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They were running down the corridor. Major Hayes first and after him seven other MACOs. It was 05:30 in the morning. Hayes liked to schedule a run at this early time. In his opinion this was an ideal way to start the day. He ignored the irritated looks from some sleepy looking Starfleet crew members. When he looked into these clueless faces he got angry. It had taken them 7 weeks just to get into the expanse. And now they were cruising around in here for another 6 weeks without any results. It was so frustrating. He increased speed. He looked behind him to check on his people. He noticed Private Forbes. The young MACO looked exhausted and started falling back as they ran faster. He had to schedule Forbes for some extra workout time.
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The mess hall was pretty crowded. Malcolm watched the entrance and saw Hoshi coming in. She got some food and Malcolm was sure she was going to sit with him. He couldn't believe his eyes when she approached a table where four MACOs were sitting.
He could hear what they were talking from his place. He heard one of them, the label on his uniform said "D. Chang", laughing. That was strange enough. Malcolm would have bet that it was forbidden for MACOs to laugh.
"Is this seat taken?"
Hoshi was out of her mind. What did she hope to accomplish? All four MACOs stood at once. How old fashioned.
"Ma'am."
Hayes gestured towards the free seat. 'She's not blind you know.', Malcolm was grumbling in his mind.
"I'm Hoshi Sato."
"We familiarized ourselves with all the bridge officers, ensign."
His voice couldn't be more arrogant if he tried. Standing up for a lady but condescending on her because she introduces herself. Yeah, that goes together. Malcolm's guess was, that they didn't really try to be gallant. They were just like trained dogs.
"I'm Major Hayes. This is Sergeant Kemper. Corporals Romero and Chang."
Kemper was smiling, Romero and Chang nodded politely. 'Yeah, I can read the labels on your uniforms, Major.', Malcolm would have done anything for Hoshi to say that now. Since none of the MACOs seemed to own a first name, introductions were completely unnecessary.
"Military Assault Command."
"Captain Archer wanted the best."
'And those guys were all unavailable, so he had to settle for you?' That bastard was so incredibly full of himself.
"Looks like you all gotten your space legs."
These guys never. They belong in space like an elephant into the sky. They didn't even appreciate the privilege of being in space. The privilege of being on Enterprise.
"Some of us are still visiting Doctor Phlox every morning."
'Still? How long are you out here now? 13 weeks!'
"Wonders of modern medicine."
'All lost on you.'
"What do you think of our Doctor, Sergeant. I imagine you don't run into many Denobulans in Duluth, Minnesota."
"Actually I'm stationed outside of Atlanta. No Denobulans but we have our fair share of alien visitors. You must have gone pretty deep into our records. I haven't lived in Duluth since Junior High school."
"You may have left Duluth, but you've still plenty of Duluth left in your inflections."
"Excuse me?"
"Ensign Sato is a linguist, Kemper. You give her enough time, she could probably tell you what street you grew up on."
Kemper looked impressed.
'So much for 'We familiarized ourselves with all the bridge officers, ensign.'. Seems like some of you could have done a better job with that.' Grudgingly he had to admit that Hayes had done his homework.
"Do you have any idea where we're headed, ensign?"
"I'm sure Captain Archer will let us know when he has reason too."
"Let's hope it's soon. Quicker you folks find these Xindi, quicker we can get to work. We have a briefing in a few minutes. You'll excuse us?"
With that the four soldiers stood and left the table. Hoshi didn't look too happy.
'I guess she thought that she could have a nice little chat with those guys. Breaking the ice. You'd need a flamethrower.'
Malcolm felt sorry for Hoshi. But a part of him was satisfied that she had gotten the cold shoulder from the MACOs. Now she knew what arrogant sons of bitches they were.
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"Is this seat taken?"
Slightly irritated Hayes looked up from his plate. In front of the table stood Ensign Sato. Why would she want to sit with them? But Hayes didn't let his confusion show for one second. Reflexes kicked in and all four MACOs smoothly got to their feet. The irritation about a Starfleet officer asking to sit at their table was carefully concealed. Even if it was completely inappropriate, Hayes would never show his disapproval. He invited her to sit down.
"Ma'am."
"I'm Hoshi Sato."
That's what happens if you don't label your uniforms. But since he went through the profiles of the bridge crew multiple times, Hayes already knew who she was.
"We familiarized ourselves with all the bridge officers, ensign."
Of course Starfleet officers weren't used to that kind of competence. So he tried to be patient with her ignorance.
"I'm Major Hayes. This is Sergeant Kemper. Corporals Romero and Chang."
All of them were a little taken aback by her casual attitude.
"Military Assault Command."
He suppressed the small sparkle of pride in his chest. He even almost smiled at her. If you defined 'smile' very broadly. For half a moment his face showed something else then the usual stony mask.
"Captain Archer wanted the best."
Hoshi on the other hand did smile.
"Looks like you all gotten your space legs."
"Some of us are still visiting Doctor Phlox every morning."
With a little embarrassment Hayes thought about his own visits to the doctor during the first days. At least he got that problem under control by now. He wondered why Kemper gave that information away so freely.
"Wonders of modern medicine."
And Romero seemed to find it funny.
"What do you think of our Doctor, Sergeant. I imagine you don't run into many Denobulans in Duluth, Minnesota."
Hayes couldn't help but be surprised. She obviously was good.
"Actually I'm stationed outside of Atlanta. No Denobulans but we have our fair share of alien visitors. You must have gone pretty deep into our records. I haven't lived in Duluth since Junior High school."
"You may have left Duluth, but you've still plenty of Duluth left in your inflections."
"Excuse me?"
Hayes felt he needed to help his Sergeant before he looked stupid.
"Ensign Sato is a linguist Kemper. You give her enough time, she could probably tell you what street you grew up on."
Kemper looked impressed.
Hayes felt irrational relief that Ensign Sato had chosen Kemper for her little demonstration. He wouldn't have been comfortable with discussing his place of origin over lunch.
Fortunately Chang changed the subject.
"Do you have any idea where we're headed, ensign?"
"I'm sure Captain Archer will let us know when he has reason too."
"Let's hope it's soon. Quicker you folks find these Xindi, quicker we can get to work. We have a briefing in a few minutes. You'll excuse us?"
Hayes was glad to have an excuse to end this little chat. If all Starfleet officers were constantly fraternizing in this manner, he would from now on always chose four of his team to eat with.
Hayes didn't feel the dagger-like look that pierced his back when he left the mess hall.
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The vibrating deck made him nervous. He hated to admit it. Of course you never would have guessed when you looked at him. Hayes knew it came from another strange anomaly in the expanse. This wasn't the kind of thing he was used to deal with. He couldn't confine it, surveil it, fight it, shoot it or outwit it by some brilliant battle strategy. So, nothing he could do. The best was to just accept it. If only he could make the tiny knot in his belly go away.
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All right, he had to do this. He had to call Hayes to the armory. At least he would shake him out of his bed. A small comfort.
"Reed to Hayes."
He waited. It took a few seconds until the answer came.
"Go ahead."
Fine he sounded sleepy. He did, did he?
"Come to the armory at once, Major."
"Yes, sir."
Malcolm started working on the rescue plan. Hayes would find him prepared.
After three minutes and 13 seconds Hayes came into the armory. Yes, Malcolm had stopped the time. But he'd hoped for him to be slower. But at least it was visible that he just got out of bed. His hair was not as usual perfectly combed back. It looked at little tousled.
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"Reed to Hayes."
Hayes was awake at once. He was used to get called in the middle of the night. It took him only a few seconds to shake off the sleepiness.
"Go ahead."
"Come to the armory at once, Major."
That must be something pretty important if Reed asked him for help. And for what other reason would he call him?
"Yes, sir."
He jumped out of bed. Got dressed quickly and left his quarters. He marched trough the corridors at full speed. He would not let Reed criticize him for being slow. He entered the armory and saw Reed standing in front of the console, working. He turned around at the sound of the door, looked at him for a moment, then turned back to the console. He walked over quite curious what this was about.
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"... is a little close to the mine."
The moment T'Pol came into the armory. Reed turned around to her.
"Have you heard from the captain?"
"Not yet. The foreman isn't responding to our hails."
Reed deliberately forced Hayes out of the way when he stepped down from the platform in front of the console.
"The ships?"
"Less than an hour away. Are you ready?"
"They're armed to the teeth down there. But it it doable. We only have one bone of contention. The major here thinks my security team is far too valuable to bring down and put in the line of fire. He wants to take his men."
He made a pause before the word 'valuable' and emphasized it in a way that made clear he didn't believe Hayes for a second.
"It's a simple matter of priorities. If those warships get here before we return from the surface you could find yourselves dealing with a boarding party. You be in far better hands with a security force who knows Enterprise inside and out."
Showing off in front of T'Pol, Major?
"I intend to have my men back on board with the captain and Trip long before those ships arrive."
"With all due respect, sir. We can't be certain of that."
"The decision is yours Lieutenant. But I agree with Major Hayes. Your team may not be back in time."
How could T'Pol stab him in the back? She must see what Hayes' real intentions were. Finally he forced himself to say
"Select six of your men and meet me in launchbay one. I'll be commanding the mission."
He emphasized the last sentence to make clear to Hayes who was in charge.
"Very good, sir."
He sounded agreeable. But Malcolm could tell that Hayes thought of himself as the better choice to command the mission.
"Coming from a military family, I've seen men like Hayes all my life."
Arrogant and condescending.
"Lieutenant?"
"That had nothing to do with who knows Enterprise inside and out. It had to do with who the major thinks is more capable of carrying out this rescue."
With that Reed left the armory, boiling with anger. That MACO was aboard for a few weeks and already tried to take over. Made him look bad in front of his crewmates.
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"... is a little close to the mine."
When Reed turned around to see who entered the armory, Hayes followed his look.
"Have you heard from the captain?"
"Not yet. The foreman isn't responding to our hails."
Hayes knew what Reed wanted to accomplish with his little gesture. And he shook his head internally. Stay calm, Hayes, don't let that squid provoke you.
"The ships?"
"Less than an hour away. Are you ready?"
"They're armed to the teeth down there. But it it doable. We only have one bone? of contention?. The major here thinks my security team is far too valuable to bring down and put in the line of fire. He wants to take his men."
When Reed emphasized the word 'valuable' Hayes wanted to roll his eyes. He might not think highly of Starfleet but even he knew that those officers had a lot of knowledge his own people lacked.
"It's a simple matter of priorities. If those warships get here before we return from the surface you could find yourselves dealing with a boarding party. You be in far better hands with a security force who knows Enterprise inside and out."
Hopefully he could at least convince T'Pol that he was right. She was supposed to think logical, right?
"I intend to have my men back on board with the captain and Trip long before those ships arrive."
Was he really that naive?
"With all due respect, sir. We can't be certain of that."
"The decision is yours Lieutenant. But I agree with Major Hayes. Your team may not be back in time."
Hayes felt satisfaction at her words. Reed looked like he considered swallowing his tongue just so he would not have to say what he had to.
"Select six of your men and meet me in launchbay one. I'll be commanding the mission."
There was poison in his voice and in his eyes. Don't let him provoke you.
"Very good, sir."
With that little victory, he left. He had to tell his people that they had their first away mission. He immediately knew who he was going to choose. Ryan, very skilled with a phaser rifle. Money, good at hand-to-hand, Richards, Moreno, Scott and Kelly. Some of his very best.
When he briefed his team, he felt the need to point out how important this was. Officially because the Captain was in danger. But also because this would be their chance to show the squids what they could do.
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When Hayes got his instructions on the shuttlepod, he couldn't wait to get started. Finally he could proof what he and his team were capable of.
One the one side of the pod were sitting Sergeant Moreno, Private Money and Scott. And on the other side with him Corporals Richards, Kelly and Ryan. He was pleased how calmly and precisely his men checked their equipment. This had to run as smoothly as possible.
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Hayes was sliding down his rope next to Corporal Kelly. All the way down he was aiming his weapon and fired. They moved though the tunnels and when they ran into a couple of miners they knocked them out efficiently. Hayes gave one of them a good blow to the head with his phaser riffle while Kelly grabbed another and broke his neck.
They moved fast and took out several more miners. Then suddenly he heard Kelly scream, turned around and saw the corporal go down grimacing in pain. It didn't take him long to make out the minder who had shot his man, aimed his own weapon and shot him. He was relieved to see that Kelly was only injured, he helped him up and together they continued their way.
Hayes saw Archer and Tucker. Good, they were both still alive. They started moving up but then in the middle of the stairs, Archer started to discuss something with some strange looking guy. Hopefully he had a good reason to slow them down. They had to get out of here. After what felt like forever they finally started moving and he climbed up the stairs one arm around Kelly. Behind him Reed and Money.
They reached the shuttlepod and got the two injured men in when there was weapons fire again. One miner sat on a platform above them and shot at them. Hayes ordered Corporal Ryan who was inside the pod to take the miner out. The corporal immediately left the pod from the other side and got into position. It took him only one try to hit the man above with the help of a sight device on his riffle.
They got the wounded stranger into the pod. Since Hayes didn't know who that man was he was ambivalent. Should he be worried? Was he important for their mission?
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Reed felt literally small when he climbed down the stairs with his phase pistol in hand next to the two MACOs who were armed to the teeth with their riffles, stun grenades and stun battons. All he could do was to look as competent as possible. Corporal Ryan who was right behind him took another wounded MACO over from Archer. Seeing the captain supporting one of them was reassuring. They were not invincible after all. Ryan helped the injured Scott to climb up the stairs. Major Hayes appeared with a limping Kelly by his side. Obviously he had taken a shot too.
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It was the first time Hayes had to go into the decon chamber. He was in there together with Moreno, Money, Richards and Ryan. Kelly and Scott were currently treated in sickbay for the injuries they got during the mission. A strange procedure, but Hayes had to admit that Starfleet had used their common sense when they installed this to make sure they didn't carry any diseases onto the whole ship.
He was just glad he didn't have to sit in here together with Lieutenant Reed and the other starfleet people on the away team, they had gone in first. The chamber would have been too small for so many people anyway.
They had applied the gel as efficiently as they did everything. It was necessary, so no use in dragging this out because of embarrassment.
Now they were waiting that Phlox would let them out. He used the time he was forced to sit here to repeat the mission in his mind, analyze were they could have done something better and what had proven effective.
When they were finally done waiting, he checked on Kelly and Scott. They looked quite uncomfortable since Phlox had attached some strange looking creatures to the burns caused by the weapons. He had to bring this up with the captain. Surely it wasn't necessary to submit his people to this kind of treatment. He asked them how they were doing and both answered that they were just fine. Hayes knew that they would answer just that even if they'd carry a separated leg under their arms. Again he felt proud of his team. They had shown Starfleet how good they were at their jobs.
To be fair he was grateful that the captain had been there when Scott got shot. He did manage to get him out.
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"I must have been in the shower for two hours."
"We're cleared bio-scan. That's all that matters."
"Yeah. The two new guys who got hurt. Are they OK?"
By now Reed felt a little ashamed of having felt joy at the sight of the injured MACO. They weren't exactly his friends but he shouldn't take pleasure at their misfortune.
"The doctor's got them back in their quarters already."
"You got to admit. Their team did a pretty impressive job down there."
Trip noticed the look on Malcolm's face and quickly added: "Nothing your guys couldn't have done just as well."
Reed felt grateful that his friend said that. But if he was honest to himself, he had to admit, they probably couldn't have done it as professionally. And that realization pained him beyond words. And caused another wave of fury towards the new crew members and especially towards Hayes.
"I'm not so sure about that. See you in the morning."
"All right."