TWELVE DRUMMERS DRUMMING
January 6
Ensign Sato had the pleasure of kicking Partridge out of bed so that she could access the computer on the shuttlepod. She had eaten breakfast with Reed and Tucker after they came to the mutual decision that sleeping dogs--or annoying ensigns--should be left undisturbed.
Sato skimmed through the security archives of the derelict station, then read the relevant section aloud to the others while the three officers made a pointed effort to ignore Partridge as he sat in the back eating his breakfast while maintaining a running commentary on all plant life.
Reed and Tucker hovered behind Sato as she read the report. "...Twenty-two drones have malfunctioned as a result of overactive logic circuits. The interpretation of protecting the personnel at the station has been, uh, perverted. To prevent a death in the vacuum of space, the drones have begun to eliminate us on the station. The alpha drone has developed a nanoreceiver that it inserts into its victim. The tagged individual loses consciousness when a signal is transmitted so that the drones can--remove them..."
"Wait. The alpha drone could be the LoRD with the claws for extensions. Did you notice that when we first found them?" asked Reed.
"Yeah, you're right. It also had a larger power pack on its trunk," said Tucker.
Sato was rubbing the palm of her right hand. "It poked me with its claw. Do you think--"
"Of course! That's why you've been fainting every time I kiss you! Uh, I mean every time I CATCH you." Reed then registered the grin on Tucker's face and the surprised expression on Sato.
The Armory Officer tried to regain his professional demeanor before he further embarrassed himself. "That explains why the LoRDs spent their time going after us rather than Trip or Partridge. You need to finish the report, Ensign. Go on."
Sato gave Reed one of those Later looks and continued, "Of the fifty-four, only twelve of us are left. We have been unable to deactivate the units, but have designated them as Logically Replete Drones..."
"Never thought too much logic could be deadly. Wonder what T'Pol would make of it?" remarked Tucker. Reed nodded, but both officers were anxious for Sato to continue.
"We are now down to seven. The Central Authority has shipped us Drone Retrieval Unit Marshals to deal with the Logically Replete Drones. We are leaving on the transport ship that brings them. The station will be declared uninhabitable until the Marshals complete their work..."
"I don't like the sound of that," began Reed. "Apparently these Marshals that were sent were able to capture ten of the LoRDs, but there's no mention of what happened to the other twelve. I assume the Marshals have left, but with the station remaining abandoned, I wonder if they failed to get all of the LoRDs."
Reed didn't like their present situation. No communications with Enterprise, mad robots trying to protect them, alien Marshals that could or could not be at the station. It was a security officer's nightmare.
"Well, y'all were effective in eliminating the drones yesterday. Seems like they're not as efficient as they used to be. We'll focus on downloading information in the grain fields. I assume you wouldn't let us near the tropical zone now, Lieutenant?" asked Tucker.
"No, the grain fields will be the easiest place to spot an intruder. Can you adjust the scanner to see if the transmitter is in Hoshi's hand?" asked Reed.
Tucker shrugged, but soon gave a whistle as he scanned Sato's palm. "What? WHAT!"
"Sorry, Hoshi, but that's a beautifully designed receiver. I wanna take a look at it after Phlox removes it. Here, gimme your communicator so that I can set it to emit a jamming signal." Tucker quickly made his adjustments and tossed the communicator back to Sato who zipped it into her pocket.
"Hoshi and I can watch your back while you get the download and Partridge does his scans." Reed looked to Sato who nodded. Her proficiency rating with the phase pistol was actually just slightly higher than Tucker's, so she was the logical choice for the sentry duty now that she was unlikely to pass out. Of course, he'd also avoid kissing her.
"Let's move out. Partridge! Good lord, man, don't walk around naked! I don't care if ya need to air out; don't do it on my watch. Geez!"
Tucker swore he would make Captain if only to prevent a ship's contingent from having to suffer someone like Partridge as a crewmate. The three senior officers decided to wait outside while the ensign finished dressing.
-----
The away team headed to the grain fields cautiously. Once there Reed and Sato stood near the entrance with phase pistols in hand. Tucker was able to begin his download before they heard the sound: pa-rum-pa-pum-pum.
Reed and Sato looked at each other in disbelief. "That sounds like drummers."
Reed nodded, then punched the button to seal off the entrance. Looking through the glass they saw another set of drones coming to them. The drumming sound occurred when their forearms beat against their upper torso as they moved: pa-rum-pa-pum-pum.
"Twelve?" asked Sato as she quickly counted.
"Twelve," confirmed Reed.
The units stopped outside of the grain bay. Tucker and Partridge moved beside Reed and stared at their new neighbors threw the glass panel. The drumming stopped and a synthetic voice began to speak.
"We are Drone Retrieval Unit Marshals. By the command of the Central Authority, we are authorized to retrieve all Logically Replete Drones on this station."
"We don't have any Logically Replete Drones with us," called Tucker.
The DRUMers blinked at this comment. "If you assist the Logically Replete Drone in evading capture, we are authorized to terminate you. Cooperation is imperative."
"I told you, we don't have any Logically Replete Drones here. My people destroyed nine of them yesterday," insisted Tucker.
The DRUMers blinked again. "You have a Logically Replete Drone twenty centimeters behind this door."
-----
Reed immediately turned to confirm the assertion of the DRUMers. The alpha LoRD was just inches away from Sato. Reed fired his phase pistol but the LoRD was unaffected. It went directly for Sato with its claws. Reed then tried to pry the claw off of Sato, but was gripped by the other metal claw and hauled toward a conduit that fed the grain bay as the LoRD bounded away. The two officers looked like rag dolls being held by the neck.
-----
Tucker set his phase pistol to Kill, but worried about the effects the discharge would have on Reed and Sato. Instead he picked up a large pipe from the floor and began beating the LoRD with it, but his movements were impaired by Partridge who was using Tucker as a shield and hanging on to the Commander's shoulders.
The claws of the LoRD became tightened on the officers' throats as it ignored the hammering it was receiving from Tucker. Malcolm turned to Hoshi determined to at least tell her what she meant to him before he left this life. His voice was strained as he tried to say, "Hoshi, I--"
His phrase ended with a strangled sound. Hoshi was feeling light headed as she watched Malcolm's face began to turn blue. She heard her own voice as a harsh whisper, "Malcolm?"
Tucker was tempted to swing back just to shake off Partridge, but settled for saying, "Let go of me, I'm trying to bash the LoRD in."
Partridge removed his hands. Then he saw it. Wow! It looked just like a--
Just before Sato lost consciousness, the claws suddenly relaxed and the LoRD shut down. Reed and Sato slumped to the floor as they tried to regain their breath.
Tucker stopped in mid-throttle as he looked from his friends to Partridge who was holding a small control panel he had detached from the LoRD.
"Cool! It looks just like my old video game--uh oh, I shouldn't have pulled it off like that, huh?" said Partridge. He mistook the look of disbelief on Tucker's face for one of censure. Partridge immediately corrected his error and pushed the panel back onto the LoRD who immediately began to menace Sato and Reed again.
"NO! You ignoramus! You did something right! Gimme that!" exclaimed Tucker.
The engineer dropped the pipe with a clang and shoved Partridge out of the way. Tucker pulled the panel off of the LoRD and the drone shut down immediately. Tucker held the panel in his hand and appeared on the verge of smashing Partridge on the head with it, but then shifted his target and sent it bashing against the wall.
"Where were ya when they were passing out brains?" asked Tucker in disgust as he bent to attend to Reed and Sato.
"Is that a trick question, sir?" responded Partridge.
"I'm fine, Trip," whispered Hoshi in a raspy voice as she turned to Reed. His color was slowly returning. She wiped the hair from his forehead as Trip propped him up. "Is Malcolm okay?"
Trip saw Malcolm's eyes fluttering. "Yeah, I think we got lucky again."
Trip patted Hoshi's shoulder, then noticed the drumming coming outside the door. "I've gotta see about the Marshals, Hoshi. Partridge! You stay right here by Malcolm and check his pulse. No, don't squeeze the circulation to his neck off. That's his problem in the first place. Here, just, just sit in that corner and scan the grain."
Tucker moved to the door and shouted to the Marshals. "We've deactivated the drone you're after."
The drumming stopped. The Marshals began blinking in sequence, then spoke again. "We must retrieve the Logically Replete Drone. You have been labeled as uncooperative. You have one minute to open the door or we will--"
-----
Tucker didn't wait for the rest of it. He hurried back to his team and said, "Is there any other way outta here? The Marshals think we're not cooperating and I don't wanna trust them not to try to hurt us."
Reed was finally breathing and able to croak out, "That conduit that brings in the water. The LoRD used it to get to us. It's horizontal for most of its run. We could use the phase pistols to cut our way out once we're away from here."
"Let's go." Tucker led the way to through the tube followed by Sato, Partridge, then Reed with all of them creeping on all fours.
After traveling for fifty meters, Sato suddenly called a halt. "Wait, I need to change positions."
Tucker didn't even ask why. Reed heard a satisfactory SMACK as Sato slapped Partridge, then he felt her take the position just ahead of him. As the other two started off again, Sato murmured to Reed, "If anyone's going to keep bumping into my bottom, it is NOT going to be Danny Partridge."
Reed smiled and wished there were sufficient illumination to see the object in question. Instead, he was greeted by a distressing sound: rushing water. Reed rolled his eyes in frustration. Of course, why wouldn't events play out to feed his aquaphobia? Just bloody perfect!
"The flow of the water is steady," said Sato as she cocked her head. Her words were confirmed as the water slowly rose under them. They kept moving in the damp and dark until the water reached their elbows.
"Let's start cutting our way outta here, folks," said Tucker. The episode in this pipe reminded him of muggy summers in the cypress swamps. There was a reason he went into Starfleet and it was not to experience a hot, humid environment again.
They cut through the tube just enough to survey the area. Reed tried to match his memory for the schematics of the station. "I see something that I think is McGregor's garden. If we go another hundred meters and cut through, we should be able to make it out."
-----
"Just call us the Soggy Bottom team," said Tucker as they arrived at the shuttle. He took the controls and immediately prepared for take off. "Looks like everything's working. I'm gonna plot a course to intercept Enterprise. Hoshi, see if you can raise 'em on the comm yet. Malcolm, take a peek behind us to make sure the Marshals aren't gonna follow us. Partridge, go take a nap. That's an order."
"I'm surprised we didn't see any sign of the Marshals. I thought they would have locked down the station," said Sato as she began transmitting the hail.
Reed checked the scanners on the shuttlepod and turned them to the station. After making a few adjustments, he reported, "I detect activity going toward the command center. The twelve Marshals are all heading for cell block five. I see! It looks like the walls of the cell block hid their storage compartment."
"So they were hiding there all along? Why didn't they do their job once the LoRDs were released? Woulda save us a bunch of trouble." Tucker muttered.
"The station is old. It could have just been a glitch," commented Sato. "Got them! Enterprise, this is Shuttlepod One..."
~~~~~
EPIPHANY
"That's quite a little adventure you had, Trip," said Jonathan as he sat at dinner with his Chief Engineer and his Science Officer.
"It sure was. But we did download some of the designs for hydroponics. In all honesty, though, Ensign Partridge is--well, he's a liability, Cap'n." Tucker shook his head as he remembered his frustration.
"Ensign Partridge will soon be leaving Enterprise," said T'Pol in her usual calm voice. "Apparently his adventure with the chickens on the French cargo ship made him realize how much he missed working with poultry. He is being reassigned to the Poultry Development program at Starfleet Command."
"You don't say," said Tucker. His sigh of relief was clearly audible.
"Apparently he wrote home to his mother about how much he missed the chickens, so his stepfather pulled a few strings," said Archer with a smile. "We'll rendezvous with another Vulcan ship for his transfer home and our new crewman next month."
Tucker began to enjoy his meal with gusto. Thankfully it was prime rib with no fowl in sight.
----
"I think I can release you now that I'm satisfied the receiver did no permanent damage, Ensign Sato," said Phlox with a satisfied smile. Of course, he also noticed that the Masqueran loco weed had disrupted her contraceptive. It was likely to be less effective than predicted, but that was only conjecture. No need to alarm the ensign.
"Thank you, Doctor," responded Hoshi just before Malcolm entered the medical bay.
"Doctor, if Hoshi is being released, I'd like to escort her to get some dinner," offered Malcolm. He seemed awfully fidgety to Hoshi, but perhaps that was a good sign.
"Hoshi can decide for herself if she wants you to escort her to dinner, Malcolm," said Hoshi with a bit of censure in her tone.
"Uh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, uh, will you have dinner with me?" asked Malcolm directly of Hoshi.
"Only if we get it to take back to my quarters," said Hoshi.
Phlox smiled to himself as they said their good-byes. Developmental biology was one his prime interests, so he had been hoping someone on board would soon provide him with an object for study. It appeared he might have found his best source for his observations.
"Note: human gestation is forty weeks. Mark date appropriate if conception occurs tonight..."
-----
Malcolm and Hoshi enjoyed a quiet dinner together, then the moment Malcolm was dreading happened: the awkward silence that typically destroyed his relationships. Well, not this time. Malcolm cleared his throat, prayed that an alien invasion would soon disrupt the moment, and stumbled forward.
"Hoshi, I have something in my pants for you--I mean in my pants pocket for you. Oh, here, just take it, please, before I butcher all chances of you thinking well of me," ended Malcolm. He was not going to thrust the box at her and leave, much as he was tempted to.
Hoshi bit her lip to hold back a grin. Malcolm was so adorable when he lost his cool and she knew she was the only woman who could make him become a bumbling fool. She took the box he extended and opened it.
Inside lay five golden charms in Japanese Kanji. They were the same symbols she had painted onto the frame of the picture she had given him for Christmas: faith, hope, trust, friendship. But Malcolm had added one more symbol to the collection, the symbol that held the center of the box: love.
"Malcolm, do you know what this character means?" asked Hoshi. Please don't let it be an error, she thought.
Malcolm had been watching her reaction to his gift with his intense blue eyes. His gaze didn't waver as he responded, "It's what I intended when I made the charm. The only mistake would be to not tell you that I love you, Hoshi," said Malcolm.
Oh dear, now she was crying. He could see the tears starting to fall from those beautiful brown eyes. He never meant to make her cry!
"Hoshi, it's alright, if you don't think of me that way, I--"
"Shut up and kiss me, Malcolm," said Hoshi as she threw her arms around him.
Malcolm kissed her hungrily, wanting to believe that this one dream could come true. When he released her, Hoshi didn't faint, swoon, or give any indication of losing consciousness.
Instead she said, "I love you, Malcolm."
-----
That night, Malcolm had another odd dream. He and Hoshi were playing hide-and-seek with two little girls. He soon realized the children were their daughters. He jerked awake as another epiphany struck: the girls had been twins.
"Hoshi, do twins run in your family?" he asked the form cuddled against his chest.
Hoshi didn't answer. Instead, she rolled over and brought his arm around her like a blanket. Malcolm just nuzzled her hair and was soon asleep again, but he was holding his dream in his arms.
*****
Author Notes:
Robots inspired by the Men from Mars (watch Eyedrops on TechTV). 25 pages. Written January 2, 2003 and posted at LD, so this sphere has nothing to do with the ones encountered in Season 3.
No reviews are necessary. Thanks for keeping up with the story.
January 6
Ensign Sato had the pleasure of kicking Partridge out of bed so that she could access the computer on the shuttlepod. She had eaten breakfast with Reed and Tucker after they came to the mutual decision that sleeping dogs--or annoying ensigns--should be left undisturbed.
Sato skimmed through the security archives of the derelict station, then read the relevant section aloud to the others while the three officers made a pointed effort to ignore Partridge as he sat in the back eating his breakfast while maintaining a running commentary on all plant life.
Reed and Tucker hovered behind Sato as she read the report. "...Twenty-two drones have malfunctioned as a result of overactive logic circuits. The interpretation of protecting the personnel at the station has been, uh, perverted. To prevent a death in the vacuum of space, the drones have begun to eliminate us on the station. The alpha drone has developed a nanoreceiver that it inserts into its victim. The tagged individual loses consciousness when a signal is transmitted so that the drones can--remove them..."
"Wait. The alpha drone could be the LoRD with the claws for extensions. Did you notice that when we first found them?" asked Reed.
"Yeah, you're right. It also had a larger power pack on its trunk," said Tucker.
Sato was rubbing the palm of her right hand. "It poked me with its claw. Do you think--"
"Of course! That's why you've been fainting every time I kiss you! Uh, I mean every time I CATCH you." Reed then registered the grin on Tucker's face and the surprised expression on Sato.
The Armory Officer tried to regain his professional demeanor before he further embarrassed himself. "That explains why the LoRDs spent their time going after us rather than Trip or Partridge. You need to finish the report, Ensign. Go on."
Sato gave Reed one of those Later looks and continued, "Of the fifty-four, only twelve of us are left. We have been unable to deactivate the units, but have designated them as Logically Replete Drones..."
"Never thought too much logic could be deadly. Wonder what T'Pol would make of it?" remarked Tucker. Reed nodded, but both officers were anxious for Sato to continue.
"We are now down to seven. The Central Authority has shipped us Drone Retrieval Unit Marshals to deal with the Logically Replete Drones. We are leaving on the transport ship that brings them. The station will be declared uninhabitable until the Marshals complete their work..."
"I don't like the sound of that," began Reed. "Apparently these Marshals that were sent were able to capture ten of the LoRDs, but there's no mention of what happened to the other twelve. I assume the Marshals have left, but with the station remaining abandoned, I wonder if they failed to get all of the LoRDs."
Reed didn't like their present situation. No communications with Enterprise, mad robots trying to protect them, alien Marshals that could or could not be at the station. It was a security officer's nightmare.
"Well, y'all were effective in eliminating the drones yesterday. Seems like they're not as efficient as they used to be. We'll focus on downloading information in the grain fields. I assume you wouldn't let us near the tropical zone now, Lieutenant?" asked Tucker.
"No, the grain fields will be the easiest place to spot an intruder. Can you adjust the scanner to see if the transmitter is in Hoshi's hand?" asked Reed.
Tucker shrugged, but soon gave a whistle as he scanned Sato's palm. "What? WHAT!"
"Sorry, Hoshi, but that's a beautifully designed receiver. I wanna take a look at it after Phlox removes it. Here, gimme your communicator so that I can set it to emit a jamming signal." Tucker quickly made his adjustments and tossed the communicator back to Sato who zipped it into her pocket.
"Hoshi and I can watch your back while you get the download and Partridge does his scans." Reed looked to Sato who nodded. Her proficiency rating with the phase pistol was actually just slightly higher than Tucker's, so she was the logical choice for the sentry duty now that she was unlikely to pass out. Of course, he'd also avoid kissing her.
"Let's move out. Partridge! Good lord, man, don't walk around naked! I don't care if ya need to air out; don't do it on my watch. Geez!"
Tucker swore he would make Captain if only to prevent a ship's contingent from having to suffer someone like Partridge as a crewmate. The three senior officers decided to wait outside while the ensign finished dressing.
-----
The away team headed to the grain fields cautiously. Once there Reed and Sato stood near the entrance with phase pistols in hand. Tucker was able to begin his download before they heard the sound: pa-rum-pa-pum-pum.
Reed and Sato looked at each other in disbelief. "That sounds like drummers."
Reed nodded, then punched the button to seal off the entrance. Looking through the glass they saw another set of drones coming to them. The drumming sound occurred when their forearms beat against their upper torso as they moved: pa-rum-pa-pum-pum.
"Twelve?" asked Sato as she quickly counted.
"Twelve," confirmed Reed.
The units stopped outside of the grain bay. Tucker and Partridge moved beside Reed and stared at their new neighbors threw the glass panel. The drumming stopped and a synthetic voice began to speak.
"We are Drone Retrieval Unit Marshals. By the command of the Central Authority, we are authorized to retrieve all Logically Replete Drones on this station."
"We don't have any Logically Replete Drones with us," called Tucker.
The DRUMers blinked at this comment. "If you assist the Logically Replete Drone in evading capture, we are authorized to terminate you. Cooperation is imperative."
"I told you, we don't have any Logically Replete Drones here. My people destroyed nine of them yesterday," insisted Tucker.
The DRUMers blinked again. "You have a Logically Replete Drone twenty centimeters behind this door."
-----
Reed immediately turned to confirm the assertion of the DRUMers. The alpha LoRD was just inches away from Sato. Reed fired his phase pistol but the LoRD was unaffected. It went directly for Sato with its claws. Reed then tried to pry the claw off of Sato, but was gripped by the other metal claw and hauled toward a conduit that fed the grain bay as the LoRD bounded away. The two officers looked like rag dolls being held by the neck.
-----
Tucker set his phase pistol to Kill, but worried about the effects the discharge would have on Reed and Sato. Instead he picked up a large pipe from the floor and began beating the LoRD with it, but his movements were impaired by Partridge who was using Tucker as a shield and hanging on to the Commander's shoulders.
The claws of the LoRD became tightened on the officers' throats as it ignored the hammering it was receiving from Tucker. Malcolm turned to Hoshi determined to at least tell her what she meant to him before he left this life. His voice was strained as he tried to say, "Hoshi, I--"
His phrase ended with a strangled sound. Hoshi was feeling light headed as she watched Malcolm's face began to turn blue. She heard her own voice as a harsh whisper, "Malcolm?"
Tucker was tempted to swing back just to shake off Partridge, but settled for saying, "Let go of me, I'm trying to bash the LoRD in."
Partridge removed his hands. Then he saw it. Wow! It looked just like a--
Just before Sato lost consciousness, the claws suddenly relaxed and the LoRD shut down. Reed and Sato slumped to the floor as they tried to regain their breath.
Tucker stopped in mid-throttle as he looked from his friends to Partridge who was holding a small control panel he had detached from the LoRD.
"Cool! It looks just like my old video game--uh oh, I shouldn't have pulled it off like that, huh?" said Partridge. He mistook the look of disbelief on Tucker's face for one of censure. Partridge immediately corrected his error and pushed the panel back onto the LoRD who immediately began to menace Sato and Reed again.
"NO! You ignoramus! You did something right! Gimme that!" exclaimed Tucker.
The engineer dropped the pipe with a clang and shoved Partridge out of the way. Tucker pulled the panel off of the LoRD and the drone shut down immediately. Tucker held the panel in his hand and appeared on the verge of smashing Partridge on the head with it, but then shifted his target and sent it bashing against the wall.
"Where were ya when they were passing out brains?" asked Tucker in disgust as he bent to attend to Reed and Sato.
"Is that a trick question, sir?" responded Partridge.
"I'm fine, Trip," whispered Hoshi in a raspy voice as she turned to Reed. His color was slowly returning. She wiped the hair from his forehead as Trip propped him up. "Is Malcolm okay?"
Trip saw Malcolm's eyes fluttering. "Yeah, I think we got lucky again."
Trip patted Hoshi's shoulder, then noticed the drumming coming outside the door. "I've gotta see about the Marshals, Hoshi. Partridge! You stay right here by Malcolm and check his pulse. No, don't squeeze the circulation to his neck off. That's his problem in the first place. Here, just, just sit in that corner and scan the grain."
Tucker moved to the door and shouted to the Marshals. "We've deactivated the drone you're after."
The drumming stopped. The Marshals began blinking in sequence, then spoke again. "We must retrieve the Logically Replete Drone. You have been labeled as uncooperative. You have one minute to open the door or we will--"
-----
Tucker didn't wait for the rest of it. He hurried back to his team and said, "Is there any other way outta here? The Marshals think we're not cooperating and I don't wanna trust them not to try to hurt us."
Reed was finally breathing and able to croak out, "That conduit that brings in the water. The LoRD used it to get to us. It's horizontal for most of its run. We could use the phase pistols to cut our way out once we're away from here."
"Let's go." Tucker led the way to through the tube followed by Sato, Partridge, then Reed with all of them creeping on all fours.
After traveling for fifty meters, Sato suddenly called a halt. "Wait, I need to change positions."
Tucker didn't even ask why. Reed heard a satisfactory SMACK as Sato slapped Partridge, then he felt her take the position just ahead of him. As the other two started off again, Sato murmured to Reed, "If anyone's going to keep bumping into my bottom, it is NOT going to be Danny Partridge."
Reed smiled and wished there were sufficient illumination to see the object in question. Instead, he was greeted by a distressing sound: rushing water. Reed rolled his eyes in frustration. Of course, why wouldn't events play out to feed his aquaphobia? Just bloody perfect!
"The flow of the water is steady," said Sato as she cocked her head. Her words were confirmed as the water slowly rose under them. They kept moving in the damp and dark until the water reached their elbows.
"Let's start cutting our way outta here, folks," said Tucker. The episode in this pipe reminded him of muggy summers in the cypress swamps. There was a reason he went into Starfleet and it was not to experience a hot, humid environment again.
They cut through the tube just enough to survey the area. Reed tried to match his memory for the schematics of the station. "I see something that I think is McGregor's garden. If we go another hundred meters and cut through, we should be able to make it out."
-----
"Just call us the Soggy Bottom team," said Tucker as they arrived at the shuttle. He took the controls and immediately prepared for take off. "Looks like everything's working. I'm gonna plot a course to intercept Enterprise. Hoshi, see if you can raise 'em on the comm yet. Malcolm, take a peek behind us to make sure the Marshals aren't gonna follow us. Partridge, go take a nap. That's an order."
"I'm surprised we didn't see any sign of the Marshals. I thought they would have locked down the station," said Sato as she began transmitting the hail.
Reed checked the scanners on the shuttlepod and turned them to the station. After making a few adjustments, he reported, "I detect activity going toward the command center. The twelve Marshals are all heading for cell block five. I see! It looks like the walls of the cell block hid their storage compartment."
"So they were hiding there all along? Why didn't they do their job once the LoRDs were released? Woulda save us a bunch of trouble." Tucker muttered.
"The station is old. It could have just been a glitch," commented Sato. "Got them! Enterprise, this is Shuttlepod One..."
~~~~~
EPIPHANY
"That's quite a little adventure you had, Trip," said Jonathan as he sat at dinner with his Chief Engineer and his Science Officer.
"It sure was. But we did download some of the designs for hydroponics. In all honesty, though, Ensign Partridge is--well, he's a liability, Cap'n." Tucker shook his head as he remembered his frustration.
"Ensign Partridge will soon be leaving Enterprise," said T'Pol in her usual calm voice. "Apparently his adventure with the chickens on the French cargo ship made him realize how much he missed working with poultry. He is being reassigned to the Poultry Development program at Starfleet Command."
"You don't say," said Tucker. His sigh of relief was clearly audible.
"Apparently he wrote home to his mother about how much he missed the chickens, so his stepfather pulled a few strings," said Archer with a smile. "We'll rendezvous with another Vulcan ship for his transfer home and our new crewman next month."
Tucker began to enjoy his meal with gusto. Thankfully it was prime rib with no fowl in sight.
----
"I think I can release you now that I'm satisfied the receiver did no permanent damage, Ensign Sato," said Phlox with a satisfied smile. Of course, he also noticed that the Masqueran loco weed had disrupted her contraceptive. It was likely to be less effective than predicted, but that was only conjecture. No need to alarm the ensign.
"Thank you, Doctor," responded Hoshi just before Malcolm entered the medical bay.
"Doctor, if Hoshi is being released, I'd like to escort her to get some dinner," offered Malcolm. He seemed awfully fidgety to Hoshi, but perhaps that was a good sign.
"Hoshi can decide for herself if she wants you to escort her to dinner, Malcolm," said Hoshi with a bit of censure in her tone.
"Uh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, uh, will you have dinner with me?" asked Malcolm directly of Hoshi.
"Only if we get it to take back to my quarters," said Hoshi.
Phlox smiled to himself as they said their good-byes. Developmental biology was one his prime interests, so he had been hoping someone on board would soon provide him with an object for study. It appeared he might have found his best source for his observations.
"Note: human gestation is forty weeks. Mark date appropriate if conception occurs tonight..."
-----
Malcolm and Hoshi enjoyed a quiet dinner together, then the moment Malcolm was dreading happened: the awkward silence that typically destroyed his relationships. Well, not this time. Malcolm cleared his throat, prayed that an alien invasion would soon disrupt the moment, and stumbled forward.
"Hoshi, I have something in my pants for you--I mean in my pants pocket for you. Oh, here, just take it, please, before I butcher all chances of you thinking well of me," ended Malcolm. He was not going to thrust the box at her and leave, much as he was tempted to.
Hoshi bit her lip to hold back a grin. Malcolm was so adorable when he lost his cool and she knew she was the only woman who could make him become a bumbling fool. She took the box he extended and opened it.
Inside lay five golden charms in Japanese Kanji. They were the same symbols she had painted onto the frame of the picture she had given him for Christmas: faith, hope, trust, friendship. But Malcolm had added one more symbol to the collection, the symbol that held the center of the box: love.
"Malcolm, do you know what this character means?" asked Hoshi. Please don't let it be an error, she thought.
Malcolm had been watching her reaction to his gift with his intense blue eyes. His gaze didn't waver as he responded, "It's what I intended when I made the charm. The only mistake would be to not tell you that I love you, Hoshi," said Malcolm.
Oh dear, now she was crying. He could see the tears starting to fall from those beautiful brown eyes. He never meant to make her cry!
"Hoshi, it's alright, if you don't think of me that way, I--"
"Shut up and kiss me, Malcolm," said Hoshi as she threw her arms around him.
Malcolm kissed her hungrily, wanting to believe that this one dream could come true. When he released her, Hoshi didn't faint, swoon, or give any indication of losing consciousness.
Instead she said, "I love you, Malcolm."
-----
That night, Malcolm had another odd dream. He and Hoshi were playing hide-and-seek with two little girls. He soon realized the children were their daughters. He jerked awake as another epiphany struck: the girls had been twins.
"Hoshi, do twins run in your family?" he asked the form cuddled against his chest.
Hoshi didn't answer. Instead, she rolled over and brought his arm around her like a blanket. Malcolm just nuzzled her hair and was soon asleep again, but he was holding his dream in his arms.
*****
Author Notes:
Robots inspired by the Men from Mars (watch Eyedrops on TechTV). 25 pages. Written January 2, 2003 and posted at LD, so this sphere has nothing to do with the ones encountered in Season 3.
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