It didn't take long for the guns of war to start firing, beginning with the Battle of Andoria followed swiftly by the Invasion of Capory and the Mission to Aeihk'aeleir Shipyard where MACO's and crewmen from various Starfleet ships managed to 'acquire' parts to repair their various damaged vessels and in some cases improve them. These enhancements came in handy as the Earth vessels swiftly found themselves once more in the heat of combat during the Second Battle of Berengaria, the Battle of Algernon.
Given what they had to work with as an armada, neither the Coalition of Planets, nor even Earth's own leadership had imagined them lasting more than a month. No one had expected the fleet to still be limping forward after six months. No doubt the Romulans were equally surprised by the humans' fighting spirit and tenacity. They had assumed it would be easy. The humans were new to interstellar space and their technology inferior. They had never imagined there would be any allies to help them. This was inconceivable, but there was still time to crush Earth and they were confident it would happen.
During those short months so many lives were lost and not just human, but on all sides including Andorian and Romulan. For a moment it seemed that there was finally a respite and everyone could regroup and complete any necessary repairs and plan strategies, but before things could truly calm down two of Starfleet's ships were ambushed in the Onias Sector and obliterated. Hearing of the losses Archer was beside himself and kept asking the same question: Why? Why were the Romulans doing this? If there were answers, he couldn't find them and his attention was quickly diverted away as they soon found themselves meeting the enemy for the second time at Altair VI, while light years away the Intrepid found themselves in the heat of battle at Tau Ceti IV. Both ships would escape but not unscathed.
For Jonathan Archer this seemed the longest and hardest year of his life. Never had he felt so alone or isolated and he was not the only one. The optimism with which so many new Starfleet crew and MACO's had started out with, quickly disappeared into the deep desire for all hostilities to end. Despite having an engine seemingly held together with duct tape, superglue and a little WD40 to keep the moving parts moving, Captain Archer couldn't believe they were still going. Thank God some inventions had never lost their usefulness. There were moments when he and his crew came so close to death that he almost wondered if there wasn't a higher power looking out for them, like the Bible story of Joshua and the day the sun stood still.
The unavoidable skirmishes and outright combat were more than enough to keep him in a constant state of stress and sleeplessness. Fortunately coffee never went out of style. There were other pursuits that helped relieve the captain's stress, such as watching a water polo game with Trip, or engaging in a game of racquetball with either his chief engineer or even T'Pol (the latter was a bit more entertaining since she was still learning the nuances of the game). Sometimes he simply sat quietly and read a good book, allowing his mind to wander off to other places and adventures not so embroiled in fighting. The one thing that probably would have done him the most good was the one thing he could not pursue while on board the NX-01 and that was Lt. D'Arcy.
Her presence had helped to carry him through the Xindi conflict with little more than her occasional word of encouragement and a gentle gaze that had reminded him that all was not lost. As long as he could see her then he knew there was hope for the future. Once or twice Archer had hoped to find an opportunity where he could talk to her in private, but there never seemed to be any time. Rules were rules and they had agreed to keep things as low-key as possible while on ship so there would be no hint of gossip getting back to Starfleet.
What Archer hadn't anticipated was a different sort of shipboard chatter taking root and reaching his ears. Normally he ignored idle gossip because he knew that it never amounted to anything and there were far more important things for him to focus on. This time he found it difficult because it seemed that an unexpected friendship had sprouted between Lt. D'Arcy and Maj. Forrest. Rather than follow the captain's warning and steer clear of the lieutenant, Nathan had accepted the challenge and made his presence known on the day they embarked with many apologies for his past behavior and the hope that they could start their acquaintance over again. Danaë was naturally skeptical and was hesitant to believe he had truly seen the light.
It wasn't until she ran into him at the gym and subtly mentioned her doubts while finishing up a run on the treadmill that her perceptions got challenged. Hearing her snide remarks he immediately returned verbal fire. Before long the verbal sparring turned into a physical one and each one giving as good as they got. The two went back and forth with each landing blows and dropping each other on their asses while being careful not to truly injure one another. Eventually it came to an end when the lieutenant managed to knock the wind out of the major using a move she had once learned from Worf on her father's ship. After that they called a truce that swiftly became friends. Soon they were regularly sharing at least one meal together in the mess hall or working out together once or twice a week. The shipboard rumors circulated faster than warp speed and in no time at all they had reached Archer's ears.
Like Maj. Hayes during the Xindi conflict, Nathan instituted daily drills on board the Enterprise to ensure crew readiness for whatever kind of conflict they faced. The captain didn't usually participate, nor was he required to, but he couldn't help feeling the urge to go and look in on things during his off-duty hours. At the very least he wanted to see how the major and lieutenant interacted. He didn't believe he was jealous and had no intention of behaving like a neanderthal. Danaë was not his property nor a prize to be won. She was beautiful, strong and intelligent and capable of choosing who she wanted. Nor would she appreciate it if he tried to interfere.
If she happened to be attracted to the spoiled, pampered son of his friend, the late admiral, then so be it. Although he firmly believed that if there was anything between the lieutenant and major (and that was a big if) it would never last. There were simply too many differences between them. Still, if she truly liked Nathan, then Archer told himself that he would do the honorable thing and step aside. It was the only mature and sensible thing to do, so why did the thought bother him so much? Perhaps it was because the major had one advantage that he did not have, his affections could be out in the open since they were not in the same branch of service, and equal in rank. Whatever the reason it bothered him, he decided it was best to push it aside. First he wanted to get to know if the rumors were true and his best opportunity to do that was to observe them during drills.
It was while orbiting the planet of Deneva that an opportunity showed itself. The NX-01 along with eleven other Starfleet vessels were getting repairs, upgrades, refits and reloaded with supplies. The Denevan's were sympathetic and offered supplies and aid in any capacity they could. With them were another twenty Andorian, Tellarite and even Vulcan vessels so for the moment they felt safe from any possible attack. The sudden inclusion of the Vulcan's gave Archer a measure of hope, since until that moment their support had been luke-warm at best. Perhaps this was a sign of a greater alliance between them. The vast majority of the ships took up positions together on one side of the planet while the Vulcan ships moved to the otherside over a colony of Denevans. It was the chance to breathe and relax that they had been waiting for. There was only one cargo bay with enough room for training and Archer, dressed in his off hours sweats and t-shirt, calmly but confidently went down there only to observe and see how things were going.
Most of the other crew members were just leaving when the captain walked in, but Lt. D'Arcy was still there chatting with the major. Watching them interact, he started to wonder if the rumors weren't correct after-all. He saw her lightly brush her hand against Nathan's arm and the way she laughed. The captain even heard her say she would see him later for enchiladas in the mess hall. When she went to leave the bay, Danaë, glanced up at Archer, a look of sad wistfulness on her face as she softly nodded her head and greeted him with a proper 'captain'. Oh, to not have to hide their feelings anymore! He wanted to say something back but he only managed to return the nod before watching her leave.
"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything." The captain said, looking over at the major. He had actually known him for years, but until now he had never really paid that much attention. A man of about thirty-eight or thirty nine, he was well muscled, with striking blue eyes, short sandy blond hair that was neatly combed and had a soft spoken but straightforward and commanding voice. It was no small wonder the troops under him were quick to listen.
"Of course not, we just finished up practicing drills." the major answered, then gave a quick good-bye to the last couple of crewmen
