Saving Sato

             She cried out, falling to the ground face first. Jonathan ducked behind the table and concentrated on Hoshi’s injury. She’d been hit in the back.

            “Hoshi!”

            “I can’t move, Admiral,” she uttered. He hustled off his jacket and covered her injury.

            “Stay still.”  He dug his communicator out of a pocket but before he could signal Endeavour it beeped in his hand. “Archer.”

            “Admiral, there’s a ship in orbit that we didn’t detect before.” He didn’t recognize the voice. Jamison? French? “It’s an Orion vessel.”

            “Damn. Damn! There’s been phaser fire down here, Commander Sato is injured. She needs medical attention, now.”

            “I’ll have her transported up now, Admiral.”

            “No, she can’t be moved. Get a medic down here now! And disable that Orion ship. I don’t want them getting away. We’re trapped here, Shran, Subin, we’re taking fire!”

            “Understood!”

            The Vulcans transported out a few moments later. Archer heard Shran give the order to transport them all.

            “Shran, we can’t go, my commander is hurt.”

            “You can’t stay here, Archer. It’s an ambush!”  More phaser fire streaked across the room blasting some rock to small bits that flew up and rained down.

            “Get out of here,” Archer insisted, crouched below the table for protection. “And get those Orions if you can!”

            “Orions?!?” Shran shouted.

            More phaser fire, and suddenly a small grenade lobbed through a decayed part of the wall behind the Andorians. Orange and red flames lit the room for a split second, knocking everyone to the ground who wasn’t already there. In a couple moments, the Andorians had transported out. A moment passed, and the silence was more disturbing than the clamor and blasts. A faint, shrill buzz of electricity accompanied a sparkle of blue and white light.

            “Get down!” Archer shouted, not realizing that it was Riaan’s arm he’d grabbed until after he’d wrenched her to the ground. “What are you doing here?”

            “You called for a doctor!”

            “Yes, but-” nevermind that! “She’s been hit, she can’t move.”

            “Hoshi, where do you hurt?” Riaan asked the only other mother on Endeavour. Riaan gently tapped her along the spine from her shoulders down until she reacted with a yelp. In the light of a dying flame, Jonathan and Riaan gently slid Hoshi under the table, keeping more stone fragments from falling on her.

            “Archer, Archer, at last I’ve found you, and alive.”

            The admiral looked up from his corner behind the table. Harrad-Sar stood looming tall in his leather clothes and assorted metal components, some jewelry, some bionic fittings. More than 200 cms tall, and at maybe even 200 kilos heavy, his grin nearly spanned his whole face as he raised a phase pistol to Archer’s face.

            Harrad-Sar was more of an inconvenience than a threat to Archer. While Riaan and Hoshi stayed low, he rose to his feet, standing tall but still only reaching the green man’s chin.

            “What are you doing here?”

            “I heard you were on that little planet, a couple of my associates, of course, are quite astute. The Syndicate still wants your head, Archer. I could traipse dilithium and thorium for a year for the kind of money you can buy for me.”

            “You’ve injured my officer, and I need to get her back. So if you are looking for money there’s an easier way-“

            “It’s not the money, Archer. There’s a reputation at stake. Yours, of course, and mine.”

            “I don’t have time for this.” He raised his phase pistol at Harrad-Sar’s chest, touching the tip right to his solar plexus. At least he suspected that might be where the damage would be. A second later, four more Orions appeared behind Harrad-Sar, each bearing a phase rifle pointed at Archer.

             “Let them go back to the ship, take me where you want to take me, but let them go back to the ship,” he half pleaded, half insisted.

            “I think not,” Harrad-Sar replied with a grin.

            “Why not?”

            “Because you wish it,” the black-green lips said.

            “I thought you were a bigger man than that, Harrad-Sar.” Archer shook his head slowly. Behind him Commander Sato lay on the ground half paralyzed; Riaan held Hoshi’s hand, tightly.

            “I’m a reasonable man, Archer. I understand you care about your crew. You can always get another doctor, another officer for your ship.”

            “Your compassion is underwhelming.”

            “Your injured crewman can go. You and your doctor stay.”

            “They go together!” he insisted, lifting his phaser. Four green thugs each took a step closer to Archer, holding their weapons at the ready. Each rifle glinted a little despite the dim lighting.

            “I suppose I don’t have to let any of you go,” Harrad-Sar declared.

            “Jonathan, I can stabilize her for transport.”

            “You see, Archer, your doctor understands.”

            Defeated, at least temporarily, Archer nodded to Riaan and she quickly took a few items from her medical kit and attended to her closest friend. The Orions waited patiently, weapons trained on both Archer and Riaan. After a couple of injections, Riaan nodded to Jonathan and he carefully took out his communicator. It made a few chirps when he flipped it open.

            “Archer to Endeavour.”

            “Endeavour, Admiral, go ahead.”

            “Mitchell?”

            “Yes, sir.”

            “Good to hear your voice. Please transport Sato to the ship and have a medical team standing by.”