Title: Secrets

Author: soultoast

Rating: R for language.

Spoilers: "The Expanse."

Pairings:  Nopesie daisy.

Disclaimer:  Yeah, I don't own Star Trek.  If I did, it would be a hell of a lot weirder.  And I don't own the lyrics to the Traditional Irish drinking song by Denis Leary.  But here's a link if you want to hear the lyrics.   . 

Authors note: Liz Cutler, even though she helps out Dr. Phloxx, she is a trained entomologist (bug scientist).  Oddly enough, this is true.

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Six Weeks into the Expanse…

Ensign Hoshi Sato sat at a nondescript, grey table, eating her breakfast.  As she ate her eggs and toast, the door opened to admit a group of the MACO.  There were twenty of them on board and they all slept in cargo bays converted into barracks.  For the most part, the regular crew was getting used to the strangers who were now assigned to the ship.  The MACOs were all very official, very cold, and very cocky.  She quickly counted the number in the mess hall- fourteen, not counting their superior, Major Hayes.  They even sat and ate in serious fashion.  Everything about them seemed really serious.  So far, they had mostly kept to themselves.  A few moments passed and she was nearly done with her breakfast when the door opened again to admit the other six MACO's; five men and one woman.  Hoshi had noticed that this group seemed closer, like they were old friends, but they mostly kept to themselves.  The woman had long brown hair and a beautiful face, and the guys were all rather tall and rather handsome.  But Hoshi wasn't the only one at her table who had noticed that. 

"I'll say one thing for those guys, they sure are handsome," murmured Liz Cutler.  "They all had to come in for a physical, so I assisted Dr. Phloxx.  Most of these MACOs are kinda stiff, but those five guys that just walked in, they're actually pretty nice.  I think they were flirting with me."

"Who is he?" Hoshi whispered to her friend.

"Which one?"

"The one with freckles and the curly black hair.  He has nice eyes."

"I know!  Violet!" Liz squealed.  "He's Jarod Reilly.  He kinda acts like the leader of their little group."

"I've met the woman before, I think her name is Asha.  She's seems pretty nice," Hoshi continued.  "Who are the others?"

"The one with the brown hair, his name is Daniel Easton.  He's British, pretty nice.  Then one with the straight black hair is Levi Walters.  He's southern, I think he's from Alabama or Mississippi or something," Liz smiled.

"What about the red head?"  Liz rolled her eyes.

"That's Eli.  I think he likes me."

"How can you tell?"

"Two minutes into his exam he got on his knees and proposed to me.  He keeps flirting with me even thought I tell him no.  Not really the brightest conduit in the system."

"But he's cute in an adorable puppy way," Hoshi added.  "Cute guys are always nice to have around."

"True, very true.  Makes life on a ship a little bit more enjoyable, and their cuteness makes their names easier to remember."  Liz wiggled her eyebrows mischievously before taking a sip of orange juice. 

"The blonde Russian, what's his name, Alexei?" Hoshi questioned.  "He was on the bridge of the Nausicaan ship.  He has a really beautiful accent."

"Yeah, Alexei Vissarovich, but I think he's gay."

"Why do you say that?"

"I heard them talking in Sick Bay, I guess he was hitting on Commander Tucker when they first got here!" Liz finished.  Her eyes were glowing with excitement.  Hoshi laughed, her mouth agape.

"You're kidding?!  Poor Trip!  That would explain why he doesn't want to be near them."  Her eyes drifted back over to the smaller MACO group and suddenly widened.

"Hey, your husband's coming over," she whispered.  Liz looked up from her plate and groaned at seeing Eli walking over, tray in hand. 

"Good morning Ensigns.  Mind if I join you?" his eyes were glued to Liz's face.

"Sure, have a seat," Hoshi offered, stifling a laugh.  Beneath the table, Liz kicked her ankle.  Hoshi suppressed a laugh; from the angle Liz sat at, it was really more of a tap then a kick, but Hoshi still got the message.

"Thanks!  I'm starving."  Eli stuffed his mouth with eggs before speaking again.  "I don't know how I got so hungry.  I ate dinner pretty late last nigh-,"

SMACK!  Daniel had walked up behind Eli and struck him.  "Don't talk when you're eating, you bloody pig."

Hoshi stared; his voice was smooth and deep, his British accent seductive.  Wow, Hoshi thought, here I am looking at a cute guy, and all I can do is compare him to someone else.  Eli swallowed his eggs, and used his other hand to rub his forehead. 

"Ah, sod off you poof."  Daniel rolled his eyes at the pseudo-British retort. 

"Mind if I join you?"  Daniel sat down confidently before the ladies could respond.  Liz felt goose bumps rise along her skin; he was very attractive.  At the table beside them, the other four MACO's sat and began eating.

"So, already harassing Starfleet, Eli?  You know, they aren't like those easy Risan girls.  They're ladies, and you need to romance ladies, and then hope like hell that they're easy," Jarod said, taking a drink of his orange juice.  Liz looked over at Jarod and smiled softly.

"That's true, sort of; I mean, I know I sure would appreciate some romance in my life," she murmured, her eyes briefly meeting Jarod's.

"He said easy, not trashy, Cutler."  Asha's cold voice cut through the room like a knife.

"Excuse me?"  Liz's asked, her face turning a soft shade of crimson.

"Look, I'm sure you're good at playing the dumb slut, but not with my friends," Asha continued with a chuckle.  Her eyes glowed with amusement.  "Our job is to protect the ship, and we can't do that if our boys are thinking with the wrong organ."

"Don't tell me what to do, Miller.  I can do what I want," Liz countered.

"Or who you want," Eli interjected.

"You can do what you want, but if you hurt my friends, and I'll pin you down like one of the bugs in your collection."  Asha stood and collected her tray.  She tossed it into the recycler and left while Jarod chased after her.  Eli let out a whistle;

"Damn, attack of the green-eyed monster psycho wench."

"Green-eyed?  You mean she's jealous of me?!"  Liz frowned.

"No, you misunderstand our simple friend.  She's not jealous of you, she's jealous because you hit on Jarod," Alexei explained, biting into a sausage.

"She has a crush on him?"  Hoshi's eyes were wide: fraternization was forbidden on the Enterprise, but the Captain didn't care as long as those involved were of similar rank.  But for the MACOs it was a solid, unbreakable rule.

"Ah, it actually goes both ways, luv," Daniel said.

"Isn't that forbidden?" Liz asked.

"Well, yes, technically," Daniel said evasively.  "But they aren't actually dating."

"Nope, they're just sex buddies," Eli added.

SMACK!!

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Meanwhile, down in the gym…

Trip strolled into the gym, his toolkit in hand.  There was a report about glitch in the gym com system.  It would likely be a five minute problem, but since it was on his way to engineering, he'd take care of it before the MACOs complained again.  As he opened his toolkit, he heard a banging sound.  Slowly, he turned around to see Corporal Reilly stumbling out from a small alcove behind one of the larger pieces of exercise equipment.  Trip couldn't be certain, but there seemed to be someone else in there.

"How are you, Corporal?" he drawled.  Jarod cleared his throat as he finished zipping up his jumpsuit.

"Fine, it's all good."  Jarod licked his lips as his eyes darted back to the alcove.  "So, how long you gonna be on that, Sir?"

"Ten minutes maybe," Trip said, trying to conceal his amusement over the younger man's predicament.  Asha strolled out of the alcove, pulling up her zipper.

"Fuck secrecy, we have to meet with the Major in two minutes and can't wait for this shit."  Asha didn't even acknowledge the situation as she headed out of the room.  As she passed Trip, she nodded.

"Commander."  She was gone before Trip could say anything.  Jarod followed her; at the door he paused and faced the Commander.

"Sir, are you going to mention this to Major Hayes?" 

"Mention what?  I didn't see a damn thing," Trip shrugged.  "Although I definitely heard some language that I haven't heard in a long time."

Jarod smiled, running a hand through his short curls.  "Yeah, she really likes four letter words.  But thanks for not busting us.  You know, we usually have a drink or two down in mess at around ten.  You're welcome to join us anytime."

"Thanks, but I think it might be a little awkward, y'know?" Trip trailed off.  Jarod stared at him in confusion until an enlightened smile broke across his features.

"Don't stress it, Alexei doesn't chase guys when there's no chance.  He's too lazy to try to convert someone," Jarod laughed. 

"You sure?"

"Yeah, he's a pretty calm guy."  Trip smiled, suddenly feeling a lot more comfortable about being hit upon by the Russian.

"Sure, I'll see you there."  He agreed.  Jarod nodded and headed out. 

"Later, Sir."

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Later that night…

Trip strolled down the hall.  He'd spent the day debating whether or not to join the MACOs.  He didn't want to be around people, but he didn't want to be alone either.  He'd already had his nightly neuropressure massage from T'Pol, but that would only let him sleep for a few hours, leaving him with another five hours of boredom and pain.  So he'd swallowed his fears and decided to join the young "space marines" instead of brooding for five hours.  As he entered the mess hall, he saw the group of six sitting in the corner, along with Hoshi and Travis.

"Hey Commander!" Eli called, a smile plastered to his face.

"Hey guys.  I brought something else for the festivities."  Trip drawled, holding out a black labeled bottle.

"JD?!  Thanks Commander!"  Jarod took the bottle form Trip and opened it, pouring it into the glasses already set out.  "Pull up a chair, Commander."

"Thanks, and it's Trip; we're off duty," he said as he dropped into a seat between Travis and Levi.

"So, how do y'all like the Enterprise so far?" he asked, taking a sip from the bottle of ale Levi pushed into his hands.  Daniel answered first.

"It's a nice ship.  Like the crew, although I get the distinct feeling that most of you Yanks are somewhat wary of us."

"Hey," Hoshi protested, "I'm not a Yank, I'm Japanese.  Get it right, you limey bastard."

Trip nearly choked on his ale; Ensign Hoshi Sato was drunk, very drunk.  "Maybe you should put down the ale, Hoshi.  How much has she had?"

"One glass of ale," Asha laughed. 

"Lightweight!" Jarod coughed.

"Hey, be nice!" Hoshi whined.  "That's not nice.  You're s'posed to be nice, and that's not nice."

"You should stop talking now, Hoshi.  Hey guys, guess what?  The linguist can't talk!"  Travis laughed at his own comment. 

The MACOs erupted with laughter.  "Good point!"

"We need a drinking song!" Eli declared, standing up.

"Good point!"  They all declared in unison again.  They then started to sing a song Trip, Hoshi, and Travis hadn't heard before.

"They come over here and they take all our land, they chop off our heads and they boil them in oil,
Our children are leaving and we have no heads, we drink and we sing and we drink and we die!" The MACOs dissolved into laughter. 

Trip laughed, "What in the hell was that?"

"It's an old- comedy song- by Denis Leary," Levi explained between pauses for breath.  "It's the Irish Drinking Song."

"That doesn't make any sense, man!" Travis yelled.

"Not funny?" Jarod asked.  The Starfleet officers shook their heads.

"Oh, sorry."  Jarod's cheeks turned red, as did those of the other males.  They quieted down, embarrassed. Hoshi sighed sadly.

"I hate men.  They're mean."

And so they sat there for an hour, just talking and drinking, but no singing.  By 23:30, they were quieting.  Hoshi had fallen asleep leaning on Eli, who had collapsed onto the table, clutching a backpack in his right hand.  Levi was discussing rock climbing with Travis, specifically the physical limitations of having sex while climbing.  Jarod and Daniel were dozing, occasionally interjecting comments that made little sense.  Alexei had wandered off, giving no explanation as to his intentions.  So Asha sat with Jarod's head in her lap, she and Trip relating humorous stories.  Eventually, even they quieted as they sobered.

"So where are you from? Florida?" she asked.  He nodded, taking another swig of Jack Daniels.

"Did you know anyone who was in the attack?"  Trip froze, unsure of how to answer that.

"Yeah, my little sister Lizzy.  She was in Florida during the attack."  Of their own volition, tears formed in his eyes.  "Did you know anyone?"

Asha shook her head.  "No, everyone I cared about died a long time ago.  These guys are the only family I have left."

"I'm sorry.  You don't have any brothers or sisters?"  Asha snorted, her lip curled in disgust.

"Yeah, I have siblings.  I was adopted and later my adopted family died, but my birth family is still alive and kicking."  Asha downed her glass of Jack Daniels.  Her fingers idly combed through Jarod's hair as she reached for a bottle of ale and took a drink.

"Then you're not really alone," Trip argued.

"No, I am.  They put me up for adoption because they didn't want to sully their reputation by having a child that was conceived out of wedlock.  They honestly don't care about me, and neither do their other children.  They just see me as a spot.  Because I wasn't raised 'properly,' because I'm not some empty headed brat, I am a disgrace."  Her voice dripped with anger.  "They hate how I am, even though they are the reason I'm like this."

"That's terrible."

"Yeah, but that's what life is like."

"Life's not supposed to be like that," Trip countered.  "Parents aren't supposed to be like that."

Asha laughed bitterly.  "You ever heard that saying 'Life's a bitch and then you die?'"

"Yeah."

"Well, it's true," she grimace.  Trip stared at her for a moment before answering.

"Hell, I hope it isn't true. If it is, then I'm…," he frowned as he searched for the right word.

"Fucked?" she supplied.

"Yeah," he chuckled.  "That's a sad way to see life."

"I guess so, but it's not all the way true.  Its like the saying 'Good things come to those who wait.'  They're both true, but they're both false."  Jarod shifted in her lap and looked up at her.

"Hey," he yawned.

"Hey," she whispered, smiling as she wound her fingers around his hair.  His eyes drifted shut as he fell asleep again.

"Are you two dating?" Trip whispered.

"No."  Next to them, Travis laughed at one of Levi's jokes.

"Really?  You sure act like it," Trip observed, shaking his head.  Asha raised her eyebrow mysteriously as she took a sip of whiskey.

Trip took another drink of whiskey before he spoke again.  "So what was it you were saying, they're both false?"

"Oh yeah.  See good things don't come if you just wait, you have to fight for them.  You have to fight, or else when life is a bitch, you die.  You just give up.  Life is a bitch, but if you fight through the shit, you get to the good part."  She continued as Trip laughed.  "I fought, and it did get better."

"That's… profound.  Odd, but profound," he laughed, draining his whiskey.  It was time to change the subject.

"What does Eli have in that backpack?"

"I have no idea, he came back from a market on Risa with it, and he hasn't let it out of his site.  He keeps hiding it."

Trip mouth curved into a smile, "Wanna find out?"

Asha laughed.  "Go for it."

Trip reached over.  Carefully, he tugged on the ties that held the bag closed.  He untied the three of them carefully, and then gingerly opened the bag.

"SHIT!!!!" he screamed, jumping up.  A small, furry, creature sprang out.  It was a foot high, covered in black fur.  It has large, round, red eyes, and large ears.  It had a large red tail and long, thin fingers.  It was less than a foot tall, and looked evil.

"What the fuck is that, Eli?"  Asha yelled, pushing Jarod off of her, who promptly fell on the floor.  All of the drinkers had woken up, suddenly alert, even Eli.  The group stood there while Jarod struggled to get to his feet; they all stared at the creature.

"What is that?" Hoshi whispered, cowering behind Travis.

"It's my Risan Tree Meeka, and you scared her!" Eli whispered forcefully.

"Whats it doing?" Jarod yelled.  The small creature shivered at the loud sound.

EEEE!!!!  The creature cried, making a shrill, eardrum shattering noise like that of a screaming child. 

"Fuck, man, make it stop!" Daniel yelled.  The doors to the mess hall opened.

"What in the bloody hell is going on in here?" Malcolm demanded, his bathrobe flapping open.  His gaze immediately fell on Hoshi's face.  The Meeka looked at the door and realized its opportunity.  It jumped off the table and sprinted towards the open door.

"Don't let it out, Malcolm!" Hoshi screamed. But it was too late, it was out. 

"Seeka!!" Eli cried, running towards the door.  "We need to find her before someone kills her!"

Eli bolted out the door, as did the rest of the intoxicated humans.  They stopped outside, unsure of what direction it ran.

"Where'd she go?" Eli asked, looking at Asha.

"What in the bloody hell is-."  A hand covered Malcolm's mouth as Asha stepped forward, eyes closed as she listened.  Her eyes snapped open. 

"This way!"  The group ran down the hall after her, running as fast as they could.

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Meanwhile…

Captain Archer stepped out of his quarters, dressed in sweat pants and an old tee-shirt.  He rubbed his eyes and yawned.  He turned and looked behind himself.

"Don't look at me like that, you're the one who decided that we had to take a walk this late.  Come on," he urged.  Porthos slowly walked out on his leash and looked up at his owner.  Archer slowly stumbled down the hall, unsure of where to go.  After a few moments, he was awake and hungry. 

"Should we go get snack, Porthos?  Want some cheese?"  The dogs ears perked up at the mention of his favorite dairy product.  Archer smiled andheaded towards the turbolift.  Once inside, he leaned against the wall, exhausted.

"You do know this is the first night in weeks I've slept so well.  And of course you had to wake me up-,'' the Captain stopped talking as the turbolift halted; it wouldn't do for the Captain to be seen talking to his dog.  The doors slid open, and there on the floor, staring at him, was a monkey- rat creature.

"What the-," before he could finish, Porthos started barking.  He bared his teeth at the creature, pulling at his leash.  Archer struggled to keep Porthos back, but it wasn't easy.  The creature tensed up;

EEEEEEE!  Archer released the leash and clasped his hand to his ears; the cry was earsplitting.  Porthos took advantage of the opportunity to chase the creature.  The creature zipped down the hall, screaming along the way.  Archer took off after them, calling after his dog.

EEEEEE!

BARK!

"Porthos!"

EEEEE!

BARK!  BARK! 

"Porthos!"  As Archer rounded a corner, he saw a group of the MACOs, along with Hoshi, Trip, and Travis, running towards him, and Malcolm chasing after them.  Trip ran over and jumped on Porthos, holding him down with all his strength.  The creature ran into the red head's open arms, huddling and shaking.  Archer stopped and surveyed the group.

"What in the hell is wrong with you guys?  Are you insane?"  The rest of the group had slowly backed away from Eli, who stood there holding his pet, who suddenly realized that Archer was looking at him.

"Who, me?" he squeaked.  "Is the answer yes?"

The group behind him fell apart, laughing again.  Archer rolled his eyes, they were drunk.

"Get to bed, all you.  That's an order."  He glared at each them until they'd all murmured yes.  He bent over and grabbed Porthos' leash.

"Come on, boy.  Let's go to bed."  Archer sighed as he headed off towards the turbolift.  As he heard the doors closing, he could have sworn he heard singing.

"Oh we have no heads!  Oh, we have no heads!"  Despite the utter insanity of it all, he was relieved.  He had seen Trip tonight, and Trip was smiling.