Hoshi Sato hung the towel on the hook outside her shower and pulled on the knee-length blue silk bathrobe. She entered the main part of her cabin, crossed to her closet, and removed what she thought of as 'toy box' from her shelf. Then she sat down on her bed and fished the 28-centimeter-long dildo out of the box. Today had been long and frustrating, and tonight would not be a night for bookish pursuits.

The intercom beeped. T'Pol's voice intruded: "Ensign? Am I disturbing you?"

It wasn't like T'Pol to show up after her watch, but Hoshi didn't mind. She leaned over to her night stand and tabbed the intercom button. "No, Sub-Commander. What can I do for you?"

"You are 52 minutes late for our meditation session. Is everything all right?"

"Oh shit!" Hoshi remembered it was Thursday night. Ever since that time weeks ago on the Klingon ship, when T'Pol had helped Hoshi quiet her fears, they had settled into the pattern where on Thursday nights, Hoshi would go to T'Pol's quarters and they would meditate together. It had become the high point of Hoshi's week, and she always looked forward to their appointment. But somewhere between the bridge and her cabin, with the day's frustrations still fresh in her mind, she had thought it was Friday. Hoshi jumped off the bed and hurried to the door. "No, I'm sorry. Come on in."

T'Pol entered, wearing her lavender pajamas and flip-flops, and holding a PADD. The door closed behind her.

Hoshi said, "I'm sorry, T'Pol! I forgot. For some reason, I thought it was Friday. Things were so crazy-"

T'Pol raised a hand. "The cause was sufficient. And Commander Tucker gave us a recap over dinner." The day had begun with *Enterprise* receiving a software update for the universal translator by subspace radio from Earth. No sooner had the new software been loaded than it had crashed. Hoshi had spent the day arguing with Starfleet and the software manufacturer, with Trip jumping through hoops to check the hardware before the software maker finally considered to think about entertaining the possibility the software had crashed and uploaded a patch.

"Listen," Hoshi said, "if you give me a couple of minutes, I can get changed and we can go back to your quarters."

"Why? If you wish to practice, we can do so here and now."

"Well, at least let me change."

"If you wish. And you can put your implement away."

"My what?" Hoshi looked down. She realized she was still holding the dildo. "This?"

"That is a a sexual implement commonly referred to as a dildo, is it not? I have researched human sexuality. You were planning to pleasure yourself. I apologize for disrupting your plans."

"No, T'Pol, it's fine. Like I said, I had a brain fart and thought it was Friday. Otherwise, I would have been there."

"May I see the implement?"

"Sure." Hoshi handed T'Pol the dildo.

The Vulcan eyed it clinically, as if she was studying a soil sample that had been brought up by a landing party. "So this is what a human penis looks like?" she asked.

"Yes," Hoshi said. She thought, 'This is insane!'

"Not too different from the Vulcan male's member. Are human males about this size when aroused?"

"Uh, some of them."

"I will have to look up what the average is." Then she read Hoshi's reaction. "Forgive me. Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"Well, it's surprising. No offense, but you are the last person I would think of talking to about sex."

"None taken."

Hoshi gestured at the center of the room. "So, right there would work? I'll see if I have some spare pillows."

"Actually, I was thinking of lying in bed with you."

Hoshi laughed. "Good one. You're developing a sense of humor."

"I am not joking."

"Seriously?"

T'Pol handed Hoshi the PADD and explained, "Meditation may be practiced in many postures, and with varying levels of physical contact. On Earth, some adepts have experimented with combining Vulcan meditative disciplines with what humans refer to as platonic cuddling. Although human practitioners have been known to fall asleep, I thought it was an intriguing variation we could investigate. Furthermore, an old knee injury has flared up. It will be all right tomorrow, but for now, kneeling would be unwise. I would prefer to lie down even if you do not elect to lie with me."

Hoshi grimaced; she had some old martial arts injuries herself and could sympathize. "I can see why that would be a problem." She read the PADD. "No, it's ok T'Pol. I had a cuddle buddy once. Sure. I'd love to get into bed with you." Hoshi paused. "I hope that didn't come out wrong."

"What do you-"

The door chimed.

Without giving it a second thought, Hoshi said, "Come in."

The door slid opened and Trip entered. "Hey Sub-Commander, Hoshi. I wanted to let you know I've been over the com system and except for suit storage-" He broke off as his brain caught up to the fact that Hoshi was in a knee-length robe, T'Pol was wearing pajamas, and T'Pol was holding a dildo. "I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

T'Pol deadpanned, "Ensign Sato and I were about to get into bed for a period of cuddling and meditating."

"Cuddling and meditating in bed," Trip said, as if the words didn't fit his mouth. "Yeah…ok. Fine. G'night, ladies." He left.

Hoshi moaned, "Someone shoot me."

"Why?" T'Pol said. "Was I in error?"

"No, but you know what he was thinking! At least the captain didn't see this." The door chimed. "Come in."

Archer entered. "Ah, T'Pol. Trip told me I'd find you here. Tomorrow morning, I'll want to go over-" He took in the two women and the dildo T'Pol was holding. "I'm sorry. It can wait. Excuse me. Good night." He left.

Hoshi groused, "There is a God, and he hates me."

"Clearly this is something else for you to work on," T'Pol said. "You are anxious about your social standing among the crew. You cannot control what others think about you, Hoshi, only how you respond to it. In time, any misunderstanding the captain and commander have had will be cleared up, so it is not logical to be upset about it now."

"Yeah, you've got a point." Hoshi closed her eyes and pressed her index finger into her palm. Then she opened her eyes. "We're not doing anything, so no sense getting upset about it."

"Indeed. Shall we?"

"Sure. Make yourself comfortable."

T'Pol crossed to the bed and got under the covers, lying on her side with her back to the wall.

"Spooning," Hoshi said as she shed the robe, "nice." She put on a pair of panties and a night shirt with the *Eneterprise's* patch on it. Then she turned to her computer console. "I found some meditation music in the ship's library; I've been using it on my own. You mind?"

"No."

Hoshi selected the option she wanted, and the music started. She turned off all the lights except the ones in her bathroom, crossed to the bed, and frowned. "T'Pol."

"What?" T'Pol realized she was still holding the dildo. "Oh." She put it on the night table. Hoshi slid into bed with her back to T'Pol.

The Vulcan pulled the blankets over them and wrapped her arms around Hoshi's waste. "I hope I am not holding you too tightly."

"No, this is fine." She closed her eyes and sighed. "This would probably be great in your room, with all the candles and that incense. I love it in there. It's like a little slice of Vulcan."

T'Pol had closed her eyes. "An emotion-based judgement, but I agree with you about this practice. We can do it regularly from now on if you wish."

"Uh-huh." She chuckled. "And you were right. I don't care what the guys think. And it was kind of funny how they reacted. I wonder how Malcom-"

The door chimed and Malcom's voice came over the speakers. "Hoshi?"

"Speak of the devil," Hoshi said. "Come in."

The door slid open and Malcom Reed entered, holding a PADD. He looked exhausted. "Ah, Sub-Commander. Good, I won't have to chase you down later. With all that mucking about with the ship's software, I decided to check if there were any cybersecurity threats. Turned out the computer was loaded with all sorts of viruses and malware! I spent the last two hours cleaning it up, and I've proposed new cybersecurity measures."

T'Pol said, "That is a wise precaution, Lieutenant. If you draw up a proposal, we will present it to the captain tomorrow."

"Very good, Marm. Hoshi, I'll have procedures for you tomorrow, too. Meantime, be careful with any letters you get, even if they appear to be from someone you trust."

"Just like with email back home," Hoshi said. "I understand, Lieutenant."

"Right then. Good night, ladies." He turned and left, closing the door behind him.

Hoshi counted down, "Five, four, three, two, one."

The door chimed.

Hoshi called, "Come in!"

The door open. Reed stepped in. He turned on the lights and gawked at the bed.

T'Pol deadpanned, "Lieutenant? Is there something else?"

"No, I…I just…I didn't…"

T'Pol and Hoshi chorused, "We're meditating."

"Of course."

Hoshi said, "Get the lights on the way out?"

"What? Lights. Oh, yes. Good night." Malcom seemed to have trouble finding the lights, and the door was another challenge, but he left, leaving the two women alone in the dark room.

T'Pol asked, "How did you know he was going to come back?"

"Let me put it this way," Hoshi said: "there's a reason why sometimes, a dildo is the best boyfriend a girl can have."

8

8

When Trip, Archer, and T'Pol arrived on the bridge for their morning shifts, Hoshi and Malcom were already at their stations. T'Pol had spent three hours in Hoshi's cabin before returning to her room.

Hoshi didn't look away from her console as she said in Vulcan, "Good morning, Sub-Commander. How was breakfast?"

"Chef was up to his usual standard," T'Pol replied in kind.

"Did you discuss anything interesting?"

Neither Trip nor Archer nor Malcolm could speak Vulcan; that the two women were chatting away in the alien language got their attention. For their part, T'Pol and Hoshi acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

T'Pol said, "If you are referring to the events of last night, there was some reference to it, yes."

"Which you evaded."

"There was nothing to be evasive about, as you know."

"Still driving them crazy."

Archer said, "Ladies, I don't mean to interrupt, but is there anything you want to share?"

T'Pol said, "No."

Trip said, "I dunno, Captain. Speakin' Vulcan on the bridge, I feel like they're talking behind our backs."

T'Pol said, "In that case, Commander, continue to face us."

Malcolm put in, "Perhaps we should mandate English only on the bridge, for security."

"No, Malcolm," Archer said. "I don't think this is too big a violation…yet."

Hoshi said in Vulcan, "Did the captain drink all his orange juice?"

"Now that you mention it," T'Pol replied in kind, "he did not finish it. What about Malcolm?"

"Coffee and nothing but. He's going to-" She broke off and listened to her earpiece. She shifted to English. "Hello? Skiff pilot, please repeat….Yes, I am receiving you. This is the Earth starship *Enterprise.* Please standby. Captain, we're receiving a distress signal. I think I can get visual contact."

"On screen, Ensign."

The young woman who appeared on the screen had dark hair and wore a dark blue dress with a floral print…and a low neckline.

Archer said, "I'm Captain Archer of the starship *Enterprise.*"

"I am Leena," she said. "I am part of the entertainment troop based on the *Aniel* out of Argelius."

T'Pol interjected, "'Troop' is not an accurate description. Her ship is for all intents and purposes a flying brothel. She is a prostitute."

Leena got her back up. "I operate within the laws of whatever world I am operating on and only offer whatever services are allowed and even then only what the customer wants and no more. Captain. I need assistance. Or will you deny me because of your opinion of my profession?"

"No, of course not," Archer said. "What's your situation?"

"My propulsion system," Leena answered. "My warp drive started to have a problem, and I barely made an emergency landing before my impulse engines went, too. My life support is…acting strangely. And my long range communications is out, although the system says everything works."

Trip said, "Sounds like her dilithium chamber went a little wonkey. That could mess up her engines. Not sure about the com system."

Hoshi said, "I could take a look at it."

"I would be grateful for any assistance you can provide," Leena said.

Archer said, "Trip, Hoshi, take a shuttle pod once you have her coordinates."