Read By the Book for Free Online Page A

look at me," Novakovich said with a grin. He rubbed his cheek with the inside of his wrist.
    "I don't think anyone rolled a luck score for the transporter device," Cutler said.
    "Oh, I think they did," Novakovich said. "And I think I was real lucky. What if the thing had stuck my arm where my nose should be?"
    "You'd have a heck of a time seeing the table," Anderson said.
    "Nothing fazes you, does it?" Novakovich said.
    "Oh, yeah," Mayweather said. "He gets fazed fairly often. He likes to pretend he's cooler than he is."
    Anderson gave him a pretend-mean glare. Mayweather grinned.
    "What are you guys doing about that door?" Cutler asked, ready to get back to the game.
    "Unk will be waiting outside," Mayweather said, "against a building under cover, just to be safe."
    Novakovich nodded. "Rust is with Unk."
    "Dr. Mean is blowing and running," Anderson said.
    Cutler picked up the cup of bolts and tipped them out. "There's a fifty percent chance the explosion will collapse the wreckage."
    Three red bolts.
    "The wreckage collapsed," Cutler said.
    She gathered up the bolts and handed them to Anderson. "Dr. Mean has a strength of six, and adding in two points for the running, anything eight or under will mean he got out safely."
    "Come on, Dr. Mean, run your butt off," Anderson said as he dumped the bolts out on the towel.
    Four red bolts.
    "Yes, safe with plenty of room to spare," Anderson said.
    Mayweather let out a large breath, obviously relieved. His gaze met Cutler's again, and she could tell what he was thinking. He didn't really want Anderson to lose a second character in the same night.
    Cutler smiled at her players. "However, the explosion has drawn the attention of the Martians. Ten of them are coming down the street at your position now."
    "Oh, just great," Mayweather said, shaking his head at Anderson. "Now you've done it. Remind me to never go on a real away mission with you."
    "I'm a lot more circumspect in real life," Anderson said.
    "Somehow," Novakovich said so softly only Cutler could hear, "I doubt that."

SIX
    Captain's log.
    Under recommendation from both T'Pol and Hoshi, I've agreed to wait another twenty-four hours before deciding to make the first contact with the Fazi. Can't say as I like the waiting, but I suppose this time it is the best course. Hoshi believes that if the Fazi language is any indication of their culture, they will be more structured than any organization ever put together on Earth. She thinks they might even be more controlled than the Vulcans, which I find hard to imagine.
    Fortunately, T'Pol has shown some restraint. I think we're both aware that the Enterprise now finds itself in the same position with the Fazi that the Vulcans were in with Earth. She watches me closely, expecting me to ask for her advice. If anything, I'll make new mistakes, but I won't repeat the old.
    Twenty-two hours from now, we'll see which method is better. In the meantime, I hope to get a few good meals, a good night's sleep, and do a little studying on what we have learned about the Fazi so that we can put Earth's best foot forward.
    "Hoshi, would you like to see just how far the Fazi take structure?" Reed asked, staring at the image he had just come up with.
    The bridge was quiet. T'Pol had gone to rest, and Captain Archer had not come back since he had given them twenty-four hours to find more information about the Fazi. That left Reed with the bridge command, Hoshi at communications, and junior staff manning the other stations, all working scanning equipment of some sort trying to gather as much information as possible.
    Hoshi moved over to the screen Reed was using. She stepped delicately beside him. He could see the tension in her hands as she braced her fingers on the lip of the control panel. Earlier, the captain had ordered her to take a meal break. Soon, Reed suspected, the captain would have to order her to sleep or she'd collapse from exhaustion and overstimulation.
    "What would you like me to see?"