Free By the Book by Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch

insult," Hoshi said, ignoring Archer's interaction with T'Pol, "was not in your words, but in the act of speaking itself. Since it was out of turn, the Fazi had no choice but to leave as they did."
    "How do these people get anything done?" Archer asked, forcing himself to take a deep breath and calm down.
    "By the book, it would seem," Trip said. "And if it's not in the book, you have to wait until it is."
    "Exactly," Hoshi said. "A society of complete control, both in structure and language."
    Archer sighed. Then he glanced at the screen. The planet looked so innocuous, so familiar. The way that the Fazi faces had looked familiar. The way that Vulcan faces looked familiar.
    "Okay," he said. "Tell me this. Did I do all right with the greeting?"
    Hoshi smiled. "You did fine, Captain."
    "So there is some hope," he said, circling around his chair. After a moment he sat in it, then stared at the planet again. Maybe this was more important to him than it was to the Fazi. Maybe they didn't care about visitors from the sky. Maybe they lacked curiosity in the way that Vulcans lacked emotion. Maybe they had buried their own curiosity so deep they couldn't even access it anymore.
    No one answered his hope remark. He'd expected T'Pol to disagree. Maybe she was afraid she'd stepped over a protocol she didn't understand.
    Archer suppressed a smile. His mood was improving. He leaned back in his chair. "All right. How do I take my foot out of my mouth with these people?"
    "Give me another day and I might be able to tell you," Hoshi said. "With T'Pol's help."
    Archer glanced at the Vulcan subcommander.
    Her level gaze met his. "You already know my opinion on continued study," she said.
    "I believe I do," Archer said, letting a bit of that smile out. "One more day."
    She gave him a nod that was nearly a bow. From his position near the lift, Trip grinned. He seemed to like T'Pol's discomfort as much as Archer did.
    "But this time," Archer said, "I want to be included every step of the way. I don't think I can handle another silence like the one with the High Council again."
    "Like a bad date, huh, Captain?" Trip said.
    Mayweather made a strangled noise that sounded suspiciously like a suppressed laugh.
    "I wouldn't know," Archer said. "Is it?"
    Mayweather leaned forward, his shoulders shaking. T'Pol watched them in silence.
    Reed wasn't paying attention at all. He was frowning at the screen near his station. "Captain?"
    "Yes, Lieutenant?"
    "With your permission," Reed said, "I would like to continue to investigate the race living on the southern continent. Something about them doesn't quite make sense."
    No one had mentioned the race on the southern continent. Archer wasn't even certain the rest of his crew was looking at them. He frowned at Reed.
    "A hunch, Lieutenant?"
    "More like an anomaly," Reed said. "It feels like I've seen something that doesn't quite figure, but I can't pinpoint it."
    "There's a ton of stuff about this planet that is plain weird," Trip said. "Just add it to the pile."
    But Archer wasn't ready to dismiss his security chief's hunches that quickly. One of the reasons Archer was glad to have Reed on board was Reed's ability to assess a situation and make a rapid judgment about it. If he couldn't yet articulate that judgment, fine. He would research it until he could.
    Or until something went wrong.
    Considering how the first contact had gone, Archer would rather have the research find the so-called anomaly.
    "Go ahead," he said.
    "I require some better pictures than we can get from orbit," Reed said. "Do I have your permission to fly the shuttlepod in to obtain them?"
    "I would advise strongly against any landing," T'Pol said; then she glanced at Archer to see if she had spoken out of turn.
    A nervous Vulcan. What a concept. He knew better than to point it out to her.
    "I agree," Archer said. "Low flights only. I want to be kept informed on what you discover with them as well. Something about this planet is going to make