Disclaimer: Paramount owns Star Trek in its many versions, including 'Enterprise'. Original characters not appearing in the show are my own.
This is the 20th story in this series, the others being 'Golden Girl'; 'A Few Words'; 'Glistni'; 'Small Time'; 'Acquisition'; 'What Do I Do Now?'; 'For Want of Kilyiis'; 'Daasii'; 'Noblesse Oblige'; 'Roses and Thorny'; 'Time and Again', 'House of Cards', 'Starlight Maiden', 'Armageddon', 'Luuru', 'Cross and Crown', 'Pulsar', 'Face in the Dark Mirror', 'Time Stream' and 'Treaty -- Violation'. This story begins about a four days after 'Treaty -- Violation'.
This story features mature subjects, and might be considered NC-17 or R, or whatever the new classification is. (I'm getting too old to adopt a new series of classes. To me, 'Class M' is a planetary designation.) Anyhow, there's nudity, there's frank discussion, so I'm pretty sure it's M.
Someone is exposing the crew's deepest secrets. But who is responsible for their torment?
"Can any of us truly bear exposure?"
Humiliatum
JMK758
Chapter One
Exposure
The bridge of the Starship Enterprise, despite any misconceptions held by 'ground grippers' on Earth, is not an overly exciting place. True, it has its many moments, when a new discovery is made or some new race (frequently hostile at first) is encountered. But on the whole, it is not a stressful environment, and one could go for days without anything exceedingly interesting happening.
Presently, Enterprise was traveling at warp 3 and was a week away from a stressful first contact with a warrior race of Capella IV and two days out from having explored a planetary system consisting of only three gas giants. It had been interesting to the many scientists aboard, but not 'earth shattering'. They were now on a course for a binary system that sensors indicated contained a 'Minshara Class' world, so hopes were high for some interesting discoveries. They would find out in three days.
In the meantime, Captain Jonathan Archer and his bridge crew were performing their many duties, as were their Alpha shift fellows throughout the ship. However, Archer would have more preferred the opportunity to read a good book. He stood up, taking a moment to stretch his tired muscles after sitting in the command chair for nearly three hours, and stepped over to Tactical, which was manned by Lt. Malcolm Reed.
"Anything interesting, Malcolm?"
"Well, sir, we're approaching a small collection of asteroids to starboard. I've been upgrading the tracking controls on the aft phase cannon. I wouldn't mind a few moments of target practice as we pass, just to see that I've gotten the alignment right."
Archer tried to hide a smile, realizing he should have seen it coming. For a moment he considered, but only for that moment. At warp 3, they would quickly be beyond the weapon's limits. "Sure. See how many you can hit before we're out of range."
Malcolm grinned. "Thank…" His eyes flickered from Archer's and the smile died on his face.
No one else had been speaking on the bridge, and the sounds of instruments were exceedingly low, so the Command Center could actually be said to be silent. But there was a real, tangible difference between the normal quiet on the bridge and the utter silence that accompanied Reed's change of expression. "Oh, my God!" He whispered.
A fraction of an instant later, even before Archer could whirl around to follow the man's gaze; the air was split by a piercing shriek. In his rapid turn, Archer's mind photographed Hoshi Sato standing at her station, hands to her mouth, eyes wide in horror even in the midst of her scream as he continued his turn, his eyes reaching the screen, his voice ready to issue all necessary emergency commands!
When he saw what was on the viewer, what had elicited Reed's shocked reaction and Hoshi's scream, he could not believe it! His mind actually rejected it at first as an illusion caused by his rapid turn, since what was displayed before his eyes, and those of the rest of his crew, was starkly unthinkable!
On the wide screen, in full three dimensional detail, superimposed over the onrushing starscape, was a larger-than-life image of Hoshi Sato. She was reclining on her right side, her body held propped up by one arm, clearly addressing someone even in the still photograph.
The shocking thing about the image was that she was utterly naked!
x
Archer stared at the image, stunned for about a second, then his eyes darted to the woman herself, who stood frozen at her station, hands covering her mouth to restrain another scream, and when he glanced again at the screen astonishment was replaced by outrage!
"Turn that thing off!" He commanded to all generally, not caring who complied so long as the offending image was removed!
It was, in fact, not removed but replaced a moment later. What replaced it was a life size view of the horrified Linguist in her own quarters, again in beautifully sharp three dimensional clarity; quite evidently having just stepped out of the cylindrical shower behind her and reaching for a towel. This time her entire body was visible in full detail as she faced the 'camera'.
"Nooo!" Hoshi cried, backing away from the offending image, her face bright red.
"I said, 'turn that thing off'!" Archer's voice thundered through the bridge. He could see Travis and T'Pol each working at their stations, and could hear the controls on Malcolm's board being worked behind him.
"I can't!" Travis exclaimed in high frustration. His eyes went to the screen, and Hoshi saw it.
"Don't look!" She demanded, mortified.
"I am unable to interrupt the image feed to the monitor." T'Pol reported, and then glanced at the screen, having peripherally seen a change in the image. She wished she had not.
The image was of T'Pol herself, in her quarters. She was dressed for bed, in the small, silken garments most crewwomen preferred. She realized a moment later that she had evidently just awakened. She was at that instant depicted with her arms crossed before her, grasping the hem of the silken top. A moment later the image changed. The garment was pulled upward, obscuring her face but leaving her high, firm breasts quite bare. A moment later her arms were down, the garment nowhere to be seen, and she was facing toward the screen, naked from the waist up.
A moment later T'Pol's image was gone, replaced again by Hoshi's, only this time the young Japanese beauty was not alone. She was again completely naked, shown in mercilessly accurate, three dimensional detail; but this time her body was partially obscured by that of Seamus O'Cathain, and what they were doing…
Hoshi's hands couldn't restrain her shriek.
The screen went black as Malcolm, unable to stop the images, turned the power to the screen off.
The Bridge was utterly, completely, deafeningly silent.
x
T'Pol turned her head slowly toward Malcolm, as if she were trying to tightly control every tiny motion of her body, and when she spoke her voice was so intensely controlled it could barely be heard. "Thank you." She whispered. Malcolm acknowledged her with a slight nod.
Hoshi was still standing, staring at the blank screen, her body trembling violently.
"Hoshi, T'Pol, you are both relieved." Archer told them as kindly as he could.
Hoshi glanced at him, but could not meet his eyes. Her face was bright red. Not wasting an instant, she ran to the turbolift, stabbing at the control. The door did not open fast enough for her; she was inside before it was half open, and stood with her back to the bridge as the door cycled through and closed.
Archer looked at T'Pol, who met his eyes. "It is not necessary, Captain. My abilities would best serve in tracing the source of these … images."
No one on the Bridge had ever heard her tone so tightly controlled. Her face, her body, were held in a rigid restraint that was almost painful to see.
"The offer remains open." Archer told her. She replied with the smallest nod he had ever seen. As carefully restrained in his own way, though inside he felt a supernova exploding, he turned to Malcolm. "Work with T'Pol. Find the source!"
Malcolm did not even try to hide the rage in his eyes, and his words were very, very deadly. In his mind were replayed the humiliations of his friends. "I'll find it, sir!"
xx
Hoshi Sato stepped out of the Turbolift on C-deck, not wanting to return to the non-existent safety of her quarters, but having absolutely no idea where to go! She stood by the closed door of the turbo, shaking violently.
She was shocked, embarrassed, absolutely humiliated! Where had those horrible images come from? What were they! Who had done this! She was trembling so badly she could barely think! She could only see, in her mind, those horrific images and the looks in the eyes of her friends!
"Hoshi?" A woman's voice called. She forced herself to look up, seeing her closest friend Elizabeth Cutler approaching. "I was just coming to look for you." Liz stopped before her, and Hoshi just wanted to throw her arms around her friend and cling to her, realizing there was no safety there but barely able to restrain herself. "You okay?" Liz asked, concerned.
"Oh, Liz – the most horrible thing has happened!" She exclaimed, her voice shuddering. "You're not going to believe this!"
"Yeah, tell me about it. You okay, hon?"
Hoshi shook her head 'no', and was about to answer when Liz's words registered. 'Coming to look for you', she had said. What possible reason would the Biologist have for looking for her here near her quarters at barely eleven hundred hours; when they would not meet for lunch until at least an hour later? Unless…
Hoshi stared at her friend in mounting dread, her hand again covering her mouth to hold back the scream she felt welling up within her. Liz nodded sadly. "A few minutes ago the monitors in Life Sciences went nuts. On my way here I heard commotions in a half doz -." Liz reached out quickly, barely catching her friend as Hoshi fainted.
xx
"Captain." Malcolm called out to Archer, who had returned to his command chair. He was out of it in a moment.
"What have you got?" He barely kept from demanding this of Reed, trying to keep his voice level.
"I can't trace back the feed." He reported grimly, then looked up from his console, catching sight of Archer's volcanic expression. "I will, but it will take time. But that's not the worst part." He lowered his eyes to his control board, continuing to work on it to interrupt whatever was happening.
"Then what is?"
Reed looked up at Archer, and his tone was the grimmest Archer had ever heard from him. "I'm getting complaints from every deck, from every department. Those images, and dozens more we haven't seen because the screen is off, are going out to every visual monitor on the ship."