A/N: Again, many many many heartfelt apologies for the amount of time it took for me to update. Unfortunately, the only excuse I can offer is an extreme case of writers' block. I sat down to write numerous times, only to have absolutely no idea what to do with the story. I really should have planned this out better when I first got the idea. I usually do that. I'll do that next time, I swear.

And unfortunately times two, this will be the last new chapter for at least two weeks, because I've been summoned to jury duty and I'll be unable to update (no computer access). I will be writing while I'm sequestered in the hotel for two weeks, so once I get back I should be able to just type everything up and post it. Maybe I can even get it finished and start working on part 4 (which I actually had written until my hard drive crashed and I swear I'll stop bringing that up).

kane - men

lolo - idiot

Trip crept cautiously through the corridors. He had no idea where he was going, had absolutely no clue where Kamea and Malcolm might be at that moment, and really couldn't care less. All he wanted was to be away from the bridge, to have time to sort out his thoughts without the engines exploding or someone interrupting or whatever happening. He hadn't really had all that much time to himself since Kamea's unexpected arrival more than a month ago, and though he in no way blamed Kamea for that, he wondered if perhaps she hadn't brought chaos with her when she boarded. Maybe she had it stowed in one of those secret compartments he knew she had built into the walls of her ship.

He inched closer to the wall, using it as a reference point. He trailed his fingers along it as he moved, trying to gather his bearings. He knew Enterprise inside and out, but everything looked different in the dark, and the last thing he wanted was to be caught unaware by some of these Ferengi. He'd dealt with them before and wasn't all that anxious to do so again.

At least this time he was fully clothed.

Not that the whole experience hadn't been all bad. He'd learned that he and T'Pol made a pretty good team – being the only crew members conscious other than the captain, they'd had no choice but to work together. And though he'd been attracted to her from the get-go – she was a beautiful woman, after all, and he was only human – he'd refused to admit that to himself. But then she actually turned out to be a pretty decent person, and he started having trouble denying that something was there.

Now there was something else – something he was missing. And he knew she knew and wasn't telling him. And what was worse was that he knew Kamea knew and also was keeping her mouth shut. He expected to learn nothing from T'Pol – the whole "exploration in human sexuality" conversation still hurt like hell – but he had hoped that Kamea wouldn't be quite so mum. She maintained that it was none of her business, that if T'Pol wanted him to know, she would tell him, but he knew that wasn't true. T'Pol would never admit to anything. She never admitted to being jealous of Amanda Cole, though she so obviously had been. She'd never actually come out and said that she was attracted to him, though her demonstration spoke volumes. No, he had a feeling that if he wanted to know what was going on, he was going to have to figure it out on his own.

That, or worm it out of Kamea. Maybe if he worked on her for a while, he could get her to confess. He'd stick her in a shuttle pod with Malcolm for a while; a few hours of listening to him jabber on and she'd be willing to talk.

He rounded a corner and saw something. A dark, blurry shape, slightly more defined than the other dark, blurry shapes around him. He slowed his pace to an almost crawl, slowly moving closer until he was directly behind whatever it was.

And suddenly, the something turned, knocking him over with a sharp kick to the stomach.

"Commander!"

Trip groaned. He would recognize that voice anywhere. There weren't many Brits on board Enterprise, but he would have known the voice anyway. Malcolm fumbled in the darkness to help him up, and Trip took the offered hand. Malcolm hauled him to his feet, and the men were left facing each other, though unable to see each other.

"Terribly sorry, sir," Malcolm said, not sounding the least bit sorry. He'd probably wanted to do that for some time. Lord knows Trip had wanted to deck Malcolm once or twice. "I didn't realize it was you. Kamea and I were headed for the cargo bay and we got separated."

Trip raised his eyebrows. "You got separated?"

Malcolm sighed. "Well, actually it was more like I got separated. She was tracking a Ferengi, and I just can't see anything at the moment. She went around a corner and I lost her."

Trip couldn't help but laugh, which seemed to piss off Malcolm all the more. "You said she was headed for the cargo bay?"

"Yes," Malcolm said, his voice clipped and curt. "She seems to think that the Ferengi are headed there."

"Well," Trip said, rubbing his chin, "it makes sense. If they were going to rob the ship, that's probably where they'd go."

"But we don't have any cargo."

"I know that and you know that, but these Ferengi don't know that."

Something suddenly fell from the ceiling, causing both Malcolm and Trip to scream.

It was Kamea, suspended from a pipe by her legs, just like she did while working in engineering. She did not look amused. Her face was all red, though that could have been from all the blood rushing to her head. "Kane," she said, shaking her head. She dropped to the floor. "Will you two please shut up? They probably heard you on C-deck."

"We weren't being loud," Trip said. "And where have you been?"

"Ferengi have excellent hearing," Kamea said, pointedly ignoring Trip's last question. "So, yes, they probably heard you on C-deck. I think they're heading for the bridge."

Malcolm sputtered. "What, you don't know?"

Kamea rolled her eyes. "No."

"You're a mind-reader," Malcolm said. "Why can't you just read their minds?"

Kamea cocked an eyebrow. "You think it's that simple, do you?" Trip couldn't make out her face in the darkness, but he could tell from the inflection of her voice that she was pissed – for a Vulcan. "I've been honing my abilities for eight years, so don't even presume to believe you know more about my skills than I do."

"I know you can read minds," said Malcolm, before Trip could tell him to shut up. "You told the captain that you could."

"I know what I said," Kamea said, taking a step towards the two of them, "but there's things you don't know."

Malcolm took a step towards Kamea. Trip instinctively backed away. "Like what?"

"Ferengi are not like humans," said Kamea, which Trip thought was stating the obvious. "Their biological makeup is completely different, especially their brain chemistry. Something – some lobe or zone – in their brain prevents telepathic communication. So I can't read their minds." Kamea snorted. "Lolo."

"Well, you might have just said that," Malcolm said.

"Well, you didn't leave me much opportunity."

"Oh, so that hour of stony silence wasn't the right time?"

"I was tracking, and don't change the subject."

"I'm sure I wasn't changing the subject."

Trip sighed and shook his head. He half expected an army of Ferengi to appear out of nowhere and take the three of them by surprise, because Malcolm and Kamea were certainly making enough noise to attract their attention. He was just about to break the two of them up before blood was shed or one of them died when he felt a stabbing pain in the back of his head, like a migraine, only in the wrong place. "Ow! Goddamnit!"

Malcolm and Kamea immediately stopped arguing, and both turned as one to look at him. "Are you all right, Commander?" Malcolm asked.

Trip sucked in a breath through his teeth. "No. Feels like someone jabbed my head with a needle."

Kamea gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth. She grabbed both Malcolm and Trip by a wrist and headed towards the nearest ladder. "Come on!" she said. "We have to get to the bridge."