Chapter Four

*****

Hoshi woke slowly, drifting in and out of consciousness as warmth surrounded her. Clasping the wool blanket to her chin, she woke with a jolt, bolting off the bunk and falling to the floor clumsily. She scurried away from the blanket as though it would come after her. Clawing at the unfamiliar garment that covered her body, she turned around in circles.

 
Panic seized her, as her worst nightmare became her reality. She had been captured!

Emotions swirled in front of her tightly closed eyes in a cacophony of colors all blending into mud. The low hum of the walls surrounding her became deafening as she realized her time was close at hand. The monsters had captured her. They would eat her soon. Pacing back and forth like a caged animal, she covered her ears and shut her eyes. Just this once, she wished for her mother's curse. With it, she would be able to burn the walls around her and die by her own hand, not boiled alive and eaten.

***

"Hoshi-chan, I'm sorry we had to leave all your friends behind, but when you are older, you will know why we left," her mother stated wistfully as she braided her daughter's hair.

Hoshi sniffed in response, unable to comprehend their new life.

"Now, do you remember the tree stump we showed you yesterday?" her father asked anxiously as he sat nearby listening to the consoling conversation between mother and daughter.

"Yes, sir," replied the sullen child.

"Why do you go there?" drilled her father.

"To hide," countered the child as her mother tightened her braid.

"That's right! You hide from the monsters if they come, otherwise they will boil you alive and eat you. And when they are finished they will pick their teeth with your bones and…" The tirade was cut short as his wife smacked him in the back of his head.

"That's enough, Matthew! You're going to give her nightmares!" chastised her mother.

"She has to know it's not a game, Mina. If she has nightmares, then she has nightmares. What if she doesn't run, if they find us? They'll harvest her! That's the same as being eaten," Matthew sighed, not in the least angry at Mina's reaction. Perhaps he had gone a bit too far.


***

Hoshi rubbed her side where the skin was irritated. She didn't remember how she had injured herself. Maybe the monster had branded her like she had seen the farmer brand the cow. Hopelessness seeped into her shoulders and she clasped her knees and laid her head upon them.

The noise from the door opening startled her and she quickly crawled away from it.

"She's awake, Doctor. Make it quick, and you might want to note that it doesn't look like she is in the mood for visitors," mused Malcolm as he stepped into the cell with his phase pistol drawn. "Just behave, luv, so I won't have to stun you again."

Hoshi looked at the weapon in his hand and touched her side, understanding every word he said.

Malcolm smiled, "Good, you remember."

He sounded like her father, the accent only slightly different. She relaxed visibly.

"There, now." Malcolm lowered the weapon. "If you behave, maybe we can let you out."

"It really would be easier for me to treat her in sick bay, Lieutenant. You have disarmed her, why is she still considered a risk?" prattled Phlox as he limped into the cell.

"Monster!" Hoshi shrieked as she jumped off the bed and hid behind Malcolm, clasping his thighs and hiding her face against his buttocks. "Please, don't let it eat me!"

Malcolm tried prying her hands off his thighs, as they were a little too high for comfort. "He's not going to eat you. He's a doctor! Where did you get such a ridiculous idea?" He twisted and turned and only succeeded in turning himself around in her arms and having her hide her face in his crotch. He cleared his throat and doubled his efforts to pry her off him.

"Papa told me the monster would boil me alive and eat me," Hoshi sobbed and did her best to climb Malcolm as though Phlox was a snake trying to strike at her feet.

"Dr. Phlox is not a monster, nor is he going to boil and eat you. Stop this foolishness at once!" admonished Malcolm in a voice that sounded uncannily like his father's.

Phlox set his med kit onto the bunk and backed out of the cell. "Obviously, the young lady is distressed by my presence. I will have Crewman Cutler administer her ongoing medical care, but for now, Mr. Reed, would you be so kind as to administer the two hyposprays I have prepared. One is a vitamin supplement and the other is a booster vaccination. Perhaps you could find out more about her like her name and what happened to her."

"But, but…" stammered Malcolm as he continued to pry the surprisingly strong fingers from his shoulders, trying to maintain his balance.

"While you're at it, see if she would like something to eat," Phlox's disembodied voice recommended as he walked away from the cell.

Malcolm stared at the open door with his mouth hanging open, not really paying any attention to the slight weight that had climbed his back and wrapped its legs around his waist in piggyback fashion. How in the hell did he get roped into babysitting this…child? This was annoying as hell. He had things to do.

A sniff in his ear finally brought him back to reality. As gently as he could he grabbed hold of her forearm and flipped her over onto the bunk. He didn't need Phlox or Captain Archer upset with him over hurting Jane Doe.

Hoshi landed with an "umpf" onto the bedding and turned around quickly, her attention focused on the door and the possibility that the monster might come back. She wiped at her eyes furiously as the tears streamed down her cheeks and she trembled with fear.

"The monster will harvest me and pick his teeth with my bones," she whispered.

"He will not!" raged Malcolm, barely keeping his temper in check. "He's a competent doctor who was trying to treat you for malnourishment and parasites. He isn't a monster! He isn't going to eat you! And he …" Malcolm ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Hoshi sniffed in response, not quite believing what she was hearing, but visibly relaxing now that the threat was eliminated.

Taking a deep breath he asked, "What's your name?"

She looked at him and hesitated. Looking down, she divulged the information he requested. "Hoshi."

Malcolm smiled. So her name wasn't witch-ling. "Would you like something to eat, Hoshi?"

"Yes, please," she agreed still looking down, unsure how she should answer, but the hunger pangs were sharp and he was offering food.

Malcolm reached into his pocket and took out a communicator. "Brig to Galley," he waited for acknowledgement.

"Yes, Lieutenant Reed?" a voice with a heavy French accent answered.

"Could you please send two trays to the brig, cell three. Our guest is awake and hungry." Malcolm actually felt himself smiling.

"Is there anything in particular you feel like, Lieutenant?"

Malcolm thought for a moment and ordered a tuna melt for lunch. "What would you like?" He turned to Hoshi.

"Je voudrais de la crême glacée, svp," Hoshi asked, licking her lips in anticipation of some ice cream.

Malcolm was startled at the flawless French and held the communicator away as Chef answered her request excitedly.

"What did she order," asked Malcolm inquisitively, cutting Chef off.

Chef answered immediately irritated by the interruption. "Ice cream.
Quelle sorte aimez-vous?"

Hoshi thought for a moment, but was cut short in her reply by Malcolm. "Chef, could you just send a steward with something on the bland side? If I remember correctly, Phlox said something about lactose intolerance."

Sitting on the bed and crossing her arms over her chest, she pouted and heard a grunt through the radio in "Lieutenant Reed's" hand. "Ne vous inquiétez pas. Je vous apporterai de la crême glacée. Very well, Lieutenant."

Closing his communicator with a snap, he turned to Hoshi. "Where did you learn French? I was informed that you lost your parents when you were six. Did you learn it from your parents?"

Saddened by the mention of her parents, she sat back down on the bunk, tucking her feet underneath her. "No."

"Did you learn French in school?" asked Malcolm, his curiosity piqued further by the mystery that sat in front of him. Searches that had been done at this point had yielded no results in the Denobulan, Vulcan or human databases. The name of her parents and the bounty hunters still eluded them. The Denobulan ship wasn't even registered. Other than Hoshi and the fact that she spoke French and English, they had no clue as to her identity.

He picked the hyposprays Phlox had left and moved to administer them before the food arrived, but she jumped back.

She knew medicine when she saw it. Those are what the overseers would press into their necks, making them fall asleep. When they would wake, one or both of her parents would be gone. If he gave her the shot, he would be gone when she woke up.

Malcolm had very little patience for her reluctance regarding the hyposprays. When he went one way, she went the other. "Look, this isn't going to hurt. It will help you."

"If you put me to sleep, you'll leave," Hoshi stated shakily, pacing back and forth and dodging his efforts to administer the medicine.

Malcolm could see that he would have to restrain her to administer the hyposprays, so he put them down on the bunk. Her body language relaxed but still remained guarded. It was as though he was dealing with a mistreated animal or somebody who had been deprived of human contact for the majority of their life. "So, do you have a last name, Hoshi?"

Hoshi backed into the wall and sank down to the floor. "Sato," she replied and grimaced as her stomach growled.

"When did your parents die?"

Hoshi stared at him blankly; not really understanding the concept of how much time had passed.

Malcolm continued the direct approach and asked another question. "Where are you from?"

She stared at Malcolm again, not answering. Her mother told her she was gifted with the gift of gab, in any language. The other subjects were pretty much ignored as soon as her instructors found her hidden talent.

Malcolm stared at her, expecting an answer from her, but got none.

Just then the food arrived and he hoped it would entice her into talking because obviously she could.

Hoshi stayed against the wall and watched the steward deliver the cart and trays. The aroma of the food assailed her senses and she literally crawled to the tray, her eyes never leaving it. She licked her lips in anticipation.

Malcolm watched her reaction intently, paying particular attention to her lips. He lifted the lid and took inventory of her meal, a hamburger with chips and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A generous serving of ketchup accompanied the meal.

Malcolm rolled his eyes at Chef's idea of bland. He didn't really know what he had been thinking of when he asked for bland food from Chef. It was like asking for a beer during a wine tasting contest. He set the plate before Hoshi, taken by surprise as she grabbed the generous portion of ketchup and started eating it without a chip, or putting it on her burger.

She tilted the small dish forward, effectively drinking the ketchup, and then cleaning it off with her fingers.

Malcolm cleared his throat as she continued licking the small dish until it looked clean. "Shall I send for more, ketchup?"

"Yes, please," nodded Hoshi as she picked a chip up and popped it into her mouth. She continued to do this, one right after another until there was none left. She dissected the hamburger next, effectively removing any and all vegetables and inhaling the bun.

Malcolm had yet to touch his lunch, in awe that her meal was almost gone. There was a smear of ketchup along her cheek and crumbs at the corner of her mouth. Without thinking, Malcolm reached forward with a napkin to wipe her face.

She dodged his efforts, taking a large bite from the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Malcolm smiled to himself. If she could stuff any more in her mouth she would look like a pet hamster he once had.

Hoshi smiled back.

Malcolm took his communicator out and summoned the galley again.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" Chef answered gruffly, as though he were in the middle of something.

"Uh, could we get some more ketchup, please?" Malcolm paused then realized how he was going to get her how to take her medicine. "And some ice cream."

Hoshi perked up at the mention of ice cream. "Je voudrais le chocolat, svp.." Hoshi asked excitedly, grabbing on to Malcolm's arm so she could talk into the communicator.

Chef laughed. "Chocolate ice cream coming up."

Finished with most everything on her tray, she started eyeing Malcolm's.

Malcolm pushed the tray toward her laughing. "If you have any more room, bon appetit."

Hoshi rummaged through his tray with gusto, scraping the middle of his tuna melt off the bread and shoving the bread into her mouth.

He reached for a chip on the plate and Hoshi glared at him, shoving several in her mouth. She took the tray and turned her back to him, turning back to him for a split second, to put a handful of chips on the bed for him.

"Thanks," mused Malcolm. "You might want to slow down and chew."

She scoffed. No matter how hard she thought or tried, she could never make bread like her mother taught her.

Malcolm started when the request to enter the cell sounded on the com panel. He stood and pressed the enter button, thanked Crewman Kelly and brandished one chocolate ice cream like a weapon.

Hoshi moved to take the ice cream from him, but he held it above her head. "You can have your ice cream on one condition."

She glared at him, pressing against him and reaching for the ice cream.

"You have to take your medi…vitamins before you can have your ice cream," he instructed firmly and continued to hold the ice cream out of her reach.

He was unguarded as she rammed her elbow into his midriff, causing him to bend over and lower the ice cream to her grasp.

She didn't like bullies.

She grabbed hold of the dish like it was a long-lost treasure and ran to the other side of the cell to consume it.

Malcolm slumped to the floor, still nursing his abdomen.

When he finally looked up she smirked, licking the top of the ice cream.

"That's it!" Malcolm stated in a menacing tone and got up and grabbed the hyposprays.

Hoshi licked her ice cream in defiance, unable to see what he had just grabbed and was now holding behind his back.

Malcolm approached her as though approaching a wild animal. Somehow, he managed to kneel down in front of her while keeping his secret hidden behind his back. He smiled. "Do you like the ice cream?"

Hoshi raised her chin defiantly. "Yes…thank you."

"Good. I'm glad." Malcolm grabbed hold of her bare arm and pulled her off balance, the ice cream falling to the floor. He injected one hypospray into her arm and winced as she screamed. He dropped the dispensed tool and flipped the other one in his hand, pressing it to her skin.

She sobbed and clutched at him, begging him not to leave her.

Irritated that he had to stoop to such measures, he peeled her off him. He needed to get back to the armory. He didn't have time to babysit this delinquent.

She continued hugging him, crying.

He tried pulling back and away from her, but she was too strong.

She coughed and gagged.

Malcolm doubled his efforts to get away from her as he felt warm vomit penetrate his uniform. "Bloody fecking hell!"

He dragged her into the bathroom and into the shower, turning it on full blast. She gasped at the cold water hitting her back and pulled away from Malcolm.

She kept sputtering but stopped when the water turned warm. She watched with curiosity as the man in front of her peeled his uniform off his body, cursing as he did so.

He continued cursing as he realized he couldn't get his soaked uniform past his "damn" boots. Rolling the uniform up slightly, he kicked his boots off then discarded his uniform onto the shower stall floor with a loud, wet thump.

He glared at her and she glared back. Both of them huffed, angry at one another, the adult angry with the child for her stubbornness and the child resentful of the adult for tricking her.

The not-so-full stomach, coupled with the warm water cascading down her body caused her to yawn and sway on her feet. Her fear of being alone again clamped itself around her heart.

The tears mixed with the water and fell freely down her cheeks. "Please, don't leave me," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his torso and hugging him.

She trembled.

Malcolm could sense her desperation and shushed her, shutting off the water behind her back. "I won't leave. I promise."

Malcolm maneuvered them out of the shower, grabbing a towel and drying her off. He set her on the counter and pulled away from her slightly, but she wouldn't let him go.

"Hoshi, I have to take my shirt off," he stated blandly and managed to pull away.

Just as he pulled his tank off, Hoshi moved to pull hers off. "No, no, no!" Malcolm clamped down on her wrist. "What are you doing?"

"It's wet! I don't want to fall asleep in it. If the season cools, I will get a chill." She replied still thinking she was on the planet and that winter was coming.

"Here," Malcolm said gruffly, pushing a change of clothes into her hand and trying to exit carefully.

She followed him out, holding the clothes on her chest, panicking that he was leaving her.

Malcolm rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Look, I'll turn my back, and you change your clothes, OK? I'm not going anywhere." He flipped his communicator open trying to keep the irritation out of the act.

"Lieutenant Reed to Lieutenant Gomez."

"Go ahead," Em Gomez answered with a slight Spanish accent.

"Em, could you bring me a change of uniform?" asked Malcolm as he blotted at a spot of vomit on the floor.

"Suuureee thing, Lieutenant. Is everything all right?"

"ASAP!" barked Malcolm, not in the mood to answer questions.

You could hear Em jump. "I'm on it."

*****