A Charming Match
Chapter 9-Will I Ever See You Again
My name isn't Roddenberry, though I kind of wish it was 'cause my last name sucks.
Malcolm's Quarters
Malcolm paced back and forth on his carpet, his mind racing at warp speed. He noticed, if not vaguely, how it was always falling back to one question- Is Hoshi all right. At one point he went to his dresser and opened the bottom drawer, pulling out the box only to shove it back again.
'Is she okay? What have they done? Was she poisoned like the Captain? Was she shot? Was she interrogated, beaten, hit?' That thought boiled his blood and he nearly screamed. 'I have to get some sleep. Tomorrow we will be back at the freighter and taking the imposter into custody, then I will need all my strength to find Hoshi.'
He went to his bed and lay down. When he did he thought he could still smell faint traces of her perfume. He knew that that couldn't be, but the thought was enough to nearly break him. The thought that he might never smell that again.
He would. He would see to it that Hoshi made it home all right, and as soon as he saw her he would sweep her up and carry her home. He was faintly aware of the fact that he sounded like a knight in shining armor.
Somewhere on the freighter....
She was shivering. Again they had opened the door just enough to put some food in. The cold sandwiches and water were enough to keep her going.
She worried about the ship, if she was ever going to be found. But most of all, she worried that the imposter would hurt Malcolm. 'I swear, if she has hurt him in any way, I will personally phase pistol her ass.
She still didn't know what was going on, but she was sure all she had to do was find a way out of here and she could get a message to Enterprise. to Malcolm.
Corridor outside Hoshi's quarters.....
He knew what he had to do. He had to get this Hoshi to the training deck without loosing his temper. As soon as the doors to her quarters opened, he began walking. When she stepped out he began, "Ensign Sato? You're late for our training session. I came to remind you."
She looked at him strange, then replied, "I thought my session was tomorrow."
"No, Ensign Cutler switched with you for today because she was busy."
She shrugged then replied, "Right, I remember. Sorry I forgot. Do you still have time?"
"Yes, lets go."
The Rec. deck
When they got there, he slowed down so she got ahead of him. Once she was in the center of the room, he whistled low and six security guards moved in, training weapons on her.
She whirled and for a moment looked panicked. Then, remembering her task put her mask back on. "What's going on?"
The Captain came in and, with an extremely stern look, began asking her questions. "Who are you and where is my communications officer?"
"Captain, I don't know what you are talking about."
"What have you done with Ensign Sato?" By now the Captain was bellowing. He saw Hoshi as something of a daughter.
She made one final attempt to save her mission. "Captain, you know me. You got me into Starfleet, you personally asked me too leave the school early so that I could go with you to the Klingon home world."
"What's your favorite book? Who were you dating when we first met?"
She knew she was caught. Malcolm could tell by the way her mask of nonchalance fell to reveal anger and her body went rigid. She slowly moved into a defensive position.
Her voice was low when she finally spoke. "How did you know?"
"I didn't. Malcolm did. You had me fooled, but Malcolm knows Hoshi better than even I do, it seems. Now back to the original question: who are you, and where is my communications officer?"
She gave him a snide grin, then answered. "Ohhh, Captain, where would all the fun be if I just told you that." And in one fluid motion she pulled a flash bulb out of her sleeve and, covering her eyes, threw it to the ground- activating it. When the lights dimmed she was gone.
Malcolm was the first to react. "Find her, search the ship. I want two teams: one, start at the end of the ship and move forward. The other starts forward and moves back. Go."
He turned to the Captain and said, "We'd better get to the bridge. We should be within communications range of the freighter within the hour."
Bridge
When they got there, Hoshi's stand-in said that they were in communication range and that Captain Harrison was hailing.
Captain Archer took his place on the center of the bridge. "On screen." After the image of the older Captain appeared he continued. "Captain Harrison, it's good to see you again."
"The feeling is mutual. However, I must admit I wasn't expecting to see you so soon. What brings you back this way?"
"Well," Archer began. "Originally, it was due to the fact I was poisoned on your ship, and was returning to ask why. But then I got my answer and a new question when I found out there was an imposter and my ship, and my communications officer was gone."
"What? I assure you Captain, I had no idea. Who is on your ship?"
"We don't know, Captain. She evaded custody just under an hour ago. We have been trying to locate her since."
"We will begin searching for your officer. And Jon- I'm sorry. I really had no idea."
Two hours later they were docked together, and Malcolm and the Captain went and met with Captain Harrison. "They haven't found her yet, they are checking quarters now."
Once they were out of sight, the fake Hoshi slipped onto the freighter. 'I have to get to the real Hoshi before they find her- it is my only chance. Orders were to terminate if mission was unsuccessful.'
As she made her way to the back of the ship Malcolm asked where the least frequently used cargo holds were, and began to make his way towards that area of the ship.
End chapter 9
Chapter 9-Will I Ever See You Again
My name isn't Roddenberry, though I kind of wish it was 'cause my last name sucks.
Malcolm's Quarters
Malcolm paced back and forth on his carpet, his mind racing at warp speed. He noticed, if not vaguely, how it was always falling back to one question- Is Hoshi all right. At one point he went to his dresser and opened the bottom drawer, pulling out the box only to shove it back again.
'Is she okay? What have they done? Was she poisoned like the Captain? Was she shot? Was she interrogated, beaten, hit?' That thought boiled his blood and he nearly screamed. 'I have to get some sleep. Tomorrow we will be back at the freighter and taking the imposter into custody, then I will need all my strength to find Hoshi.'
He went to his bed and lay down. When he did he thought he could still smell faint traces of her perfume. He knew that that couldn't be, but the thought was enough to nearly break him. The thought that he might never smell that again.
He would. He would see to it that Hoshi made it home all right, and as soon as he saw her he would sweep her up and carry her home. He was faintly aware of the fact that he sounded like a knight in shining armor.
Somewhere on the freighter....
She was shivering. Again they had opened the door just enough to put some food in. The cold sandwiches and water were enough to keep her going.
She worried about the ship, if she was ever going to be found. But most of all, she worried that the imposter would hurt Malcolm. 'I swear, if she has hurt him in any way, I will personally phase pistol her ass.
She still didn't know what was going on, but she was sure all she had to do was find a way out of here and she could get a message to Enterprise. to Malcolm.
Corridor outside Hoshi's quarters.....
He knew what he had to do. He had to get this Hoshi to the training deck without loosing his temper. As soon as the doors to her quarters opened, he began walking. When she stepped out he began, "Ensign Sato? You're late for our training session. I came to remind you."
She looked at him strange, then replied, "I thought my session was tomorrow."
"No, Ensign Cutler switched with you for today because she was busy."
She shrugged then replied, "Right, I remember. Sorry I forgot. Do you still have time?"
"Yes, lets go."
The Rec. deck
When they got there, he slowed down so she got ahead of him. Once she was in the center of the room, he whistled low and six security guards moved in, training weapons on her.
She whirled and for a moment looked panicked. Then, remembering her task put her mask back on. "What's going on?"
The Captain came in and, with an extremely stern look, began asking her questions. "Who are you and where is my communications officer?"
"Captain, I don't know what you are talking about."
"What have you done with Ensign Sato?" By now the Captain was bellowing. He saw Hoshi as something of a daughter.
She made one final attempt to save her mission. "Captain, you know me. You got me into Starfleet, you personally asked me too leave the school early so that I could go with you to the Klingon home world."
"What's your favorite book? Who were you dating when we first met?"
She knew she was caught. Malcolm could tell by the way her mask of nonchalance fell to reveal anger and her body went rigid. She slowly moved into a defensive position.
Her voice was low when she finally spoke. "How did you know?"
"I didn't. Malcolm did. You had me fooled, but Malcolm knows Hoshi better than even I do, it seems. Now back to the original question: who are you, and where is my communications officer?"
She gave him a snide grin, then answered. "Ohhh, Captain, where would all the fun be if I just told you that." And in one fluid motion she pulled a flash bulb out of her sleeve and, covering her eyes, threw it to the ground- activating it. When the lights dimmed she was gone.
Malcolm was the first to react. "Find her, search the ship. I want two teams: one, start at the end of the ship and move forward. The other starts forward and moves back. Go."
He turned to the Captain and said, "We'd better get to the bridge. We should be within communications range of the freighter within the hour."
Bridge
When they got there, Hoshi's stand-in said that they were in communication range and that Captain Harrison was hailing.
Captain Archer took his place on the center of the bridge. "On screen." After the image of the older Captain appeared he continued. "Captain Harrison, it's good to see you again."
"The feeling is mutual. However, I must admit I wasn't expecting to see you so soon. What brings you back this way?"
"Well," Archer began. "Originally, it was due to the fact I was poisoned on your ship, and was returning to ask why. But then I got my answer and a new question when I found out there was an imposter and my ship, and my communications officer was gone."
"What? I assure you Captain, I had no idea. Who is on your ship?"
"We don't know, Captain. She evaded custody just under an hour ago. We have been trying to locate her since."
"We will begin searching for your officer. And Jon- I'm sorry. I really had no idea."
Two hours later they were docked together, and Malcolm and the Captain went and met with Captain Harrison. "They haven't found her yet, they are checking quarters now."
Once they were out of sight, the fake Hoshi slipped onto the freighter. 'I have to get to the real Hoshi before they find her- it is my only chance. Orders were to terminate if mission was unsuccessful.'
As she made her way to the back of the ship Malcolm asked where the least frequently used cargo holds were, and began to make his way towards that area of the ship.
End chapter 9
