Star Trek Enterprise Bk. 03 - The War Ch. 09

The next day both Archer and Danaë felt more like their old selves and spent the day swimming and indulging in Risa's famous spas and deep tissue massages. Nothing too risque as they preferred to keep the intimacy between themselves. The massage was so amazing that the lieutenant asked if she could take the masseuse back as a souvenir. Every crewmember could use a touch of such expertise. The captain was quick to tell her no. Not only did he not need to explain to his superiors why the crew needed a masseuse, but he also didn't need anyone else vying for the lieutenant's attention, life already did that enough.

The day's adventures were not as grand as the day before, but still equally as enjoyable. They tried a variety of fine cuisine and walked through the shopping district holding hands and not hesitating to be seen together. At one kiosk an old man sat with thick glasses carefully bending silver and gold wire into fine jewelry. A particular pendant caught Archer's eye that was in the shape of a star with small sparking stones set into it and a large stone in the middle that was a mix of gold and a rainbow of iridescent colors. It reminded him of the mineral Bismuth from Earth. Seeing she was preoccupied with Porthos he took the opportunity and got it for her, slipping the box into his pocket before she noticed.

That night they decided to make another attempt at going to the theater and just to make sure there were no interruptions, Archer not only shut off his communicator, but tossed it into a drawer. Danaë looked as beautiful as ever in that long form-fitting gray and black striped dress. As they were about to leave he took the box from his pocket and held it out to her, opening the lid. Seeing it she couldn't speak, overwhelmed by the gift. After all these years they had never given each other anything before, mostly out of fear of someone noticing and figuring out their secret. It was not something they had ever discussed, but a silent understanding between them. She wanted to accept it, but there was that uncertainty as to whether she should. Archer saw her hesitation and took the bauble from its box then went over and slipped it around her slender neck.

"I remember you telling me once that your dad said that you had his vision. You always looked at the stars and saw what could be. Dani, you keep me reminded that there are still possibilities out there and to keep looking for them. Everytime I think I've lost my way, you help me find it again." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered back.

She wore the necklace while they were at the theater. She wore it while they slowly danced to soft jazz played on Archers PADD in the hotel room. It was around her neck when they made love and it was there when the morning sun peered through the window and stirred the captain from his sleep. Rolling over he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She looked beautiful wrapped in their rumpled bedding with messy hair, and a hint of stale sex in the air. If he had the power to stop time then he would have frozen it right here. This of course was an impossibility even for a man who had been allowed to glimpse eras beyond his own lifetime.

He looked at his watch and sighed. In less than two hours they would have to meet at the rendezvous point and beam back up to the ship. Reluctantly he got up and went into the bathroom. When he came out, Danaë was sitting up in bed smiling at him, the star pendent still there dangling just above her pretty breasts. Wanting to make the most of what little time they had he went over and sitting down next to her, took her hands in his and softly brought their foreheads together.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking over these two days and I've decided that when this war is over, regardless of starfleet policy, we're not hiding this anymore." He had expected to see a look of pure delight, and there was a little mingling with a splash of hope edged in hesitation and doubt. "I mean that." he assured her, hoping to assuage any doubts she had. She smiled sweetly at him then kissed his lips.

"Leave the future to the future and let's just enjoy what little time we have left." she told him. The promise was a wonderful one, but with war nothing could be certain and while she knew he would certainly survive, she did not have the same certainty for herself.

Nothing more was said on the subject and the two decided their remaining time would be better spent enjoying breakfast and each other's company. When it was time to return to the ship, they went separately then waited with the others for their turn to beam up. Once or twice they glanced through the crowd hoping to catch a glimpse of the other, but never did.

Once on board the Enterprise, life went back to normal. A number of repairs had already been made but there always seemed to be more. This was naturally compounded when half the ship was on shore leave for two days. When it was over the ship left orbit and many hands made light work. For a few weeks everyone was feeling a renewed energy. At least they were until food poisoning swept through the ship. A shipment of meat given to the Enterprise by the Tellerites wasn't cooked properly due to the chef's lack of familiarity, leading to rampant nausea, vomiting and diarrhea among the crew. Some experienced all of the symptoms while others only experienced one or two. Even Archer failed to escape it, although thankfully his symptoms were only mild and he was only down for about a day or so.

Despite the sluggish crew reeling from stomach issues, all the top officers were ordered to report to the command center for a conference with Admiral Gardner and Prime Minister Samuels. Due to the impending meeting of three of the coalition delegates there was a great need to discuss United Earth's place in the alliance and the future of the war. Although they were still not one-hundred percent, Archer and Trip had mostly recovered from the food poisoning. Hoshi was still green around the gills and quickly grabbed a chair (she did not feel up to standing for long) as did Malcolm. Even Lt. D'Arcy's stomach was rolling and she hadn't even touched that meat. Strangely she had been fine in the corridor, but coming into the room and catching the faint smell of hand sanitizer suddenly made her queasy. The only one who was not feeling ill was T'Pol who graciously gave up her seat to Travis Mayweather since he too was still feeling quite poorly. Before long every chair in the command center was taken and a few crew members, who were able, were standing or at least leaning against the walls.

Despite the crowd, the room was dead silent as each of them listened to what Prime Minister Samuels had to say about the war's progress, the status of the Coalition as well as how things were looking on all fronts. To say that the news was bleak was an understatement, but certainly no surprise. Yes they had had some victories, but it was hardly enough. The closest thing to any hope that he could offer was that they had located the Romulan drone ship's control center. As far as he could see the information was useless as it was on the Planet Cheron and heavily guarded. Even if they could send a team in, at best they would only manage to take control of one drone and they wouldn't be able to hold it for long.

The images of the control center showed that it was well hidden within the cave system of Cheron. A map of the underground network of caverns provided by the Vulcans showed just how extensive the system really was. Someone could easily get lost, if they were lucky enough to get past the sentries guarding each entrance. A murmur of frustration filled the room as everyone looked at the information. There were suggestions made on how they could destroy it, but nothing that was viable. One possibility was using the ships phase cannons or torpedoes to hit the control center, but it was buried far too deep to get any penetration and do any damage.

The only one not grumbling was Lt. D'Arcy. Her hazel eyes looked over the map intently. She had been to these caves before, first as a child and then as an adult. The first time had been on the holodeck alongside her father. Part history lesson, part adventure, he had shown her the rusted out remains of the control center, not that she had given it much thought at the time. She couldn't even recall exactly what he had said about it because she was far more interested in the tunnels themselves. Her last visit had happened after joining a small group of spelunkers looking to visit a piece of history. It was after she had left the academy and had been more about exploring the cave system then any historic value it had. In fact, she was the only one in the group who knew it had anything to do with the Earth-Romulan War even if she didn't know exactly how.

Prime Minister Samuel's final piece of intelligence was that currently stationed at the control center was Cethin, the second only to the Praetor that ruled over the Romulan Star Empire. At the mention of his name a dossier came up on each individual's tablet giving every known detail regarding this individual. The only thing missing was the image of the man himself. His capture would be a plum bargaining chip, his death a major blow to their enemy. If there were a way to take the station as well Cethin this entire war could be turned around. Captain Archer, Admiral Gardner and Prime Minister Samuels spoke at length about logistics of sending ground troops and what the estimated losses would be. The numbers were not good and the three men argued at length over the necessity of the attack versus what constituted acceptable losses. The men's voices were becoming louder and the tension in the room more heated as they passionately debated each of their sides.

"I have a better way!" Danaë interrupted suddenly with a raised hand. Archer turned and looked at the lieutenant in surprise, as did the other two peering through their monitor.

"You have something to add, lieutenant?" Admiral Gardner asked, all eyes now on Lt. D'Arcy.

"Yes sir," she answered. "I think there is an opportunity here you're not seeing."

"And what is that?" The Prime Minister looked bemused at the suggestion. Top military men had been over it at least two dozen times and found no good solution. Earth's allies were not willing to lend soldiers or ships to a cause that looked as though it would fail.

"If I can get inside the facility, I can get the station's main operator codes and take control of the entire drone fleet."

Even with no more description than this, Archer instantly tensed up. He could already guess what she was suggesting and he didn't like it. This sounded very similar to a trick she had pulled against the Suliban when she first arrived on the NX-01. Yes it had worked and she had managed to rescue him, but there had been the benefit of distance. Having a Suliban ship in the cargo hold made getting the codes easy. What she was proposing now was far more dangerous and had a much much greater margin for error.

"There lies the rub," Admiral Gardner expressed with a fold of his arms. "Getting you in without being detected and then back out is nearly impossible. If the Romulans see a human they are trained to kill."

"True, but according to your dossier, Cethin has quite a taste for mistresses and prostitutes and regularly has them brought to him. Sometimes it's one of his favorites, but not always. When they arrive they are beamed down at the east entrance along with their entourage of six guards. This," the lieutenant brought up a surveillance photo taken by the Vulcan spy Skon that showed seven figures dressed in cloaks of silver and brilliant purple that were approaching the tunnel entrance. The hoods of the cloaks covered the faces of the entourage as masks with only holes for the eyes. "Romulan prostitutes and their escorts are forced to dress in these capes because the profession, while a legitimate one in their culture, is still kept very much in the shadows and are not to be seen publicly. We need only duplicate these robes for myself and six MACOs who can pose as my escorts. I ask only one thing and that is the moment our feet are on the ground, my word is law." Her suggestion was a good one and she could tell that both the Prime Minister and Admiral were interested. The only one not convinced was Archer. He just stood there with his jaw set and a storm brewing behind his normally green eyes.

"I have only two reservations," The Prime Minister chimed in. "Once inside the east entrance what is to keep you from getting lost in the caverns? There are at least two dozen switch-backs between there and the facility. The second is how you will be able to con your way to the main computer to get the codes."

"I have been in those tunnels twice before and I know the way and once me and my 'guards' have been brought to Cethin, I think we can persuade him to lead us to it. According to the intel he is arrogant enough to believe he is invulnerable and as such he tends to separate himself from his security detail, especially when one of his 'ladies' shows up. Once I have the codes I can transmit them to the Enterprise where they can take over control of the drones from there. That will give us an entire fleet of whatever ships we want."

"Excuse me, lieutenant, but your plan involves a great deal of risk that I'm not sure I'm willing to take. The tiniest mistake and your entire cover is blown, which means that all seven members of the team have to be flawless in their performance." Archer quickly pointed out, his voice sharp and showing his displeasure. "Even if you are successful and that is a big if, what is to stop them from overriding the codes and taking back control? Not to mention as captain I believe the ship would be better served with you staying on board and inputting the codes into the system so that we can be sure it's done properly. If we decide to go forward with your plan, you can always train one of the MACO's to use your device if necessary. I personally am not convinced the risk is worth the reward. Too much can go wrong."

"With all due respect," Lt. D'Arcy responded just as sharply while returning an equally intense stare back at him. "I am the one who designed the device in question and while it may be possible for me to train someone to use it, I can't teach them how to reprogram it should the need arise. I have seen Romulan technology before, but I can't say with any certainty how their remote piloting system is configured. I'm the one who will be able to adapt the device as needed. Sub-commander T'Pol has been able to input the data before and can no doubt do so again. If you are concerned about them resizing control then a couple of well placed explosive charges should render the station inoperable."

"If I may say so, captain, she had done it before and successfully. No one knows that device better than she does." Malcolm Reed put in. "I'm willing to go with her."

"I also agree with the lieutenant," Major Forrest chimed in, causing all heads to turn and look at him. "It's audacious to say the least, but right now we are in desperate need of a win and there seems to be no other alternatives." He turned his gaze towards Archer and locked eyes with him. "I volunteer to be a member of the entourage."

"I can't say that I'm entirely convinced that this mission will succeed," Admiral Gardner began, carefully weighing his decision. "But as the Major pointed out, desperate times call for desperate measures. I also suspect Lt. D'Arcy has the stubborn tenacity to move a mountain if necessary." Before he continued, Prime Minister Samuel nodded his approval to the admiral. "Make it happen. Major, I want you and Lt. Reed to select four more men to accompany you and Lt. D'Arcy and remember that you will be taking your orders from her."

"Yes sir," Nathan Forrest answered.

"Lt. D'Arcy, I trust you can pull this off."

"You can count on me, Admiral," she answered.

Both the Admiral and Prime Minister signed off and everyone began to pick up their PADD's and leave their chairs. There was a great amount of planning to do and not much time to do it. Danaë already had a thousand things going through her head at once. Murmurs filled the space as everyone was talking about what had just happened and what was to come. The tension was still there, everyone could feel it and it was quickly apparent where it was coming from.

"Lt. D'Arcy, if you would please stay behind, I would like to have a word with you."

"Merde" she mumbled to herself as she thought, here we go again.