It was a meat cave, and in the dim light I took a moment to orient myself. One of the women I'd seen before came up behind me and spoke. "I am Sha-lan and this is my child, Sha-loa. I see you have brought your own blades." Her tone was approving.

"Hi. I'm Fran. Yes, I brought my best," I nodded. "So has anyone begun to carve?"

She shook her head. From what I could see, Sha-lan was about thirty years older than me, and from the look of her muscles, she'd been working hard most of her life. She pointed up with a hooked stone blade, to the wet red curve above us where the ribs were visible under a thin layer of meat. "Usually we go between the bones here to open it, and work from either end. With smaller animals it's easier to go from the outside, but with a Cho'olk, inside is quicker."

I nodded. "How many people are you feeding?" I asked her.

"Fifty, but we will save and cure enough for two more meals," Sha-lan replied, "not counting the feast tonight."

"Okay. I want pieces from here-" I jabbed my knife towards the inside of the hind leg. "At least three big roasts, and some of the long flank as well, in a sheet if possible."

Sha-lan nodded. "What else?"

I shook my head. "That's it; more than enough for us, but I would be happy to help cut for your people as well."

She smiled at that. "Yes, we would be grateful for that, Fran. Now we work."

And we did, too. I sliced and cut as best I could, but working overhead wasn't easy. Sha-lan and her daughter were faster, but I took my time so I wouldn't ruin anything by rushing. It was messy of course; I had blood dripping all over me, and the smell was strong but I was interested in how the Shabotax did their work, and asked a lot of questions as well about what they did to preserve the meat.

They salted most of course, and Sha-lan spoke of an oil and honey soak for other cuts that they would seal in a sort of wax that hardened to a stone consistency. When they wanted the meat they'd break the stone open. All of it sounded fascinating.

After a few hours, more women came and Sha-lan insisted we stop and let them continue the dismembering. I climbed out stiffly, feeling rank with the blood odor but pretty pleased too at the work I'd done. Old professor L'Arnax would be pleased that I'd remembered so much from his lectures. As we reached the ground I blinked, not used to the light.

Archer was there, waiting, and the look he gave me was priceless: half awe, half fear as I wiped down the blades. He came over to me, braving the stench and spoke in an urgent whisper. "Are you all right, Franny?"

"A little achy," I admitted. "By the way, if anything qualifies as earning hazard pay, this is it, Captain."

He laughed and nodded. "Noted. You look . . ."

"Like a mass murderess, yeah," I finished for him, wincing. "But we've got enough roasts for several meals including the chief engineer's planned seven course dinner. Dio, I want a bath."

"Fran!" Sha-lan called, waving me over. I headed her way, aware of my blood-spattered semi-nudity, of Reed and Hoshi looking horrified. I turned and grinned at them before reaching our hostess.

"We will wash at the firefalls," She told me, pointing down a path. "Before the blood fully congeals."

Torn, I looked back at the shuttle craft, knowing the trip back to the ship would be freezing cold and made the decision. "Okay. Let me get my clothes."

Archer insisted on bringing my chef's jacket and slacks himself, trailing behind me but Sha-lan shook her head. "No men," she told him sternly. "Not at the falls. Give those to one of the other girls and she will bring it to us."

I shrugged and followed Sha-lan down the path, where after a few twisting turns it led to a tiny pool that steamed. I stared, realizing there was indeed a waterfall and that it was cascading from a thermal spring, creating a natural hot shower, and that Sha-loa was already there, cleaning up.

"Fire fall," Sha-lan nodded. "We always try to end the hunt close to one so that we can clean up. Here," she handed me a little pot of ointment that smelled strongly of mint. "It cleans."

So I showered in the open, thrilled to get the blood off me. By this point I felt a true bond with Sha-lan and Sha-loa, who laughed and sang as we all washed up, helping me get the last of the blood out of my hair before braiding it for me and tying it with a little thong.

"You did well," Sha-lan told me. "A little slow, but after a few hunts you'll be as quick as any Shabotax. Tell me, why did you choose the round muscle when you could have had pieces far more tender?"

"We have ways of preserving the round and using it in smaller amounts," I told her. "Tender cuts don't freeze well; they should be eaten first, and quickly."

She nodded. "You, Fran of the Starfleet-you understand meat."

It was the nicest compliment I'd gotten in a long time, and I was smiling as I headed back up the hill, dressed and clean.

Archer looked as if he wanted to hug me but of course he couldn't. I smiled at him and stood close enough to whisper. "You know I'm not wearing any underwear now, right?"

"Thanks for that added bit of torture," he hissed back, but with a grin. "So . . . you're invited to the feast with us of course."

"Wouldn't miss it for the planet," I told him.

Great feast. Ribs mostly, rubbed with a salt and pungent herb compound that put a spicy sweetness over the wild game taste. I did my best to set the gracious example, chowing down with enthusiasm while Archer and Hoshi ate, Reed picked, and T'Pol settled for what looked like a bowl of porridge.

Sha-dar kept looking at me throughout the meal and I thought he was going to challenge me to a duel, or say something further about lost skills, but when the feast was over he came over, prodded a bit by Sha-dran and stood tall.

"You DO have skills," he muttered reluctantly. "And the Panthe here now call you sister."

"Thank you," I replied. I was feeling sleepy and very full now, more than ready to shuttle back and sleep for hours, but Sha-dar continued.

"I give to you a gift from the Shabotax to show you are always welcome to return." Slowly he held out a braided black cord with something long and pale dangling on it: an elk's tooth, I surmised.

I slipped the necklace on and smiled at him. "Thank you. I'm very honored and grateful."

Sha-dar gave a nod and a grunt, turning away, duty done. Behind him, I saw Sha-lan and Sha-loa smiling at me and that was worth everything.

We all said our goodbyes and climbed into the one shuttlecraft since the other had taken all the meat back much earlier. Reed flew it, and I sat next to Archer, slowly dozing off as they all talked in low tired voices. I know I fell asleep because the next thing I knew Archer was helping me out of my seat and insisting on walking me to my cabin.

"Come on, Franny," he urged quietly. "Beddy bye."

Ever been tucked in by a starship captain? It was probably adorable but I was too sleepy to enjoy it properly. I changed into my nightgown and toddled over, letting Archer help me into my bunk. He leaned over me and said I'd done a great job.

"You went above and beyond the call of duty today and I'm grateful," he told me before kissing me, gently, and slipping out to let me slide back into Lala-land.

Of course the next morning I was in agony. I woke up full of aches, and any use of my arms had me wincing. I slowly got up, stretched a little and took forever getting dressed before I shuffled my way to Sick Bay, where Phlox shot me a concerned look.

"I may have overdone it," I confessed. He made me sit, and produced some sort of hypo spray, pressing it to my shoulder.

"Analgesic and muscle relaxant," he told me. "Yes, I heard about your day of rendering with the Shabotax. I wish I could have seen the process myself, particularly the carcass. Lieutenant Reed was rather impressed with it."

"It was bigger than a shuttlecraft," I sighed. "And gamey. Still, we were gifted with meat and that's a bonus."

"I'd like to inspect those cuts as soon as possible," Phlox told me. "For safety's sake."

"Of course. Thank you for the relief," I replied, rising and flexing my shoulders. They were still sore but I'd live.

Maalik was bubbly when I came into the galley, thrilled by the deliveries and full of ideas for serving them up. "We can save a few of the roasts for the holidays of course, but I was thinking of beef wellington for tomorrow night, and spiced kebabs . . ."

"All good," I agreed, rolling out biscuits. "Where is it stored?"

"Locker two," Maalik told me. "I took the liberty of flash freezing most of it."

"Phlox wants to check it over so be prepared," I carefully cut the biscuits and lined them on a baking sheet, mentally working out how many I could get from this batch. That's an intrinsic part of cooking; working out portions within a certain parameter. Some things I knew I'd need more of, because the crew especially liked them.

We served up breakfast and chatted as people came to pick up their food. When Trip showed up, grinning, I suspected what he was going to say.

"Soooooo, about that seven course meal you owe me," he began and I rolled my eyes.

"Way ahead of you," I sighed. "When were you thinking of having it?"

"Friday—"

I shook my head. "That's movie night. Saturday?"

He nodded. "Saturday's fine. What can I say's on the menu?"

"Delmonico steak," I told him. "Fair enough?"

Trip gave me his trademark smirk, nodding. "More than fair. Tell you what; I'll build that chute myself before Saturday just to show I'm a magnanimous winner. Work on it after hours so I won't be in the way, all right?"

I beamed back at him. "Yes! Thank you!"

He shrugged and sauntered off while I shared the good news with Maalik, who was as thrilled as I was—every step saved in a kitchen was worth it.

When I brought Archer dinner that night, he watched me with a look that had me tingling. Dinner was a simplified chicken Marengo so I could use up the extra tomatoes, but I gave it the same flourish I did for each meal. "So," he began as I set the dish down. "Going to movie night?"

Something in his tone made me fight a smile. "Depends. What's playing?"

"The Magnificent Seven," Archer replied. "It's a western, I think."

"Are you going?"

He shook his head with deliberation. "No. I . . . think I'll be in my cabin."

I met his gaze. "Alone?"

"I hope not," Archer murmured playfully.

"Hmmm," I pretended to consider it. "Well I could come by if you don't mind company."

"Please," he sighed. "Pretty please?"

There was something enticingly sweet about having the most self-assured man on the entire ship just on the edge of pleading, and I took a moment to savor it, even as I reached down and ran a thumb over Archer's lower lip.

"I'll have you for dessert," I replied as throatily as I could, just to see him drop his fork, fumble with his napkin and shoot me a look that could have melted titanium before I strolled out of the Mess, smiling.