"Reed's Raiders" by Lady Rainbow Rating: PG-13 Pairings: R/S implied (and maybe a bit of Hayes/Sato). TnT Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em, don’t make money off ‘em. Notes: How are our heroes getting out of this one? And what can Malcolm and Hayes do to retake Enterprise? Two Commander Trip Tucker tried to regain his footing in the wake of another blast from the Nausicaans. He reached and grabbed a crewman before he tumbled over the railing. He punched the button on the comm. “Tucker!” “Trip, we might be having company. Seal off engineering, now!” “No problem, Cap’n,” Trip shouted back. He managed to get to the main control panel and input the commands. The satisfying grinding of gears told him the emergency bulkheads were on their way down, then an abrupt crash sealed Engineering off from the rest of the ship. “They can’t get here now, can’t they, Commander?” Trip glanced down at the young crewman and shook his head. Her face was determined, but her large eyes told him she was still scared out of her wits. After a year in the Expanse, they were all better at hiding their fear, but it didn’t mean it didn’t exist. She looked so vulnerable; it reminded him painfully of Lizzie. “Not through the front door, Tasha, but we’re gonna be ready for ‘em, just in case. Can you help me?” Tasha gulped, but nodded. She followed her commanding officer with sure steps, even as the deck rolled under them. The Nausicaans beamed directly to the Bridge, but the Bridge crew was ready for them. Crewman Ajala at Communications swung around and punched her attacker in the gut as he reached for her. T’Pol caught another one’s arm and swung him around, then downed him with a nerve pinch. Archer gave a third one a classic right cross, then a left one, and he went down. A cloud of noxious green smoke poured from the vents. Archer only had a second to realize it before it swept over the Bridge. He staggered backward, hit his command chair, then collapsed on the deck behind it. His last vision was of T’Pol sinking to her knees behind the science station, one hand at her throat. Then he blacked out. “There’s some debris around Enterprise,” reported Bernhard Mueller. “It looks like they managed to get some of the ships, but I’m still reading one capital ship and two smaller ones. One of the smaller ones have docked at the starboard docking port.” “Damn,” Malcolm swore. That meant the Nausicaans had an incursion team in place. “How much longer until we can reach Enterprise?” “Fifteen minutes before we show up on the Nausicaans’ sensors,” Bernhard replied. “And it looks like the larger ship’s taking some kind of patrol stance.” “Shuttlepod One to Shuttlepod Two,” came Major Hayes’s voice over the comm. “Shuttlepod Two. Major, are you seeing what we’re seeing?” “I’m seeing that we need to retake the ship, Lieutenant.” “Indeed. Any suggestions, Major?” Malcolm reminded himself that he and Hayes were on a truce and that his Security people were working with the MACOs, not against them. Still, he knew what Hayes would say... “We dock the shuttlepods, we eject the Nausicaans and free the crew.” Malcolm smirked. Yes, exactly that, Major. Thank you. “Pretty straightforward. We’ve got to sneak past the other Nausicaan ships—“ The pod shook again under laser fire. Philippe Trieste swore under his breath in French, then added, “I think that will be difficult, lieutenant. The main Nausicaan ship has found us.” “We’re unarmed,” Crewman McIntyre said. “How’re we—“ Reed grinned and said, “We’ll improvise, Mister McIntyre. Reed to Mayweather!” “Mayweather!” came Travis’s voice over the comm. “Initiate Gamma-Tango-Alpha, Travis.” “Gamma-Tango-Alpha, aye, sir!” Malcolm glanced over at Trieste. “Gamma-Tango-Beta, Mister Trieste.” “Yes, sir!” “You might want to sit down and strap in, sir,” Travis told Major Hayes. “This could get a bit hairy.” “What are you doing?” Hayes shouted, as Travis turned the shuttlepod around and headed straight for the Nausicaan cruiser behind them. Laser beams peppered the space around them, but Travis adjusted the attitude controls so they just missed the pod. There was a flash of a torpedo, so Travis hit the throttle and skimmed the outer skin of the cruiser. “Holy—“ choked Corporal Money. Her face was beginning to turn an interesting shade of green. Even the Fleeters looked a bit sick. Crewman Rostov gripped the arms of his seat with white-knuckled intensity. Proximity alarms screeched warnings. Hayes was about to open his mouth to shout, “Pull up!” when Travis did so. The torpedo following them couldn’t adjust in time and it slammed against the cruiser’s own shields. The shields fizzled out in a spectacular show of fiery sparks. Hayes swore as the G-forces slammed him back into his seat and his vision darkened for a few seconds. He clawed his way back to consciousness to see Travis glancing at him over his shoulder. “Everyone all right?” Hell, no! Hayes wanted to scream, but he reminded himself that Mayweather had just saved their lives. There were weak assurances from the assault team; Crewman Cutler was already checking pulses and dealing with minor cuts and bruises. “I think so,” he answered instead. “What kind of stunt was that, Ensign?” “Diversionary tactic,” Travis replied. He pointed his chin at the cruiser. “They’ve stopped shooting at us and that’s why.” Hayes gazed at Shuttlepod Two, already at the Nausicaans starboard docking port. “Ensign Mueller, you take your team and secure Engineering. Mine will head towards the Bridge.” “Aye, sir,” Bernhard replied. He led Hess, McIntyre, Chang and Hawkins off in one direction, while Malcolm gestured for the others to follow him. The Nausicaan pirates fought back with everything they had, but Malcolm calmly directed the strikes. Gunny and Cole were two of the top rated sharpshooters on the ship; he’d specifically picked them on his team (he wished he had McKenzie as well, but Hayes had drawn the line). His respect for Cole, especially, went up considerably. When she’s not distracted by Mister Tucker, she’s can get the job done. She nodded at him and reported, “Corridor clear, sir.” “Good job, Corporal, Gunny, everyone,” he said. “Now comes the hard part.” The Nausicaan had isolated themselves on their Bridge, but Gunny placed a few well-positioned charges and kicked the door in. Malcolm nodded at him as they plowed onto the Bridge and together, the MACOs and the Fleeters made short work of the Nausicaans. “Ensign Trieste, take the helm.” Malcolm ordered. Then he opened a channel to Engineering. “Lieutenant Hess?” “Engineering’s secure, Lieutenant,” came Anna’s voice. “Good work.” He nodded at Ensign Welsh, who sat at the comm station. “Hail Shuttlepod One. Tell Travis he can bring the others aboard.” “Couldn’t have done it better myself,” Hayes grudgingly admitted. “Although I’d probably have taken it a bit easier on the kamikaze piloting, Ensign Mayweather.” Travis chuckled and shrugged good-naturedly, as the rest of Hayes’s team groaned. Cutler, in particular, looked ready to anesthesize him. “Hey, it worked, didn’t it, Major?” His remark brought laughter from the reunited strike teams. Hayes tried to glare at him, but wasn't successful. “All right,” Hayes conceded with a grin and a wave of his hand. “We’ve got a pirate ship to operate from. Now we can get Enterprise back.” Malcolm nodded. “Ensign Trieste, Ensign Mayweather, set a course for Enterprise.” “Aye, sir,” both men chorused. "We need a plan of attack, Lieutenant. I suggest that we--" Corporal Hawkins raised his hand and interrupted, “Permission to speak, sir?” Hayes glanced at Malcolm, who nodded, then Hayes replied, “Go ahead, Corporal.” “I was thinking, sir...we’ve got one of their ships, but what if the Nausicaans find out we’re aboard and decide to take a potshot at us before we could engage them on our ship?” “Boy’s got a point,” Gunny agreed. An unexpected voice said, “If I may, I have a suggestion.” Malcolm looked over at Doctor Phlox, who had stood up respectfully. He wondered what the doctor had in mind, then remembered, He used to be a combat medic with the Denobulan infantry. He’s seen war before. Phlox was so easygoing; it was easy to forget that fact. “Go ahead, Doctor.” “I believe some subterfuge may be in order, Lieutenant, Major. The Nausicaans expect their own kind, pirates. So if we convince them we’re on their side—“ “We play pirate?” asked Corporal Chang. He sounded like a little kid who’d just been given permission to raid his father’s clothes closet. "--they will lower their defenses enough for us to achieve our mission," Phlox concluded, with a fatherly grin towards Chang. Malcolm nodded and said, "That could work." Gunny sighed and asked, "We don't have to dress the part, do we? I'm too old for this." "It'll be for communications, Gunny," Lieutenant Kelby pointed out. "The Nausicaans will probably be monitoring communications. I don't think we need to make a fashion statement." “Reed’s Raiders and Hayes’ Hellraisers,” Anna Hess quipped. “We already got the names.” “Oh, Lord,” Hayes muttered and rolled his eyes. “I’m a MACO, not a pirate.” “Think of it as another training simulation, Major,” Malcolm said. “Our objective is still to retake Enterprise and kick the Nausicaans off our ship.” A smirk played on his lips. “All in favor, say ‘aye’.” “Aye!” roared the others. Hayes sighed and shook his head, but only shrugged in agreement. Back to Part 1 Continue to Part 3

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