Chapter Text
“We are explorers. We explore new worlds, new ideas, new worlds… wait, I said, that already! Ugh!”
“Bridge to Captain Archer,” the calm voice of T’Pol interrupted Captain Jonathan Archer as he paced in his ready room, attempting to write his speech for the Federation Alliance ceremony in three days.
“Archer here,” he replied.
“There’s something here that you should see,” the Vulcan replied.
“On my way.”
On his way to the bridge, he smiled and nodded as he passed crewmen in the halls, but his mind was elsewhere. How was he supposed to reflect on the magnitude of this alliance without taking all the credit? How was he supposed to leave Enterprise after 10 years and watch as she’s decommissioned? How was he supposed to say goodbye to his crew, no, his friends, no, his family? And how the hell was he supposed to carry on for three days as if it’s business as usual?
Needless to say, when he did arrive on the bridge, he was still very distracted. “Report!”
“Captain, an Andorian vessel has just dropped out of warp,” T’Pol replied, in that steady way that Vulcans always do.
Lieutenant Commander Malcom Reed snorted and quipped, “Yeah, and you’re never gonna believe who it is!”
The Andorian’s blue face filled the viewscreen. “Hello, Pink Skin. Miss me?”
“Shran! But, we thought you were dead!” The Captain’s shock was palpable.
“Yes, I know, and I’m sorry about that. But I’ve no time for pleasantries, Captain. I’m in urgent need of your assistance. And, as you might recall, you still owe me!”
Archer inwardly groaned. “Now’s not a good time, Shran!”
“Oh, I know all about your little ceremony. But isn’t that three days away? Your ship can make it in half that. Besides! This is a matter of life and death!”
“It always is with you. What is it this time?” Archer was more than mildly annoyed.
“My daughter. She’s been kidnapped!”
“I didn’t even know you had a daughter!”
“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Pink Skin. Permission to come aboard?”
Archer nodded. “Granted.” He turned to Commander Reed. “See that he is escorted to my ready room.”
“Yes, sir,” came the reply.
A few minutes later, the two were discussing the details in the Captain’s ready room. It appears that after the loss of his ship at the hands of the Romulan drone and his subsequent loss of his antennae in a battle with Captain Archer, Shran didn’t only lose his command, but his commission in the Andorian Imperial Guard. He had since settled into domestic life. He became an artist, of all things, and became known for his unique ice sculptures throughout Andoria. He took a wife, Nellah, and they eventually had a daughter together, Rellina. Unfortunately, his past life stirring up trouble with the Imperial Guard had caught up with him. He had made many enemies throughout the galaxy: Vulcans, Klingons, Rigelians, Orions, etc. After the second attempt on his life happened in his home with his family present, he let the assassins think that they had succeeded, and he went into hiding. That was six months ago. Now, frustrated that they could not prove that he was indeed dead, his enemies had targeted his family instead, breaking into his home and kidnapping the five-year-old Rellina.
“Do you have any idea who could have done this?” Captain Archer asked.
“They left a ransom note.” The Andorian passed it to the Captain. “It says that my daughter will not be harmed, unless I turn myself over to them tomorrow.”
“Who?”
“Rigelians.”
The Captain glanced over the note and considered the seriousness of the subject before querying, “Why do you think I can help you?”
“You’re Jonathan Archer! The poster boy for peace throughout the galaxy! The uniter of enemies! You can talk anyone out of anything!”
“I doubt it will be that easy. You have made many enemies throughout the years. What, specifically, did you do to make the Rigellians so angry with you that they had to kidnap your daughter?”
“They’re Rigellian!” Shran spat. “They get angry when you look at them the wrong way!”
Captain Archer had had a few encounters with Rigellians as well, and was prone to agree, but he wisely kept those opinions to himself. “You must have done something to provoke them!” he yelled.
“I DON’T KNOW!” Shran bellowed. Then, in a quieter, almost embarrassed voice, he said, “the only possibility is…”
“Is?!”
“…I once slept with the commander’s daughter.” Archer moved to react, but the Andorian continued on, “It was completely consensual, I assure you. In fact, she was the one to seduce me! Have you ever seen a Rigellian female, Pink Skin? Oh! Of all the alien species I’ve met, only the Orions are more tantalizing!”
“That’s enough!” Archer barked. He had had a close encounter with Orion females about six years ago, and while it was pleasurable at the time, it was not an experience that he wished to repeat, for the sake of the crew. If Rigellian women were even half as alluring as those three women, he could see how a man of any species would fall under their spell. “So you slept with the commander’s daughter. You do know that he would have taken this as a personal offense?”
“I do now, certainly!” the Andorian stated, matter of factly. “So, will you help me?”
“I don’t see what I can do,” Archer replied. “Rigel is not one of the planets involved with the new Federation. It is doubtful that I can sway them either way.”
“Then you have to help me mount a rescue!”
Archer shook his head, emphatically. “No. Absolutely not. I am not putting my crew at risk just to fix your personal problems!”
“But you OWE me, Pink Skin! Besides, this isn’t about me, this is about my little girl!”
“Don’t you still have friends in the Imperial Guard who can help?”
“If we mounted a rescue on an Andorian ship, they’d see us coming lightyears away, and my daughter would be dead the moment we showed up on their sensors! But, an Earth ship…”
“Could still be fired upon. While we are not exactly at war with the Rigellians, we’re not exactly at peace, either.”
“But you have superior fire power and shielding! Besides, they’re less likely to execute my little girl!’
Archer nodded, now fully understanding. No matter what Shran had done, Rellina was innocent, and did not deserve this. Assembling a rescue team consisting of Commander Reed, Commander Tucker, himself, as well as a few MACOs, together a plan was devised.