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Chapter 6

Hoshi sat at her console working on a difficult language. Captain Archer paced behind her.

"Ensign, are you finished yet?"

"Almost, sir. I just need a few more minutes."

Archer walked up behind her, yanking her head back by her hair.

"You don't have that much time Ensign." He grinned at her and threw her head forward again.

The Captain began to pace again, occasionally smacking his hand down on Hoshi's console.

She continued working, flinching each time his fist fell.

She heard the swish of the lift doors open and Malcolm stepped out. "Hoshi, hurry. We haven't got much time," Malcolm said.

She swung her chair around to face him but found herself lying on her bed in her quarters. She stood and opened the door, finding Malcolm once again. "Come on," he said urgently.

She stepped out, Malcolm taking her hand. They began to run down the hall, fleeing from an unseen but known force. Hoshi gripped Malcolm's hand tightly.

"Malcolm, if they find me they'll kill me."

"Not if I'm here they won't." He smiled and stopped in front of the mess hall.

She walked in, peering around the door to find Trip and Ms. Keizu, who had lived next door during Hoshi's childhood. Trip stood up and walked toward her, holding out his hands.

"Hoshi, hon, ya can't run forever. You know that."

She cried and grabbed his arm. "We have to go! If they catch us…"

"Your friend is right, Hoshi-chan," Ms. Keizu said kindly. Hoshi looked at her, but T'Pol sat in her place, drinking tea and looking unconcerned.

Hoshi turned back to Trip and Malcolm. The floor under their feet shuddered. Trip, standing beside her, braced his legs and grabbed her arms. They used each other for balance as the ship shook.

Malcolm was at the mess hall door, gesturing for her to follow. Unexpectedly, the room shifted and Hoshi realized it was breaking up, sliding apart as if it had been designed to do so, like puzzle pieces. Malcolm leapt into the still solid corridor. Their eyes met; his face was impassive. Meanwhile, Trip was falling away from her. She lurched forward, desperate to catch his hands. If she caught him, she knew Malcolm could pull them both back inside the ship.

Instead, she fell face first into open space…

**

Hoshi cried out, waking herself from the dream. Her quarters were dark; once again she was thankful that her roommate had such an opposite schedule from her. She sat up and turned on the light, holding a hand to her pounding head as she read the clock. Three hours. She had only slept for three hours—she didn't intend to try again that night. Besides, the dreams left her as exhausted as when she didn't sleep.

One thought occurred to her—Dr. Phlox was likely to be in his quarters at this time of night. She could slip into Sickbay for a headache remedy without the accompanying questions. Her head spun when she stood, but it passed shortly. She headed for Sickbay.

**

The next few days seemed to last forever. Both Trip and Malcolm tried to speak to Hoshi, but she made a point of never being alone when they were near. She refused to answer her door. The one time Malcolm had run into her in the corridor, she quelled his efforts with a single angry glance.

Jon noticed the tension on his bridge but he was at a loss what to do about it. His crew was performing their jobs properly, but the usual bridge banter was silenced. He and Travis made a few attempts to joke, but they fell flat. Even T'Pol had noticed something was wrong, stopping by his ready room to discuss it with him. After a brief discussion, they had concluded that the best course of action would be to let the situation run its course. At least for the moment.

Malcolm worked furiously at his station, rarely looking up, except for the occasional furtive glance at Hoshi. He brusquely deflected any conversation not related to the armory.

Trip, for his part, looked as solemn as Jon had seen him. Jon broached the subject at dinner, but Trip shook his head. "I screwed up, Jon," was all he would say. Then he returned his attention to his plate, eating quickly before he headed back to Engineering.

And when Jon leaned over Hoshi's console to speak with her about it, she had started so violently, looking at him with enormous, dark rimmed eyes, that he backed off. If he hadn't known better, he would've said he made her nervous.

Sighing, he moved back to his chair, scanning the room, looking for some clue. Malcolm, T'Pol, Hoshi…his eyes roamed back to the front of the bridge. And settled on Travis. He was studying the back of the helmsman's head when Travis seemed to feel his gaze. The Ensign glanced back over his shoulder. When he met the Captain's eye, he immediately dropped the glance, and swung back to his station. Looking rather guilty. 'Ah-ha.'

"Travis, I'd like to speak with you in my ready room." The Ensign swung back around slowly.

"Aye sir." He reluctantly followed the Captain off the bridge.

**

A short time later, Malcolm, Hoshi and Trip found themselves crammed into the Captain's ready room. On the way in, Trip had passed Travis—judging by the Ensign's face, this conversation wasn't going to be fun.

Jon studied his crewmembers carefully. Malcolm was making a point of not looking up from a data padd in his lap. Trip was watching Hoshi openly, raw longing on his face. Hoshi looked back at Jon. 'She looks exhausted,' he realized. Instantly he felt guilty; in retrospect, Hoshi had been looking a little haggard for days. He'd been so wrapped up in the planning for their upcoming meeting with the Duonian Council that he hadn't noticed. He made a mental note to send her to Phlox for a checkup when the Duonian event was over.

"All right, people. Maybe you know why we're here."

No answer.

"Fine. Let me spell it out for you. As you know, we had to postpone our trip to Duonia after our run-in with the Obeexuns. We'll be at Duonia in a few hours to hold the talks. The Council is holding a welcoming reception in our honor, tonight." They all nodded. Trip frowned.

"I called you here because I want to be sure that this…problem between the three of you doesn't become a problem when we're on the planet. I expect all of you to behave professionally and civilly, among your fellow crewmembers as well as with the Duonians. Whatever has to happen to make that possible needs to happen in the next few hours. Am I clear?"

Hoshi stirred. "Aye, sir. The situation is under control; there won't be any problems."

She looked at Malcolm and Trip for confirmation. Malcolm appeared horrified that his behavior had come to the Captain's attention. Trip sat with his arms folded across his chest, practically vibrating with frustration. Both men nodded. "No problem," Trip said loudly.

"Good. I will see you in the launch bay in four hours." Archer turned away from them. "Dismissed."

Malcolm and Hoshi hurried out of the room. Trip lingered for a moment. Archer looked back at him.

"Trip?"

Trip shook his head. "Nothin', Cap'n. Ne'er mind." He returned to Engineering.