Meditation and Water
Part 3
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Hoshi looked around quickly. Towards the observation room was the fastest way out from under the lab. She kicked off hard, pulling him along. He followed, starting to kick as she did. He fought the urge to exhale all of his breath, the urge to inhale anything.
They reached the edge of the lab and she kicked out a little further. She grabbed his other hand so they now faced each other. Their eyes met. She started kicking into the ascent, exhaling slowly. He matched his kicks to hers and tried to exhale as slowly as he could. He wanted to empty his lungs of air. He kicked. His brain felt as though it would burst. He exhaled slowly. He thought his heart was going into arrest. He looked in her eyes and kicked and exhaled. His eyes grew fuzzy. He thought he was going to pass out when they broke surface, gulping in sweet air.
The lab's lookout tower was on fire. The Yi'sthan shuttle that had brought them there was gone. "This way," said Hoshi, grabbing him in a survival hold and side-stroking towards a large piece of debris floating a few yards away. They climbed on the makeshift raft and collapsed.
"Only a few meters?" he said.
"Well..."
"Hoshi. We made it. You brought us up," he said it with a look of wonderment on his face.
"Don't look so surprised," she said. Do I tell him now I thought we were going to drown like rats?
"I'm not. I trusted you," he said touching her cheek.
Not the time to mention drowning like rats.
"Rats!" she yelled.
"What?"
"Over there, on the platform. Someone with a weapon."
He squinted. A Yi'sthan was sighting them up with a Stha'nak rifle. "Get down," he said. She dropped to her side. He bent low. He pulled his rifle around from his back. He aimed, trying to get the Yi'sthan in his sight. He fired one shot. The Yi'sthan dropped into the water.
"And here I thought you weren't paying attention back in Kteeran's office," she said.
"What did he want?" Malcolm asked.
"He was going to hold us hostage to get the Captain to make the Yi'sthan government listen to his findings. He found an artifact that he believed proved his theories."
"It didn't seem very well thought out. They didn't strike me as particularly bright; they didn't even restrain us."
Why would Kteeran tell the guard to kill me if he wanted a hostage? Why would someone try to kill us now?
"Someone knew exactly where to hit the complex to make sure anyone below deck would be trapped there." Kteeran. Is he dead? Did I kill him by leaving him there unconscious?
They sat quietly together on the raft.
"Rats?"
"What?"
"A brilliant linguist with about a thousand languages under her belt and 'rats' is the best expletive you could come up with?"
"I'll tell you later." She yawned and rested her head on his shoulder. He let his hand fall on her back, hugging her closer.
They watched the water calmly lapping in the breeze.
"Shuttlepod," he said.
"What?"
"Shuttlepod from Enterprise." He gestured to the horizon, where a shuttle was approaching.
She looked up. "That's nice."
~~~
They sat in decon, coated with detox gel. Apparently the water had been filled with all sorts of little creepies. They touched fingertips and brushed knees together absently every few minutes. The Captain spoke to them from the next room.
"It seems that Kteeran was a member of a splinter group within the Yi'sthan scientific community. He was so frustrated when his theories weren't accepted that he tried kidnapping and terrorism."
"But who took the artifact?" Hoshi asked, "I think it was on a table in the diving area and it wasn't there when we went back to escape. And why would Kteeran blow up his own lab? He seemed just as surprised as I did when we heard the explosion."
"I don't know. The Yi'sthan government is denying the existence of any artifact. We've been apologized to profusely and politely shown the door. I'm just glad you two are safe."
"Thank you."
"Yes sir."
"And Hoshi," Archer continued, "that was quick thinking down there. Since when did you take up free diving?"
She looked down at her feet. "Ah, since this afternoon?" she said, "I had a friend at the academy who was a diver... and I saw a documentary on it once." She blushed and glanced at Malcolm, whose eyes were as big as saucers.
---end---