel to find nothing when he heard Trip whistle. He turned to Trip. “Find something?”

“Yeah, look at this. See this wire coming from the junction box? It goes from here to here,” he said pointing to the two areas. “This wire is not supposed to be here. It is a test wire that was left behind. On top of that, the panel was pinching the wire causing intermittent shorts. Another L4 and it probably would have shorted out this section right in the middle of the loop. I’ll never question your gremlins again.”

“Commander, I think we need a drink. I am buying.”

“No Ensign, I am buying the first round. You get to buy the next three.”

Archer paced the bridge. He glanced over to see an Ensign manning T’Pol’s station and another one manning the Helm.

Hoshi turned to Archer. “Sir, I am picking up transmission. I can’t understand it.”

“Keep trying Hoshi.”

“Sir, can I request a helper?”

Archer grinned. “Sure if you can find one as good as you.”

“Ensign Sato to Corporal Layne. Report to the bridge.”

Archer looked at Hoshi. “Care to explain yourself, Ensign?”

The bridge door opened and a Ranger Corporal entered. “Permission to enter the bridge, Sir.”

Archer looked at the Corporal. “Who are you?”

“Corporal Layne, Sir. Ensign Sato requested me.”

Archer motioned with his hand. Joe walked over to Hoshi and picked up an earpiece. He frowned. “Can you filter the background noise out?” Hoshi made adjustments. The two linguists listened.

Hoshi looked at Joe. “Sounds Romulan.”

“Similar with a hint of Klingon and .” He stopped. “Vulcan.”

The door opened and T’Pol stepped in. She cocked her head as Joe said Vulcan. Archer motioned to her to remain quiet. Sergeant Major Snowden followed behind T’Pol and went to the spare position to the right of Lieutenant Reed.

Joe turned to Archer. “It is a warning beacon. It says ‘Beyond this point is only death to intruders’. Nice friendly group.”

T’Pol can you scan for any bio signs or planets?”

T’Pol went to her station pulled up the scanner. “No planets within range although there is a system approximately 1 light year. There is an asteroid 100,000 kilometers off the port bow. It appears to have the remnants of several space craft.”

“Bring it on screen.”

The asteroid appeared on the screen. T’Pol zoomed in until at least ten craft showed on the screen. “No life signs, but there maybe information available as to what happened.”

Archer stood up. “T’Pol, you’re with me. Hoshi, Malcolm we will go check it out.”

Snowden stood up. “Captain, Sub-Commander, may I see you in the ready room?”

“Now?”

“Yes, now Sir.”

Archer, T’Pol and Snowden walked into the ready room. Archer turned. “All right Sergeant Major, what is it.”

“Respectfully, Sir, None of you should go one this away mission. Leave it to the Rangers.”

“Snowden, this is my ship and I am the Captain. I have led many an away mission and I am quite capable of leading this one.”

“I have read your file Sir. Yes you are more than capable and in another situation, I would not object but you have never led one in a war, and this is a war. This is what we were trained for. If something goes wrong and you and T’Pol were killed, the mission to locate the Xindi would fail.”

T’Pol turned to Archer. “He is being perfectly logical, Captain. He and his Rangers have been trained for and have experience in this type of situation.”

“I still don’t see it that way.”

Snowden pulled out a PADD from his cargo pants pocket. “I didn’t want to give you this, but you leave me no choice.” He handed it to Archer.

Archer turned on the PADD and Admiral Forrest appeared with General Casey in the background. “Jon, if you are viewing this, it is because you are trying to lead an away team into a hostile environment and Sergeant Major Snowden hasn’t convinced you to remain behind. I am ordering you to send the Rangers on this mission.” General Casey approached. “Captain, you came to me for assistance and that is what I have given you. The Sergeant Major and his people are the most highly qualified to handle a combat mission. I know you and your crew have been under fire, but the Rangers and more familiar with going into unknown territories and coming home, without losses. Jon. Seargeant Major Snowden will have the final word on who is to lead a combat away team. If it is not a specific combat away mission, then you of course will have the final word on who is to go.”

Archer turned the PADD off. “Well Sergeant Major, it looks like the mission is yours. How many Starfleet personnel will you require?”

“None Sir. Corporal Lane will be my linguistics person and he will be tied in with Ensign Sato. You just saw how well they worked together. I will be taking six Rangers. Our combat gear is similar to your EV units with some adaptations.”

A grim faced Archer nodded. “Very well. Let’s go.”

As Archer walked out, T’Pol went to Snowden. “Thank you. The Enterprise needs its Captain and so do I.”

“My pleasure Sub-Commander.”

T’Pol entered the bridge with Snowden behind her. The Sergeant Major walked to Archer. “Captain, may I use the main comm.” Archer nodded. “Yah tah he. Yah tah he.”

Archer, T’Pol and Hoshi looked at Snowden as Layne, bent over and kissed Hoshi on the cheek. “Keep listening for me, I will give you a running report.”

Snowden and Layne started for the door when two Rangers in combat gear came in and took their place on the bridge by the turbo lift.

Archer called out to the Sergeant Major. “Sergeant Major, what is this? What was that you said?”

“It is the what this unit uses instead of Red Alert. It tells my people that we are going to war and to take their positions. These Rangers have one mission. Protect the Captain and bridge crew with their lives.”

Minutes later, the strike force assembled in the hanger bay and climbed aboard a Ranger shuttle. Similar in construction to the standard shuttle, it was painted in camouflage colors. On either side of the pod were long tubes and a mounted cylinder. On the nose of the shuttle was painted. “Psalm 23” and a yellow shield with a slash on it. Above the slash was a silhouette of a horse. Archer watched then prepare to mount.

“Sergeant Major, I sort of recognize those symbols. Mind telling me what they represent.”

The shield is the emblem of our old unit, before we became rangers we were the 1st Battalion, 7^th Airmobile.”

“Wasn’t that Custer’s outfit?”

“Yes, Sir. Couldn’t be more fitting. The beginning of Psalm 23 you might recognize. It starts, Yea though I walk through the Valley of Death, I fear no one.”

Archer grinned, “For God is with me.”

Snowden laughed. “That is the biblical one. Ours is Yea though I walk through the Valley of Death, I fear no one, cuz I’m the meanest motha in the Valley.”

Archer grinned. “Take care Sergeant Major and come back.”

“Doing otherwise is not an option, Captain.”

As Specialist Carter guided the shuttle towards the asteroid and then circled the rock the Rangers checked their equipment and then their partner’s. Snowden tested the intercoms. “Joe check your comm units.”

Joe adjusted his vid screen viewer that appeared to the upper left of his face place. He flipped a switch on the side of his helmet. “Layne to Sato, how do you read?”

“You are coming in loud and clear. I am getting a visual also.” She turned to Archer. “Visual, Sir.”

“Put it up.”

A green glow appeared showing the strike force. “Hoshi, why is it green.”

“Infrared, Sir. They will see heat sources better.”

The shuttle came to rest on the graveyard. As Snowden opened the door and placed his foot down, two Rangers jumped to either side of him and took position. He used hand signals to indicate where he wanted people. In a low tone, Snowden spoke. “Three ships appear to be more intact that the others. Those are the one we will investigate starting with the one on the left that appears to be Vulcan. Let’s go people, Gary Owens.”

T’Pol looked up from her scanner. “Gary Owens?” Hoshi looked back at T’Pol. “It’s a Ranger thing, Sub-Commander.”

The vid screen showed the team as they came to the ship, it was sheared in half and only the bridge appeared in tact. The view showed the communications station.

T’Pol looked at the main screen. “There is a data port to the left side that should be accessible.”

Joe’s voice could be heard. “Thanks Sub-Commander that will help.” Hands holding a scanner like device were seen plugging into the data port. A minute later it was disengaged. “Got it, ok let’s go.”

Archer stood up. “Joe can you pan around the bridge and give us a look?”

“Sure, sorry Captain, Not use to having an audience.”

“No problem, Corporal.”

The screen showed the command chair sheared off leaving only the seat and arms. Electronic panels were smashed with wires hanging out.

“That’s enough Joe, Thanks.”

The team moved out to the next ship, a Klingon Scout ship. As in the case of the Vulcan ship, only the command area was accessible. They performed the same mission, retrieving the data and went to the third ship, which was Romulan. Private Nagoya followed by Layne stepped forward into the ship. An explosion ripped the ship apart, sending shrapnel everywhere. The team hit the dirt, all but Nagoya who had taken the blast. His body was thrown fifty yards away. The view screen went blank.

Archer stood up. “What the hell was that?”

Snowden’s voice came on. “Bobby trap. There is nothing left to see, we are leaving.”

“Casualties?”

“One dead, one wounded.”

“Who?”

“Don’t know yet. This place is a mess. We lost Comm with Layne and Nagoya.”

T’Pol check the scanner. “ Captain, we will have visitors in 30 minutes.”

“Snowden did you hear? Leave your dead and get back here, now.”

“We are leaving, but I will leave no man behind. We have a motto. I as commander will be the first one on the field and the last to leave and I will leave no man behind, dead or alive. So help me God. Snowden out.”

No one on the bridge spoke, but a sob was heard from Hoshi.

T’Pol turned to Archer. “Captain I detect a small shuttle size ship coming out of warp 500,000 kilometers from the asteroid.”

“Can you tell where the team is?”

T’Pol was watching her scanner and she put the visual on screen. “Yes, they just lifted off.”

As the Ranger shuttle lifted from the asteroid, the unknown craft came up behind the pod and fired. The Ranger pod banked right, shot forward and then banked left coming face to face with their attacker. The alien ship fire struck the Ranger pod’s shield. From the sides of the pod’s nose flame spewed out in a trajectory towards the attacker. The attacker imploded.

Archer turned to T’Pol. “You have the bridge, get us out of here as soon as they are on board. Get Phlox to the shuttle bay.”

Minutes later, the Ranger pod was tucked into the shuttle bay as Archer arrived. The hatch opened and two medics rushed forward with Phlox behind them. A figure in combat gear was carried off the shuttle and onto a gurney. Phlox pushed the gurney as the medics started removing the combat gear. Two rangers came out of the shuttle carrying a body and were joined by four others who had remained on board. They followed the gurney.

Archer walked up to Snowden. “You were right Sergeant Major. Who did you lose?”

“Private Nagoya didn’t stand a chance. He took the full force of the blast and saved the rest of us. Layne was lucky. He took some shrapnel but most of it was taken by the body armour.”

“What did you do to that alien ship?”

Snowden grinned. “Ranger sneakiness. Everyone is into the fancy phase canons and plasma cannons. They forget about the old armament. We have two old style rockets and two gattling guns. The gattling guns throw out a lot of lead, which seems to penetrate shields. Basically it’s like going through a meteorite field and it shattered their windshield.”

“Archer to T’Pol.”

“T’Pol here.”

“Are our visitors still coming?”

“No Sir, they slowed down after the explosion. We went to warp as soon as the shuttle was on board. Sir, how are the Rangers?”

“One dead and one injured. I’ll be in sickbay. Archer out.”

T’Pol glanced over to the Comm Officer as she heard Hoshi sigh. “Ensign, you are relieved but I will expect you back in half an hour.”

Hoshi smiled. “Thank you Sub-Commander.”

T’Pol sat down in the command chair. \That could very well have been Jon, I mean the Captain, or myself.\

Phlox was worked on Nagoya while two medics were working on Layne as Archer and Snowden walked into sickbay. The medics closed the screen.

“Phlox, what’s going on?’

“It appears that your pronunciation of Private Nagoya’s demise was slightly over exaggerated.”

Snowden came closer. “Doctor?”

Private Nagoya was injured and knocked unconscious, but he is alive. It is still touch and go, but I am sure that he will survive.”

“And Layne?”

“He will be fine. He has some shrapnel wounds but he too will be fine.”

The sickbay door opened and Hoshi came in. She looked around and saw Phlox, Archer and Snowden standing near a patient. She walked closer and saw that the patient was not Layne. Her eyes teared up and she sobbed. She started to turn when Archer placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Hoshi.”

“I will be alright. He knew the risks. I will miss him.”

“Don’t miss him quite yet.”

Hoshi turned to Archer. “Captain?”

Archer guided her over to the biobed behind the screen. He opened it and Hoshi gasped,

Layne lay on the bed but was awake. “Hey kid, did you get everything?”

Hoshi raced over and took his hand. “If you ever scare me like that again, I’ll kill you.”

Archer walked onto the bridge, followed by his escort and Snowden. “Do I still need my shadows?”

Snowden nodded to the Rangers who left. “Not at the moment, Captain. They will return if we go on yellow alert.”

“OK. T’Pol any idea which way we should go to find the Xindi and avoid our visitors?”

“No Captain. To offer a direction would be a guess.”

“T’Pol, I trust your guesses more than I trust some people’s facts. Plot a guess and head there.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Archer looked over at Snowden. “Gary Owen, Sergeant Major.”

Snowden smiled. “Gary Owen.”

The end of VS episode 2.