Thank you, everyone, for the kind reviews. I'm glad to hear you like the premise of this story.

CHAPTER TWO

Malcolm was beginning to wonder if the man would ever wake up. From what he'd been told, they'd been shot within minutes of each other, but he'd been fully conscious now for an hour. Phlox did say that the other man had been hit by multiple shots, however, which might account for the other's longer period of unconciousness. According to the captain, Trip had sent a security team to the transporter alcove as soon as he had heard the sound of weapon fire over the comm. When members of his security staff had shown up and had seen him incapacitated on the deck and an intruder blasting away at the comm panel, they had been somewhat overzealous in their reaction.

Shifting a bit -- biobeds weren't the most comfortable things to sit on with your legs dangling over the side for any length of time -- Malcolm stared at the man. It would be hard to tell the difference between them if it weren't for their different clothing. If all the grease was washed out of the other's hair and the faint scar above the upper lip was removed, his own mother probably wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

As he kept watch, his mind kept turning over the puzzle of this person. How had this man come to be caught in the transporter signal? Even more curious was why the man looked like him. If Phlox's supposition was correct, it wasn't someone altered to look like him but rather something along the lines of a clone. But if that was the case, why would he be dressed differently? That would negate any advantage in sneaking someone on board who looked like a member of the crew.

Not that the man had snuck aboard exactly, but Malcolm's strongest inclination was that it was an attempt to harm Enterprise, or perhaps a covert operation aimed at gaining information. The fact that they'd pulled him in with the transporter had to mean something had gone wrong with whatever the plan had been. But where had he come from? A cloaked ship?

Malcolm at last gave in to his curiosity. He slipped off his perch and stepped over to the other bed to gaze more closely at the other man's face, and a shiver ran down Malcolm's spine. It was like looking in a mirror.

The other man's clothing appeared to be a uniform. There were a few insignia on the dark outfit. Malcolm walked around the bed to the opposite side, where a patch on the man's sleeve drew his attention. It showed a grinning skull under the acronym MACO. The ship designation under the emblem was ISS Enterprise. If this was an effort to get a spy on board, Malcolm thought, whoever was responsible hadn't done their homework very well. The MACOs on this ship used a shark as their logo, and as far as he knew, Enterprise had no other designation except NX-01.

His eyes opened wider as he saw what was stenciled below the patch: Major M. Reed. This man was impersonating the head of a MACO unit.

Hayes ought to be rolling over in his grave about now, Malcolm thought with a slight smile. He and the major had been involved in a power struggle most of the time Enterprise had been in the Delphic Expanse. Each of them had tried to assert control over the other's area of responsibilities, culminating in a fight that had gotten them both chewed out by the captain. They'd finally gotten things sorted out. Shortly thereafter, however, the major had been killed in the line of duty.

"I don't find it funny that I'm lying here trussed up like a Christmas goose," said the man on the bed.

Malcolm sucked in his breath as his gaze darted back to the other man's face. While he'd been lost in memories of the past, the man on the bed had woken up and was staring at him with icy gray-blue eyes. And when he'd spoken, it had been with a British accent, further convincing Malcolm this man was involved in a scheme to use his appearance for no good.

"Who are you?" Malcolm asked.

The smirk on the other's face grew bigger. "Don't you know?"

Malcolm tried another tack. "Why are you here?"

"I don't answer to you, you stupid git."

Malcolm quirked an eyebrow at that. The man had a lot of gall. He was restrained by straps on the bed, but was acting as if he had the upper hand. The other man watched closely as Malcolm walked back over to his bed and sat down.

Phlox, a medical scanner in one hand and several data disks in the other, came over then. "Finally awake, are we?"

Malcolm watched, fascinated, as the other man's features twisted into a snarl.

"Stay away from me, you butcher!" the man spat out.

"Oh, my!" Phlox appeared to be at a loss at the man's behavior, but in his typical fashion, he wasn't stymied for long. "Not quite the reaction I was expecting, but understandable, I suppose."

As the man watched warily, Phlox ran the med scanner over him. "Hmmm. Just as I'd thought."

"Doctor?" Malcolm asked.

Phlox looked at the readout on the scanner for a few more moments before snapping it shut and turning toward Enterprise's tactical officer. "He's you."

"What?" said Malcolm and the other man in unison.

Malcolm shot a quick look at his double, surprised that he'd said the same thing at the exact same moment, then turned back to Phlox. "What are you talking about?"

Phlox stepped over to a monitor on a nearby countertop and inserted one of the data disks. The screen lit up to show two sets of ragged lines. "The top brainwave pattern is yours; the bottom is his. You'll notice there are variations, but very slight. The variations could be caused by different stimulation to the brain as growth occurred as well as different learning experiences throughout life." Phlox pushed another button and another set of graphics appeared. "But the clincher is this -- your DNA."

Malcolm peered at the two sets of winding, ladder-like DNA strands. "I don't see any difference."

"Exactly," Phlox said. "They are identical."

Both Malcolm and Phlox turned to gaze at the man on the bed, who was staring back intently.

"How is that possible?" Malcolm asked, more to himself than Phlox.

The man on the bed suddenly spoke up. "You can tell the captain that this farce has gone on long enough. He's won this time. I concede. Now get these straps off me!" He gave a tug against the wrist straps to emphasize his point.

Phlox scratched his chin, considering the man on the biobed even as he ignored the outburst. "I don't believe he's a clone," he said to Malcolm. "I've found no evidence of such in the preliminary testing I've done."

Malcolm knew Phlox had a better understanding of genetics than the average Starfleet medical officer. Scientists on his planet had long ago dabbled in genetic engineering, but had given it up for moral considerations. He'd take Phlox's word that the man wasn't a clone.

"I swear I'll have both of you thrown in the agony booth if you don't turn me loose now," the man on the bed yelled.

Continuing as if the other man hadn't spoken, Malcolm asked Phlox, "So if he's not a clone, what is he?"

"Quit acting like I'm not here!" shouted the man.

Malcolm at last focused on the man, giving him a hard stare. "Only if you answer my questions," he said. "What is your name?"

The other man clenched his jaw and stared back just as determinedly. When Malcolm didn't back down, he seemed to give in. "Malcolm Reed," he said grudgingly.

Trip took a break to grab a bite to eat before he was to join T'Pol in the command center. While he would have preferred to remain in Engineering to go over what had happened with the transporter, the command center had a wider array of tie-ins to systems throughout the ship as well as access to all the short- and long-range scanners.

The mess hall was nearly empty when he entered. He thought he might have to eat alone, but after he picked out a roast beef sandwich and some chips, he spied Hoshi sitting by herself near one of the windows. As he approached, she perked up, an inquisitive expression on her face.

"Is it true?" she asked even before he sat down. "The person who got transported on board looks just like Malcolm?"

"My gosh, woman!" he said. "Is there anything on this ship you don't know about?"

Hoshi made show of thinking about that. "Not really," she said after a few moments. "Besides, I heard Foster when he comm'd the captain on the bridge after the shoot-out."

Trip almost choked on a bite of his sandwich as he tried not to laugh. "Shoot-out?"

Hoshi nodded as she grinned. "That's what Foster called it. He's been reading Westerns lately." She lowered her voice. "Although it wasn't much of a shoot-out. That guy shot Malcolm, then took out the comm panel -- which I'm going to have to fix, by the way -- and then he got shot in the back when Foster 'got the drop' on him."

Trip snorted. An armed intruder had come aboard and started shooting things. He didn't care how the man got taken down, just so long as he was before he did more than damage a comm panel. Thank God Malcolm hadn't been seriously hurt in the process. Trip was able to eat a few bites of his sandwich before Hoshi started with the questions again.

"So where did this guy who looks like Malcolm come from?" she asked.

Trip took a sip of coffee to wash down his food and said, "Don't know. That's what T'Pol and I are hoping to figure out."

"Maybe I'll take a stroll by sickbay and see if this person really is that close of a match for Malcolm," she said.

Trip grinned. "Malcolm probably could use the company," he said. "I heard from the captain that Phlox won't release him."

"He's all right, isn't he?" Hoshi asked in sudden alarm. "I mean, it's not like he hasn't been shot before. When I'd heard he'd been shot, I just assumed he was stunned--"

"Yeah, he's okay," Trip said before she could work herself up to a full-fledged panic. He grinned as he realized how frustrated Malcolm must be by now. "But you know how much he likes being cooped up in sickbay."

Malcolm was getting a few answers out of his counterpart, but he wasn't sure what to make of them. For one thing, the other Reed had told him ISS stood for Imperial Star Ship. Imperial -- as in an empire. He had also said he was in charge of security aboard the ISS Enterprise, which matched with Malcolm's duties. But while Malcolm was nominally in charge of the MACOs, he didn't belong to that military service branch as this Reed claimed.

Most peculiar was that this Reed seemed to think he had been in the process of returning to his own ship when he'd wound up here. Malcolm got the impression Reed thought this was a hoax, or maybe a test of some sort. The man vehemently denied any attempt at sabotage or spying.

In return for the man's cooperation, Malcolm offered a few tidbits of information of his own to see what Reed's reaction would be. Reed didn't seem surprised when informed Captain Archer was in command of Enterprise, but had seemed leery of the doctor. It was almost like he was expecting Phlox to harm him in some way.

A particularly loud squawk from one of Phlox's creatures caught Reed's attention. "He must be getting ready for more experiments," Reed said with disdain.

"What are you talking about?" Malcolm asked.

"That sorry excuse for a doctor is always experimenting on something -- animals, Tellurites, Andorians, even the occasional Vulcan. I knew it was only a matter of time before he started in on humans." Reed snarled, pulling against the restraints. "What have I done to displease the captain?"

As he watched the other man struggle, Malcolm was beginning to wonder if there was some reason other than the obvious for his presence. But if it wasn't the result of a botched covert operation, why was he here?

The sickbay doors slid open, and both men turned their heads in that direction. Malcolm's eyes lit up at the sight of Hoshi walking in. He'd wondered when she'd get around to visiting. She always did when he was stuck in sickbay.

A sharp intake of breath from the other man made Malcolm look back at him. He was startled by the open lust he saw on Reed's face. Hoshi was aware of it, too, Malcolm realized, for she stopped several feet away, as if afraid to come any closer.

"Hoshi?" Malcolm asked.

He saw her shake herself before breaking eye contact with Reed to look at him. "Um, I just came by to see how you were doing, and if..." Her gaze went back to the other man and she took a few steps to come stand by the tactical officer where he sat on a biobed.

Reed spoke before Malcolm could. "Yes, I do look like him."

Hoshi's eyes widened. "You sound just like him, too."

Malcolm felt his temper start to rise when he saw Reed's gaze insolently rake up and down Hoshi's body. The man was physically restrained, but the sexuality he was projecting was unmistakable. That Hoshi was aware of it was undeniable -- a blush was staining her cheeks, although there was an amused glint in her eyes. At least Malcolm thought it was amusement.

"Why don't you ask your boyfriend here to take these straps off," Reed purred.

"He's not my boyfriend," Hoshi replied before turning her incredulous stare on Malcolm. "He may look like you, but he definitely doesn't act like you."

Malcolm opened his mouth to speak but Reed beat him to it again. "Oh, that's right. He couldn't be your boyfriend. You're the captain's woman," he said.

"Captain's woman?" she said with a frown. "If that's what I think it is, I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted."

Malcolm prudently kept his mouth shut. He was learning more about their unexpected guest by watching the byplay going on in front of him. Hoshi didn't realize that she was providing the perfect distraction to get Reed to let something slip.

"If you're not with the captain, may I assume you are...available?" Reed asked suggestively.

Hoshi snorted delicately and looked pointedly at the straps holding Reed on the bed. "I don't think you're in any position to be asking."

"I can offer you almost as many perks as the captain," Reed said. "Probably even some he doesn't have. Just get rid of your friend here and let me free from this infernal bed."

Hoshi turned to look at Malcolm. "Did Phlox give him something to make him act like this?"

Malcolm shook his head and took her by the arm as he hopped off his bed. Leading her away, he said quietly, "I don't know what he is or why he's here. And as far as I know, I don't have a twin."

"You sure you're all right?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he said. He cast a quick glance back at Reed, who was still watching them. "I appreciate you coming to see me, Hoshi, but it would probably be best if you left."

Following his gaze, she said, "He was just flirting with me."

Malcolm turned her around to face sickbay's exit. "Hoshi, I'm serious. He's not flirting. I think he's deadly serious about what he'd like from you."

Hoshi gave him a look that said she didn't believe him, but she nodded and headed for the door. Malcolm turned his attention back to the man on the bed, who was watching Hoshi leave. Malcolm was very fond of Hoshi, and had often thought there could be more to their relationship than friendship if only he would allow himself to try, but he'd never considered expressing his desire in such a crude, forward manner as the man strapped to the bed had. A lifetime of civilized social behavior, along with rigid military protocol, had kept such impulses in check.

The man who looked like him apparently had no such restrictions.