Chapter Two
Activity on the Enterprise was at a muted minimum as the final hours of Friday night approached. Malcolm willed his shoulders to relax and his stride to lengthen, although his thoughts were anything but synchronized with his attempted portrayal of ease. He was grateful for the deserted halls for he was quite sure he wasn't pulling off the peacetime demeanor.
The lift doors opened, revealing the consequence of words spoken too soon.
Travis--he thought it oddly comforting that he still thought of the helmsman by his first name--was standing in the lift, his hand unsuccessfully covering a wide yawn. Malcolm was immediately rewarded with Travis' trademark grin as his signs of fatigue fell away at the arrival of a new occupant in the lift.
"Lieutenant, you should have been at the movie tonight!"
"Oh?" The chick flick? Surely not, no matter how attractive the chicks.
Travis laughed heartily at his skeptical expression. "I should have known Liz would choose something...unexpected. It was actually this sci-fi horror film about a bunch of people stuck together in this cube. They eventually figured out how to get out through some teamwork, but then they got to know each other a little too well, got paranoid, started killing each other. I didn't really get the ending though..."
"Perhaps not the best choice for a movie on a starship," Malcolm said dryly, the tone he knew Travis had come to expect.
"Well, there were a lot of creative booby traps I think you would have liked. One of the characters in there reminded me of Hoshi."
Malcolm idly wondered if that character had survived.
"Actually, that character died, so maybe it was better Hoshi was with you instead," he added.
The lieutenant felt himself tense, his fingers curling slowly inward. He turned his neck mechanically, his unblinking eyes landing on the young man's guileless visage. "I beg your pardon?"
Travis tilting his head curiously, and supplied his rationale. "Hoshi told me you probably wouldn't be going because she'd just given you translated weapon specs from our encounter with the Hexians. She didn't show up at the movie either, so I assumed you guys were working together."
The lift stopped, with Travis' unspoken inquiry still hovering, and the door opened, waiting for Malcolm to depart. Words were not coming easily with his heart still thumping in his eardrums, so as he stepped off, he could only offer a meager, 'I think she probably just went to sleep, Ensign.'
He didn't bother to see how Travis took that, barely registering as the lift closed and took off again. The immediate concern was whether Hoshi had spoken the truth when she said she hadn't told anyone about his clandestine activities. She'd given him the Hexian specs two days ago, he wouldn't have been occupied with it today. She lied, which left the question of why.
The fact that he made it safely to his cabin gave him some small comfort, but the flashing light of his terminal made him pause. The ubiquitous lump in his throat grew impossibly bigger as he approached the desk.
It was only a few seconds older than the agency's missive, but he had been otherwise occupied with his plans. The header indicated it came from within the ship, and he held his breath as he pressed the button to open it.
~Malcolm,
I am writing this message to you, and only you, on a need-to-know basis. I've recently discovered some suspicious communiques that were being sent to Earth along with our official reports. I've yet to decode the contents, so I haven't notified the Captain of their existence. They might turn out to be as innocent as T'Pol's letters from her family, but in case they aren't, I've devised a plan. Attached are the files in question and the subroutines involved. They might take some time to digest, but I'm sure you, of all people, will find them more interesting than Liz's movie selection.
Hoshi.~
She had a recourse after all: him. She did not consider his defection a possibility. It was all together an unhappy coincidence he was the very person she was trying to disclose.
Malcolm thought of the way he'd left her in her cabin and the actions he took to accomplish that task. He swallowed the bitter taste of regret, heavily smothered as it blossomed within his torso. Drowning in the icy depths of the Atlantic, he lamented, would have been more pleasant.
Activity on the Enterprise was at a muted minimum as the final hours of Friday night approached. Malcolm willed his shoulders to relax and his stride to lengthen, although his thoughts were anything but synchronized with his attempted portrayal of ease. He was grateful for the deserted halls for he was quite sure he wasn't pulling off the peacetime demeanor.
The lift doors opened, revealing the consequence of words spoken too soon.
Travis--he thought it oddly comforting that he still thought of the helmsman by his first name--was standing in the lift, his hand unsuccessfully covering a wide yawn. Malcolm was immediately rewarded with Travis' trademark grin as his signs of fatigue fell away at the arrival of a new occupant in the lift.
"Lieutenant, you should have been at the movie tonight!"
"Oh?" The chick flick? Surely not, no matter how attractive the chicks.
Travis laughed heartily at his skeptical expression. "I should have known Liz would choose something...unexpected. It was actually this sci-fi horror film about a bunch of people stuck together in this cube. They eventually figured out how to get out through some teamwork, but then they got to know each other a little too well, got paranoid, started killing each other. I didn't really get the ending though..."
"Perhaps not the best choice for a movie on a starship," Malcolm said dryly, the tone he knew Travis had come to expect.
"Well, there were a lot of creative booby traps I think you would have liked. One of the characters in there reminded me of Hoshi."
Malcolm idly wondered if that character had survived.
"Actually, that character died, so maybe it was better Hoshi was with you instead," he added.
The lieutenant felt himself tense, his fingers curling slowly inward. He turned his neck mechanically, his unblinking eyes landing on the young man's guileless visage. "I beg your pardon?"
Travis tilting his head curiously, and supplied his rationale. "Hoshi told me you probably wouldn't be going because she'd just given you translated weapon specs from our encounter with the Hexians. She didn't show up at the movie either, so I assumed you guys were working together."
The lift stopped, with Travis' unspoken inquiry still hovering, and the door opened, waiting for Malcolm to depart. Words were not coming easily with his heart still thumping in his eardrums, so as he stepped off, he could only offer a meager, 'I think she probably just went to sleep, Ensign.'
He didn't bother to see how Travis took that, barely registering as the lift closed and took off again. The immediate concern was whether Hoshi had spoken the truth when she said she hadn't told anyone about his clandestine activities. She'd given him the Hexian specs two days ago, he wouldn't have been occupied with it today. She lied, which left the question of why.
The fact that he made it safely to his cabin gave him some small comfort, but the flashing light of his terminal made him pause. The ubiquitous lump in his throat grew impossibly bigger as he approached the desk.
It was only a few seconds older than the agency's missive, but he had been otherwise occupied with his plans. The header indicated it came from within the ship, and he held his breath as he pressed the button to open it.
~Malcolm,
I am writing this message to you, and only you, on a need-to-know basis. I've recently discovered some suspicious communiques that were being sent to Earth along with our official reports. I've yet to decode the contents, so I haven't notified the Captain of their existence. They might turn out to be as innocent as T'Pol's letters from her family, but in case they aren't, I've devised a plan. Attached are the files in question and the subroutines involved. They might take some time to digest, but I'm sure you, of all people, will find them more interesting than Liz's movie selection.
Hoshi.~
She had a recourse after all: him. She did not consider his defection a possibility. It was all together an unhappy coincidence he was the very person she was trying to disclose.
Malcolm thought of the way he'd left her in her cabin and the actions he took to accomplish that task. He swallowed the bitter taste of regret, heavily smothered as it blossomed within his torso. Drowning in the icy depths of the Atlantic, he lamented, would have been more pleasant.