Last Full Measure - Michael A. Martin [14]
“Judging from the debris and ionic trails we’ve found as we get closer to Kaletoo’s solar system,” Reed continued, “I’d say that there is definitely a significant amount of traffic going toward—or away from—this planet. Probably both.”
“Do we have any way to find out where the Xindi might be before we establish orbit around Kaletoo?” Archer asked.
“Not until we get much closer,” T’Pol said. “Though the planet is Minshara-class, there are sufficient traces of ionized oxides of nitrogen, sulfur, and kraylon present in its upper atmosphere to obscure long-range sensor scans. We will have essentially no chance of pinpointing Xindi-specific biometric signatures on the ground until we get within several kilometers of the planet’s surface.”
“Captain, I’m not sure that bringing Enterprise directly into orbit around Kaletoo is such a good idea,” Hayes said. “With all the questions we’ve been asking throughout the sector over the past few weeks, the Xindi have to be aware that we’re here and that we’re looking for them—even if we haven’t made much real progress so far in tracking them down. It might be better to use a shuttlepod to conduct our search of the planet.”
“I concur,” T’Pol said. “In any case, you would need a shuttlepod to get sufficiently close to the planet’s surface to begin running detailed bioscans.”
Archer suppressed a wince at Hayes’s comment about the lack of success thus far in the ongoing hunt for the Xindi and their homeworld. While his crew hadn’t managed to find much concrete data about the Xindi, or even a trail that might lead to them, it wasn’t for lack of trying. Between the mysterious nature of their quarry and the dangerous, unexpected anomalies the ship kept encountering within the vast, unknown reaches of the Delphic Expanse, the mission was proving to be extraordinarily difficult.
But Archer doubted that Hayes and his people could have found the Xindi homeworld any more quickly than Enterprise’s crew could have, even had the increasingly impatient MACOs been placed in charge of the mission.
Archer nodded in his first officer’s direction. “A shuttlepod was already part of my plan. I’ll lead a landing party down to Kaletoo. O’Neill, you and Reed will come along. Major Hayes, choose three of your best people and get them geared up, just in case we find ourselves in a combat situation down there.”
“Captain, given what happened in the trellium mines on Tulaw, do you think it prudent that you lead the landing party?” Hayes asked.
Archer couldn’t read his face, and Hayes’s affect was flat, but he nevertheless felt challenged by the MACO leader.
“Major, on this ship, everybody gets his hands dirty, including the captain. I suspect that over the last two years, Enterprise and her crew have weathered threats that you and your people haven’t seen in your wildest training simulations. Exploring uncharted space hasn’t exactly been a cakewalk.”
He paused, noticing that while the other MACOs present had stiffened in their stance, Hayes was still appraising him coolly. “We may not have all the combat training that you go through, but we’ve been through the fire dozens of times. Sometime soon, to quote Lincoln, we are going to be ‘met on a great battlefield of that war’ against the Xindi. And not only will I be a part of that fight, I intend to make certain that we win it together.”
Even within his righteous anger, Archer felt a stir of embarrassment at his own hyperbole. Still, he had been feeling tension and impatience from the MACOs toward his crew for quite some time now, and perhaps this briefing was as good a place as any to begin, at last, resolving those festering conflicts.
“Any questions, Major?”
Hayes shook his head, then spoke in an extremely formal tone. “No, sir.”
Archer turned toward his other crew members, and saw that T’Pol’s eyebrow was slightly raised. He couldn’t guess what she was thinking