Chapter Eight
16:00 hours. That Same Day.
Trip was finally released from the brig, but that wasn't the end of it. He had told Malcolm that he would give him the details later so Malcolm decided to that suffice for the time being and he could now turn his full attention to more personal things. He had left Hoshi several messages yet he hadn't heard back from her. That made him very, very nervous. Perhaps she had changed her mind and now she was brushing him off. But he really wanted to see her before they left for shore leave. They didn't have any solid plans to spend any time together over the next month. Things had happened so fast between them that they had not been able to talk about it. Now, she wasn't calling him back, so he sought out her bff.
Malcolm quietly entered sick bay on Xfinity. It was so much bigger than Enterprise's that it seemed like a small hospital. He was hoping he didn't run into Phlox and have to start answering his nosy questions. He finally spotted Liz as she emerged from one of the rooms from the back.
"Ms. Cutler," Malcolm said. "A word if you don't mind."
"Captain Reed," Liz said, trying to play it cool, but her little cryptic smile said everything. Malcolm's heart sank knowing that Liz knew. "What can I do for you? Are you in need of medication adjustment?"
Malcolm shot her an equally fake smile. "I'm looking for Hoshi. I've been calling her all day and she hasn't returned any of my calls."
"So what," Liz snapped. "I wasn't aware that Lt. Sato was at your beck and call Captain."
"Cutler, as you were," Malcolm replied, "I'm not in the mood for your nonsense today. I just want to know if you've talked to her."
"It would serve you right if she never spoke to you again," Liz snapped. "After what you put her through… sir!"
Malcolm just stared at her a few moments. "Well, I suppose that told me, Lieutenant" he said sarcastically.
"Yeah, well I've been waiting a whole year to tell you what I really thought! Been holding all this stuff in!"
"Oh so you mean all the snide remarks, the eye rolling, the nasty comments and name calling I've endured from you all these months was you holding back?"
Liz just smiled and shot Malcolm a look. "Hmmmph!" she said.
"Look Lieutenant," Malcolm said, his tone becoming more reasonable, "you are being totally disrespectful to a superior officer. I could put you on report for insubordination!"
Cutler didn't respond right away, but her posture did change and her demeanor became more formal. "You're right, Captain. I apologize," she said. "I'm out of order." Malcolm looked down for a moment. "So if you feel you need to put me on report…"
"Come on Liz," Malcolm said. "You know I'm not going to put you on report. "Look, the original crew of Enterprise has a lot of history with one another and we're just far too familiar with each other that's all. You're not doing anything I haven't done myself. It's a good thing we're not all on the same ship anymore."
"You know I have nothing but the utmost respect for you as an officer, always have," she replied simply. "It's just that as a boyfriend, you keep coming up on the short end."
The captain gave her a look.
"Well, I'm sorry, but I saw the fall-out Malcolm," Liz said. "I was the one picking up the pieces and cleaning up after you for almost a year…and it wasn't pretty."
He looked down for a moment with his hands on his hips. "All right, all right. All I want to know is, have you seen or spoken to Hoshi since we got back?"
"Come to think of it, I haven't. We were so busy dealing with the injured and all, never got the chance."
Hit bit his lip. "You don't think she's…angry with me or anything, do you?" he asked.
"No, she's not mad at you. She hasn't been for some time actually. She was just hurt Malcolm."
"I can't understand why I haven't heard from her then? I've been by her quarters three times and I don't want to make a nuisance of myself. But, I really wouldn't want to leave without seeing her."
"Then wait 'til she calls," Liz said softly, reaching her hand out on the med table toward him. Then she smiled a little. "Besides, you're already a nuisance. I'm sure she'll call when she gets a chance. Hey, wait, you might wanna check with the Commodore. She's always giving up her leave and doing special assignments for him you know. Bet that's it. Bet he has her running around like his personal pet monkey or his trained seal or something!"
"Lieutenant!" Scandalized by her lack of respect for her CO, Malcolm looked around to see if anyone else might be listening.
"Just saying," Liz replied blithely. "Tell you what, I'll run her down for you, find out what's going on. Then I'll let you know, okay."
"I really would appreciate it," Malcolm said. With that he turned and exited the room.
That Night. 23:00 Hours.
Malcolm was really worried now. He still hadn't heard from Hoshi, in fact no one had. He'd checked with Trip and T'Pol and they hadn't heard from her. He'd checked with several others, and no one could account for her whereabouts. Liz couldn't even find her and that made him doubly nervous. She wouldn't have started her leave early without telling anyone. That wasn't like her and by now everyone had become concerned.
He hadn't been sleeping very well, especially after he'd started having his nightmare. He was particularly concerned when Commodore Archer contacted him also worried about Hoshi. Now, it was unlikely he would get to sleep at all.
To begin with, the worry gnawing at the Englishman's mind was that because she hadn't returned to her quarters that she could be spending the night somewhere else or with someone else. As the hours lengthened, he would have been grateful to know where she was at all, and finally lay down on his bed hoping at any minute to hear the comm officer contacting him to report news of her whereabouts.
About 03:00 Hours.
Malcolm was in the cabin on that frozen planet, again, trying to coax his injured female companion to have a drink.
"Come on, you need to drink just a swallow or two."
"N-no," she whispered.
"Why not?" he asked. "You need it."
"W-why are…why are you…doing this," she stammered.
"Because you need help, and I'm the only one here."
"Let me…die."
"You know I can't do that."
"You…bas…tard," she stammered.
"That's me, love," he grinned, "now drink." With that she sipped a little of the water. "That's great. Soup's for dinner, so get ready. Now that I know you can swallow, I'll be expecting you to get some of it down."
"Go…go…t-to…hell…" she whispered, then fell back onto the bed.
"That's the spirit," he said, ignoring her utter disdain for him, determined to save her life even as she fought against his attempts. Then he turned and went over to the fireplace, threw another log onto the fire and stirred it a bit more. He walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain again staring out at the blanket of white.
"How the hell am I going to get us out of here," he whispered to himself. Then suddenly, he felt someone approaching, but she was so ill just seconds ago. Perhaps she'd found the will to finally try and get out of bed. But when he turned to meet her eyes, he was startled by something cold and sharp tearing into his flesh.
"What- what the hell h-have you done!" he said as he grabbed his right side. He then looked at his hand and it was covered with blood. He felt the pain, immediately tried to disconnect from it. The blood was flowing rapidly. Perhaps she had struck him a major blood vessel.
He grabbed her as she tried to stab him again and they struggled with the broken blade. Where she had got it from or when she had got it, he didn't know. He wrestled it away from her as she was too weak to put up a real fight, and tossed it across the room.
"You silly little fool!" he said as he started to stumble, trying desperately not to pass out. "You've probably just sealed both of our deaths. I was our only hope of survival!"
"Good!" She spat at him. "I told you…to let me die… Now you can die with me! I told you if I got the chance I would kill you! You should have listened!"
Suddenly, he jumped! He was in his bed, sweating profusely and his heart was racing. Automatically, he grabbed his side and quickly looked at his hand- no blood, though he could have sworn he felt some pain. He leaped up from the bunk and raced into the bathroom where quickly splashed water onto his face and then ran some into a glass on the sink and quickly gulped it down.
It's just a dream," he said to himself over and over again. "It's not real, it's just a bloody… nightmare! Calm yourself Reed, you damned coward" he added savagely. Then he walked back into the bedroom, got back into the bed and tried to go back to sleep. A few minutes later, he was up again, pacing the floor
The Next Day. 0600 Hrs.
Early the next morning Malcolm, Trip and Erica received an urgent message from Jon: they were all to meet in his ready room on Xfinity. When the Captains arrived they immediately noticed Jon was pacing backwards and forward. He looked distressed. This was not a good sign.
"Come in," he said when the door swished shut. "Have a seat," and gestured for them to sit. They all looked at one another.
"What's going on Commodore," Trip asked.
"Listen, all of you," Jon began, "I wouldn't have called you all this early if this wasn't a matter of extreme importance."
"Something happened in just the last few hours?" Erica asked.
"Yes," Jon said taking a deep breath. "It's Hoshi."
"Hoshi!" Malcom said almost rising from his chair. "Has something happened to Hoshi?"
"On yesterday, Lt. Sato went to Starfleet headquarters on a special assignment. I told her I'd expect her back on Jupiter Station by dinner for a briefing. She didn't show up. I called headquarters and was told she'd left there at 16:00. I thought maybe she had some other things to do. When I didn't hear from her by 2300, I checked her quarters, thought maybe she's come back without checking in with me. She wasn't on the ship. I checked the transport log and was told she returned to the station at 16:30 hours, but never left again. I wasn't trying to be nosy," he said glancing at Malcolm, who quickly averted his eyes.
"I thought perhaps she was spending the night elsewhere. But ship's logs didn't show her coming or leaving the station, or going over to any of our other ships. That's when I checked with security overnight. They have a video, showing an unconscious woman being carried onto an unidentified craft by two unknown individuals. This small ship was met by another that just de-cloaked at the station and these hooded thugs carried a woman with a hood on her head on board, then went back into stealth mode, and took off."
"What?" Malcolm said rising abruptly along with Trip.
"It was Hoshi! She's been kidnapped!" The Englishman was all but shouting. "You're telling us Hoshi's been kidnapped!"
"Yes," Jon said leaning on his desk. "We think so."
"Jon!" Erica broke in. "Any idea who did this, any idea at all?"
"Starfleet intelligence has that video and they're analyzing it. They're trying to see if they can get anything at all from it."
"Commodore, this is crazy!" Trip said. "Why Hoshi? Why would anyone want to kidnap Hoshi?"
"The last time someone took her it was for her linguistic skills," Malcolm spat, pacing the room like a caged leopard. "We have to assume that she's been taken for the same reason this time."
"I tell you what else is really troubling," Erica added. Everyone looked at her. "They came right up to Jupiter station to take her. That gentlemen, is not good."
"Permission to assist with the investigation Commodore," Malcolm said straightening his back, trying very hard to regain his composure.
"I'd like to volunteer to be a part of the investigative team as well sir," Trip said.
Jon looked at Malcolm, then at Trip and down at the floor for a moment. "Thank you for your willingness to help," he said. "But SI has this under control."
"Sir?" Malcolm's voice almost trembled with suppressed fury. "With all due respect, but I am just as qualified to conduct an investigation as anyone at SI."
"I understand that Malcolm, but you're not in investigations anymore, you're a ship's Captain, you have other responsibilities,"
Malcolm made an exasperated sound ill-befitting a starship captain, and resuming his pacing.
"Commodore!" Trip interjected, "You mean, we're not going to do anything! We're not going to try to help and find her!"
"That's not why I called you all here," Jon said. "I called you here to tell you what's happened myself. I didn't want you hearing it from some other source, gossip, or a news feed or something. Also, I need you to go back to your ships and have a meeting with your tactical officers, safety is priority. Then you need to make a ship-wide announcement-you need to make sure your crew is aware of this potential threat."
"Since everyone is going on leave, there's going to be a lot of coming and going on the station over the next few days while repairs are being done to our ships. Families are usually allowed up here to pick loved ones up. Not this time. Only authorized vessels will be allowed access to the station. But as crew are leaving I don't want anyone wandering off alone," Jon continued on.
"Everyone need to travel in groups, report suspicious activity, stay on the alert. We've already had one of their spies working right on one of our ships sabotaging us, killing our people. Now they've gotten close enough to us again to take a valuable asset. Xfinity is going to be on patrol of the station and around Earth's atmosphere for the next 30 days. We've got to beef up security on the station and on our ships, we've got to be smart, not run off half-cocked. We're going to all do our jobs and let SI do theirs. Is that understood?"
"Commodore," Malcolm said. "Permission to speak freely sir."
"Malcolm, I know how you feel about Hoshi, we all do…"
"No sir, I don't believe you do. I'd like an opportunity to take Enterprise and bring her back."
"I'd be happy to go along on that mission Sir," Trip said. Jon folded his arms and heaved a long sigh.
"Listen you two," he said, "And I'm only going to say this once. Go back to your ships and do your jobs! You are not to investigate this matter, you are not to take a ship and try to go after Lt. Sato, is that clear?"
"No! That's not clear!" Trip said. "That's the most ridiculous, dumbass thing I've ever heard! Hoshi is not just some little nobody, some expendable minion for hire, she's Hoshi Sato! The best damned linguist in Starfleet! Hoshi! And I for one am not willing to sit around here and wait for those clowns at Starfleet Intelligence to bring her back. I say WE go after whoever took her, and WE bring her back! We owe her the effort! We owe her that much! We owe her that much!"
"I concur Commodore!" Malcolm said. "I'm not willing to risk Hoshi's life, to leave it in the hands of those incompetent idiots at SI! They couldn't find their backsides with both hands, let alone a kidnapper in deep space! So with all due respect Commodore, I suggest we not waste any more precious time standing around here pontificating and get after it!"
Erica stood there with her mouth hanging open, but said nothing. Jon just stood staring at his two captains, then looked over at Erica. Then he looked at the floor for a second, placed his hands on his hips and took a few steps closer to both of them, getting right in their faces.
"Look," he said firmly to Trip, "I'm going to excuse your little tirade, this time, because I know you've got a problem; irreversible brain injury, I think Phlox called it. Causes you to experience what the doctor described as irresistible impulses; causes you act stupid, do idiotic things, shoot off at the mouth from time to time, way more than usual mind you, without thinking! Well I tell you what Captain Tucker: I suggest you go see Phlox right now, and let him check your meds, before I have an irresistible impulse to throw your ass back in the brig for insubordination!"
"And Captain Reed, I'm going to excuse your outburst as well," he went on, fixing on the Brit with a glare. "This time," because I know you love Hoshi… yes that's right, and don't bother denying it. I know all about you and Hoshi, I've always known. And I'm aware that it's your heart that's talking right now instead of your head. But you'd better get your head out of your ass, because if you ever speak to me like that again, you're going to find your ass in the brig right next to your good friend irresistible impulse here," Jon said gesturing at Trip. "You got that?"
Trip and Malcolm didn't say anything further, they just stood there as Jon spoke; their faces showing their utter disdain for him and obvious disapproval of his directives. At the moment they appeared more like enemies rather than the comrades he'd commanded for so long.
"Now both of you, get out… and do your damn jobs, that's an order," he snapped.
"Aye Sir," the two men said calmly, turned and left the room.
Erica turned to leave as well but Jon stopped her. "Captain Hernandez," he said. "Hold on, I need a word with you." She stopped and faced him. He waited a moment until the others were completely out of the room and the door had swished closed behind them.
"I've been thinking long and hard about a lot of things," Jon began "And I have not been at my best for some time, I know that. I've made a mess of things and I accept responsibility for that. So…I've come to some decisions."
"Oh," Erica answered guardedly.
"Yes, and since they affect you, I wanted to share them with you face to face." Erica didn't speak, she just stared.
"You were right, about my aggressive attempts with finding…my son." There was silence for a moment. "I am not giving up the search completely…but I am scaling it back. I won't be going back out there myself…"
"Jon, that's all I've been…" But he stopped her.
"With this war going on, I realize, as you've pointed out…that my priority, my first duty is to the mission." Erica wanted to put her arms around his neck and embrace him, but there was something not quite right. There was something about him at the moment, something in his eyes, and something in his voice. She had seen it and heard it when he had spoken to Trip and Malcolm about finding Hoshi, it was a bit of coldness and…maybe a little…indifference.
"Alright Jon, if that's your decision," she said. "I told you I would support you in whatever…"
"It doesn't matter whether you support the decision or not, it's been made," he said. Erica frowned. "Also…be advised that you're being transferred."
"What!"
"Mark Philips death left the Captain's seat vacant on Columbia," Jon replied. "I'm sending you back over there as Captain."
"Back to Columbia! Jon, that's a demotion for me after this assignment! And what about Travis? He's the XO over there. He's been doing a great job and everybody knows it! Why not promote him?"
"He is doing a great job and I'm very proud of him," Jon said. "But he's not quite ready. He still doesn't have enough command experience and he doesn't have any management experience. He's a good year away from making full commander, let alone captain. That's why you're going over there, to take him under your wing, to get him ready."
"This is outrageous!" Erica protested. "You can't take over as captain full time of this ship, act as Commodore and Fleet Captain all at the same time! Are you crazy?"
"No, I'm not crazy! And you are out of line Captain!" Erica took a few steps back. What was going on?
"I see," she said, finally getting the picture. He was breaking up with her.
"Is there anything else, sir?"
"Yes, I'm also transferring T'Pol to another ship."
"T'Pol!"
"You heard me!"
"What about Trip?"
"What about Trip?"
"He and T'Pol need to be together, don't they? At least according to Vulcan…"
"This isn't Vulcan!"
"They're married!"
"I don't recall them ever exchanging any vows!" he shot at her, his face becoming redder and redder.
Erica bit down on her lip for a moment before speaking again. "What about his medical condition? I thought Phlox said part of the treatment was T'Pol helping him? That his condition affected his judgment at times? That he wasn't responsible for…"
"None of that has been proven yet Erica," he cut her off.
"But didn't the doctor say he needed more time to study Trip's condition. You said you'd give him that."
"And I intend to. That still doesn't affect my decision regarding T'Pol. The time has come… they need to be separated."
"Jon!"
"T'Pol supports Trip in his mess, anything he does. She just agrees with him, covers for him, lies for him. But that's my fault too. I've allowed them to break the rules…for far too long…because I wanted to break the rules-to indulge in my own passions. Well that ends today. I created this monster, and I'm the one that's going to reign it in! I'm setting things in order, right here and right now. From this point forward, the rules apply to everyone, me, you, Trip and T'Pol."
Erica still did not speak, she just looked at the floor.
Jon continued after a few moments, "T'Pol will be offered her own command. If she continues to refuse her promotion, then she'll serve as my XO here on Xfinity, end of story."
There was no point in further protest. Jon was obviously overcome with pain and frustration at not being able to find his son, and there was the stress of the war on top of that. He was also apparently grieving the loss of hundreds of lives his company suffered in the battle just forty-eight hours ago and unfairly blaming himself. Now Hoshi had been kidnapped, and he was lashing out. This was the old Jonathan Archer, the one that reacted to problems badly and pushed friends and loved ones away when he was stressed out and under pressure. This was the Jonathan Archer of the Expanse. Erica did not say more, she felt defeated as she knew there was no arguing with this Jonathan Archer.
"Well?" he asked expecting more push back.
"Sir?"
"Was there something else you wanted to say?"
"Not really," she replied. "I was just wondering though."
"Wondering what?"
"Wondering if the real Jonathan Archer would please stand up." He held his lips in a straight line, his face expressionless.
"If there's nothing further," he replied curtly, "dismissed."
"Aye Sir," she finally said, her back straight as a board, then she turned and exited the room with tears in her eyes.
