By the Book by Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch Page A

exactly the same way. For Archer, who had trouble at times keeping things in their right place in his small quarters, this was just about as alien as it came.
    Hoshi had prepped the team on how they were to act, right down to what positions they were to stand in and how Archer was to introduce everyone. But she had warned him a few times that there was still a great deal about this language and culture she didn't understand, the largest being why it had developed in this fashion.
    He believed the development mattered less than she did. Since she understood the language and had enough understanding of the culture to know the details of protocol, she was prepared enough. The history would come later.
    "We'll land in five seconds," Mayweather said as the shuttlepod turned and lowered itself down toward an empty mall area near the capitol building.
    This had been the agreed-upon landing site. The mall reminded Archer of the parks he loved in San Francisco. Large expanses of green, planned walkways surrounded by blooming plants. However, here the walkways did not curve, and the plants repeated in a pattern just like everything else.
    The actual landing surface was in the exact center of the mall-a wide brick area that had obviously been designed for just such a purpose.
    "Good job," Archer said.
    Behind him Hoshi let out a deep sigh of relief that echoed in the shuttlepod.
    Mayweather laughed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. I didn't think my flying was that bad."
    "It's not," Hoshi said. "It's just-"
    "It's okay," Mayweather said. "I know how you feel about flying."
    She smiled at him, but the tension hadn't left her. Archer studied her without turning his head. For once, her nervousness over flying had been overshadowed by her nervousness about something else.
    The first contact.
    Was she this worried because this was her very first mission of this type, or was she that insecure about the language? He had trouble reading her reactions sometimes. Hoshi's general caution was foreign to him, and he couldn't understand it as easily as he liked.
    "Trust me," Trip said, laughing, "I sometimes feel the same way."
    Archer laughed, then glanced at his watch. "Let's go, folks. Stay in the order and the formation Hoshi laid out for us."
    Mayweather moved out of his chair and opened the shuttlepod hatch. The air was warm, slightly humid, and smelled of jasmine. After the last few weeks inside the ship, the fresh air felt wonderful.
    "Nothing like the smell of an alien planet's air in the morning," Trip said. "Don't you just love it?"
    Everyone sat for a moment, letting the silence and fresh air flow in over them. Much as he loved the ship, Archer liked this feeling as well. If he concentrated, he could sense the differences from Earth.
    The air smelled of jasmine, yes, but something else, something unfamiliar, almost spicy. He knew nothing smelled like that on Earth. And the oxygen content of the air was slightly different, which T'Pol had warned them about. Not different enough to make the air unbreathable-just different enough to be alien.
    Archer wondered if he could sense that too, or if he was reacting to it because T'Pol had told him about the difference.
    He could analyze the details of this place forever, but he didn't have time. He stood. "Okay, let's stay focused here. We have a first contact to make."
    Fazi protocol was similar to protocol in old Earth aristocracies. The leader, contrary to his name, never went first. The junior ranking officials led the way, probably in case of danger. Archer smiled. As if danger bothered him.
    As the junior member of the team, Mayweather climbed out first and stepped to one side, his heels shushing on the bricks. It was amazingly quiet here. No bird noises or animal sounds. No insect buzzes or traffic noise.
    Archer found the silence unnerving.
    Hoshi went out next and stepped to the other side.
    Then Reed, then Trip, and finally Archer.
    As Hoshi had instructed them to do, Archer got out