Rings
Disclaimer: Enterprise is the property of Paramount, no infringement is intended.
****
"Look at this! What do you think?"
Trip Tucker turned to view Hoshi Sato's extended hand. On it she wore a large ring. An enormous pale blue stone glowed inside an intricate silver setting. The ring wrapped around her finger, almost covering the first digit.
He shrugged. "I don't know. Kinda gaudy, idn't it?"
Hoshi snatched her hand back, frowning at him. She made a little sound of irritation in her throat and stalked away, disappearing among the other market shoppers.
"And you have a reputation as a ladies man?"
Trip turned to see his friend Travis leaning against a sturdy pole of the tent they were in. Mayweather was laughing.
Trip was embarrassed. "I was just bein' honest. Should of known better."
"Commander, I don't pretend to understand women. But I do know that if they show you something their wearing, you always say, 'looks good,'" Travis advised.
Trip grinned and trained his attention back on the table of tools he had been considering before Hoshi interrupted. They had less than half an hour before they were to rendezvous at the shuttlepod. They were on Sauri Mal, a small planet that was basically nothing more than a gigantic flea market. Enterprise had stopped for supplies, but Archer had granted his crew each a few hours to fly down, in shifts, and browse. They were the last group before Enterprise resumed course.
Deciding he didn't need anything—not for what the vendor was asking, anyway—he turned and followed Travis out of the tent. They entered a bustling crowd and began shoving their way in the direction of the shuttlepod.
"This place was a lotta fun, but I can't say I'm sorry to be leavin'," he yelled to Travis, wrinkling his nose as they passed a stand offering foul-smelling stew.
"What?!" Travis returned. The noise from the crowd was deafening.
"I said…ah, never mind," Trip shook his head at him. They continued on without talking.
Arriving a short time later, they found Hoshi and several other crew members waiting for them. They all squeezed inside; Travis took the helm. At a nod from Trip, Hoshi took the seat closest to Travis. Trip dropped down behind her.
Travis glanced at her hand. With his usual wide smile, he said, "Say, Hosh, that's a pretty ring. It looks nice on you."
Hoshi smiled at him brightly. "Thank you!" She looked at Trip pointedly and then focused her gaze on the windows in front of her.
With her attention elsewhere, Travis grinned at Trip and winked. Trip made a face and did a silent parody of Travis's huge grin. Travis laughed out loud.
Hoshi swung her gaze back to him. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. Sometimes I just love my job is all." This time Trip glared, causing Travis to laugh again.
****
Back in her room, Hoshi admired her ring. It was funny, she thought. Trip had been right—it was a little gaudy for her tastes. But when she saw it, she just had to have it. Something about the stone was entrancing. The blue seemed to swirl, reminding her of mist or clouds. 'It is beautiful,' she decided.
She dressed for bed and moved to her jewelry box. The ring had several sharp edges in its design and she didn't want to risk cutting herself while she slept. She tugged on it with no result. 'Crap. Figures. I spend a small fortune on this thing and it turns out to be too small.' It had seemed like a perfect fit in the market. Well, her fingers were probably swollen, not used to wearing them.
She was exhausted, so she decided to risk it and wear the thing to bed. If worse came to worse, she could ask Chef for some butter tomorrow. Stretching out, she fell immediately into a deep, dreamless sleep.
****
Trip walked into the mess hall for breakfast the next morning, stomach growling. It was early, so the room was mostly empty. He made his breakfast selections and took a table alone. His mind wandered over the details of their trip to Sauri Mal. Thinking of Travis teasing him made him smile as he chewed his eggs. His friendship with the young Ensign was turning into some of the most fun he'd had in a while.
Hoshi entered the room and waved at him. He waved back and gestured for her to join him. Grabbing her breakfast, she took the seat across from him.
"Good mornin'."
She smiled at him. "Good morning, Commander." He was struck by how pretty she was; not for the first time, but today was the first time he felt compelled to comment.
"Wow, you look nice today, Hoshi."
Her smile broadened. "Thank you," she said softly.
Trip was a little startled by his sudden blurting. Not one to stand on formality, he still wasn't sure if it was appropriate for a Commander to comment on an Ensign's physical appearance. But Hoshi seemed pleased, not offended, so he shrugged it off.
"I see you're still wearin' your ring," he said to change the subject. He glanced down and scooped up more eggs. Looking back up, he found Hoshi watching him closely. Her hands rested on the table and she was making no move to eat.
"Somethin' wrong, Hoshi?" he asked. The way she was looking him directly in the eye was starting to make him nervous.
"No, Trip." She began to eat. She'd always ignored his suggestion that she call him Trip off duty; he smiled at her change of heart. "And yes, I'm still wearing the ring. Couldn't get the dumb thing off, actually. I think my hands must be swollen or something."
Trip looked down at her hand. "Really? What've ya tried?"
"Soap and water. That's about it so far; I was thinking of trying butter next." She held the hand up for both of them to study.
"Oh, well, here." Trip took her hand in his, reaching for a pat of butter on his own plate. Her skin felt hot in his hand; his palm tingled. At the contact, her eyes had widened, staring back into his.
"Um…" Trip decided to bluster through. He slicked butter around the base of the ring and her finger. He pulled ineffectually at the ring. "Damn. This thing is tight." His eyes met hers again and he flushed. "I think maybe you're stuck with it, huh?"
"Yes," Hoshi said quietly. "I guess so."
"Well…I gotta get to my shift. If ya get desperate, stop by Engineering—I have a tool that should be able to cut it off without hurting you any."
Hoshi withdrew her hand. "No. I'm not ready to do that yet." Trip tried to remember if her voice had always had that husky quality. Realizing she was staring at him again, he stood. "Ok. Well, if ya change your mind…" Under her intense gaze, his let the sentence trail off and all but sprinted from the room.
