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Major J. Hayes entered the meeting room. There was a nervous atmosphere in here. General Casey had ordered them all here. It had to be something very important. As far as he knew this transmission would be received on all MACO bases. Some members of his team greeted him. Finally the general's face appeared on the screen. The all stood at attention.
"At ease."
General Casey's face was grim. Whatever is was he had to tell them, it was bad news. Hayes listened and couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was unbelievable.
When the meeting was over, he did something he rarely did. He allowed his personal feelings to be very strong and very present. He sent several messages to family and friends to find out if someone he cared about was lost or injured in the attack.
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When General Casey had ordered him and his team to go aboard a starship to help find the Xindi and save earth, he was anxious to start the mission. He wanted to make the bastards pay. He hadn't lost someone in the attack but as a soldier he was committed to protecting earth. And despite all his training, his hard work all his life, he hasn't been able to prevent was happened. But now he could make sure nothing even worse would happen. And he felt a little pride about being chosen for this mission. But he didn't let himself indulge in this feeling.
When he had informed his team about the mission they all were eager to do it. And he had felt pride about his people too. None of them would hesitate to give their lives for earth.
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Major Hayes sat in the shuttlepod and looked through the window. There she is. The NX-01 Enterprise. Looked impressing. It wasn't his first time in space. But he felt a little nervous about living on a starship. Not that he would admit that. He would go aboard as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
In the background he saw earth. For only a second he allowed himself to feel a little sadness about leaving and knowing that he wouldn't come back soon. If he'd come back at all. But only for a second, then he cleared himself of all emotions. An elite soldier didn't feel.
Besides him there were several members of his team on the pod. And some cargo. From the inside of one of the boxes came some strange noises. Almost as if there was something alive in there. He could read part of the label from his place. Obviously it was something medical for sickbay. He stretched his neck. Snow beetles. These starfleet people seemed to be even more questionable than he thought.
Slowly the shuttlepod approached Enterprise, got caught by the docking arm and swallowed.
The door of the shuttlepod opened. Hayes took his luggage and stepped outside. An Enterprise crewman greeted them and welcomed them aboard. Hayes took a critical look at the man. He scanned the jumpsuit starfleet called a uniform.
The young man asked them to follow so he could show them to their quarters. Hayes as the highest ranking MACO would have a room for himself. The others would have to share.
He entered the room and quickly took everything in. He would have more space than he could fill. He didn't bring much. Clothes and a few books. Displaying pictures of family and home wouldn't be appropriate for a man in his position. Besides that it was no one's business how his home looked like and which people he was close to. Not that he intended to let anyone into his quarters anyway.
Even a shower was in the bathroom. He did appreciate that small piece of luxury. Even if he'd never complain about having to use shared showers. Complaining in general is a habit a young soldier soon gets rid of.
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Later he sat at his desk and once again read the profiles of the senior officers. He had prepared thoroughly before he came aboard but it never hurt to go through the information again.
Captain Jonathan Archer. The man in whose hands his life would be from now on. He didn't look like someone up to a big task like saving earth. But he doubted he would trust any starfleet officer with it. He could only wish that he'd be wrong. He was determined to do everything to deliver his part.
T'Pol. He had a hard time forming an opinion on her. He never met a vulcan before. He appreciated that they didn't allow emotions to get in the way. But on the other hand they lacked the passion for victory a good soldier needed.
Commander Charles Tucker. Hopefully his qualification as an engineer was much better than his picture suggested. Rumor has it that he suffered a personal loss in the attack. So he was at least motivated.
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed. Whatever starfleet understood as security and tactical, he was sure it wasn't to take seriously. Surly he and his men would improve things in this department.
Ensign Hoshi Sato. According to her profile her language skills were outstanding. An important factor for the mission.
Ensign Travis Mayweather. Hopefully the young man would give his very best despite the fact that he didn't really call earth home.
Doctor Phlox. As he looked at the picture, the snow beetles suddenly came back to his mind. He imploringly hoped he wouldn't need medical attention too soon.
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Enterprise moved out of spacedock. Somewhere in Hayes' stomach something felt sick. He didn't belong in this environment. But as always, he would adapt. He would handle whatever there would come. He had to get used to how the ship felt when it moved. The first few days would be a little difficult. But he just plain refused to let it influence him in any way.
The first night in his new quarters was rather sleepless. Too many things in his head. Yes, the attack on earth had hit him. How couldn't it. The next days he would need to get things running here with his team. A lot of new people. A lot of new places.
He tried to lure sleep by loosing himself in a book. But every now and then he just stared out of the window, watching the stars floating by. He was used to worse accommodations. And the view was kind of beautiful. Not that it mattered.
Then he felt the ship shaking. Again and again. He jumped out of his bed and tried to figure out what was happening by looking outside. But he couldn't see anything. The shaking stopped. He stayed alert but it seemed that whatever it was, it was over. It was very unsettling to depend on the starfleet crew so much. In a situation like this there was just nothing he could do.
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He was very skeptical about this "resequenced" food. But he found it surprisingly eatable. He shook his head a little about the mess hall. Obviously the Enterprise crew spent a lot of time eating. For him it was a necessary evil he did as efficiently as possible. Whenever he had the chance he combined eating with information exchange. But starfleet seemed to consider it as leisure time. He wasn't impressed.
The gym was not properly equipped. He had to add a lot of training devices here. If his people must rely on this with their training they'd loose their shape.
When he had a first look at the armory he got the impression, someone was working here who liked weapons. Maybe working with Reed wouldn't be so bad.
He had been on the bridge when he reported to Captain Archer in his ready room. It looked more impressive than other parts of the ship. At the tactical station Lieutenant Reed glared at him. He had a feeling that his first assumption was wrong. Getting along with him wouldn't be easy.
Captain Archer did impress him less than his bridge. The first thing he said after he introduced himself (in a far too informal manner for his taste) was to relax. When he got into at ease position, the captain laughed and said "I meant relax, Major". That was all he needed to know about his attitude. What he expected from starfleet. No proper discipline. And the icing on the cake was his dog. Not that he was against dogs. But a captain shouldn't run around with his pet on his heels.
The Captain shortly introduced him to some members of the bridge crew. T'Pol's greeting was short and efficient. Ensigns Mayweather smiled warmly and was far to familiar. As if he expected to make a new friend.
When he was shown engineering he met Commander Tucker. He was obviously in a bad mood. Told them to get away from under his feet.
His first meeting with Reed in the armory confirmed his first impression. The Lieutenant was short-spoken. He kept the conversation short and made clear that he thought of MACOs aboard as an inconvenience. Not explicitly with his words. But with his body language and subtext.
During the next 7 weeks Major Hayes had plenty of time getting used to space travel. He was strong willed but even he had to report to sickbay a few times because of space sickness. The first time he had met Phlox for his physical. A procedure he felt was a little awkward. Not because he had to strip down to his underwear and was pushed into the imaging chamber. He was used to that kind of thing. Military doctors weren't considerate of embarrassment. But because he has never been watched before by the inhabitants of a zoo. So he wasn't eager to return to sickbay. He was relieved when Phlox stuck to conventional treatment for the space sickness. The Doctor assured him that it was nothing to be ashamed of when he injected him with his hypospray. He wasn't ashamed. He felt slightly embarrassed but only to a certain degree, he allowed himself. It was a normal thing, but he expected better of himself. And the problem was gone soon. He adapted.
He and his men stuck to themselves. He didn't forbid fraternization with the starfleet crew. But he didn't encourage it either. They felt like outsiders. But a part of him thought of that as appropriate. Starfleet and MACO weren't eye to eye.
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The ship had entered the cloud surrounding the expanse. Hayes thought it best to keep his men distracted and busy. He was in the gym with a number of MACOs when the ship started shaking again. He ordered his people to hold on to something. Unfortunately Corporal Ryan was just hanging on the climbing rope they had installed. The corporal fought to cling to the rope and between the attacks he climbed down as fast as he could. One heavy impact let him loose the rope and he fell a few meters down on the mat. Hayes immediately checked him for injuries. The Corporal said everything was OK, but when he tried to get up, he limped a little.
"Captain Archer to all hands. Hold on."
'Thanks for the warning. A little late.', he thought. They waited until the attack stopped. Then he ordered Ryan to sickbay and send Corporal McKenzie along for support in case there were more severe injuries.
Of course the training went on. If they stopped every time the ship did funny things, they wouldn't work at all.
When he left for a shower after the training, he noticed that they were out of the cloud. Inside the Expanse. He couldn't wait to get to work.