CHAPTER 2

Hoshi and Travis stood at attention in front of the captain's desk. So far he hadn't said anything. He'd let them stand there while he looked at something on his computer screen.

The captain was a dog person. He liked dogs. A lot. It was too much to hope that he was a cat person as well. By the look on his face in the launch bay, Hoshi didn't think he was. Right now she'd settle for him having a tolerance for cats, just so long as he wasn't afraid of them. Some people had an irrational fear of cats, and if the captain was one of them, he'd want them off the ship pronto.

Hoshi risked a glance out the corner of her eye at Travis, and saw him looking back at her. She'd have to explain to the captain that she'd talked Travis into helping her. She didn't want to get the big lug into trouble.

The door chime sounded and Jon called out, "Enter!"

Hoshi heard the door swoosh open behind her, followed by soft footfalls.

"You wished to see me, Captain?" came T'Pol's calm voice.

Looking up from the screen, Jon said, "Yes, I think I may need your advice about something concerning our two ensigns here."

He stood and gestured for T'Pol to come forward to stand next to him.

"I've been going over Starfleet regulations," he said.

T'Pol looked from him to the two junior officers. "Have Ensigns Sato and Mayweather committed some infraction?" she inquired mildly, one eyebrow arched.

"That's just it," Jon said. "I don't think they have."

Hoshi closed her eyes in relief but snapped them back open as he continued in a stern tone, "When regulations aren't clear on a particular topic, it is up to the captain to formulate a rule or guideline."

T'Pol blinked once. "Obviously, this situation is not about fraternization between the two ensigns," she said. "There are quite specific regulations about fraternization, but one thing is clear -- since they are of the same rank, many of the sanctions against onboard relationships would not apply."

All three Starfleet officers stared at her. Hoshi gulped, not knowing whether to be embarrassed or amused. From the corner of her eye she could see Travis biting his lip. The captain's face, meanwhile, had turned an interesting shade of pink.

"No, no!" Jon said. "That's not it at all."

T'Pol looked at him, her head cocked to one side, waiting for him to get to the point.

"Hoshi has brought two cats on board," he said as if that explained everything, and sat down at his desk.

T'Pol, her hands behind her back, turned to look at him. "I assume these cats were procured in the marketplace on the planet."

Hoshi nodded when the sub-commander glanced at her.

"Perhaps we should ascertain why Ensign Sato deemed it necessary to bring these creatures on board," T'Pol suggested.

"Yes, Hoshi," Jon said. "Please tell us why you felt the need to bring two cats on board."

"They...were...for sale..." Hoshi started out hesitantly, but the words came tumbling out more quickly as she continued to talk. "They were in with a bunch of exotic animals in one of the market stalls. I suppose the cats seemed exotic to the merchant who was selling them. I have no idea how he got them. Probably some Earth freighter that stopped here. Anyway, he said he'd never seen anything like them and--"

"Ensign!" Jon let out a small explosive breath. "Why did you buy them?"

Hoshi swallowed and allowed a quaver to come into her voice. "They weren't being sold as pets, sir. The inhabitants of this planet raise livestock and they also hunt wild game for food. Whoever bought the cats would probably have...eaten them," she said with a horrified expression. "It was a butcher's stall, sir," she added with a finality that was hard to argue with.

There was a long silence.

"You bought them to save them from being killed and eaten?" Jon finally asked softly, both compassion and grudging acceptance in his manner.

"Yes, sir," Hoshi replied, and risked adding an emotional appeal. "The cats are Earth cats, sir. When I saw them there, sitting in those cages, their big eyes looking at me... The only thing I could think of was Sushi and Sake sitting in those same cages. How could someone kill them to eat them?"

"Sushi and Sake?" T'Pol asked.

"My cats when I was little," she said. "They were my pets."

Once again silence descended on the ready room, broken only by the drumming of Jon's fingers on the desktop. Hoshi took a small measure of solace in the fact that he hadn't ordered her to return them. Yet.

She saw Jon flick his gaze to T'Pol, who straightened her shoulders.

"If I may?" the sub-commander asked him.

"By all means," Jon replied.

T'Pol drew a breath and began to attack the problem in her usual logical manner, but her first words surprised Hoshi.

"I must agree with Ensign Sato's actions," she said. "As a vegetarian, I find the practice of consuming meat abhorrent. The concept that live animals are bartered for food is barbaric."

A tiny bubble of hope welled up in Hoshi. The sub-commander was backing her on this!

"In addition, I have noticed the attachment that humans develop for pets," T'Pol continued, looking Jon square in the eye. "They form emotional bonds with them. The concept of animals commonly thought of as pets or companions being used as food could be detrimental to the mental health of certain humans."

So far so good, Hoshi thought, although that last crack about mental health was uncalled for. Sneaking a glance at the captain, she saw his earlier blush had given way to an unnatural paleness. She hoped he was thinking about how he'd feel if Porthos was spitted and roasted by somebody who thought of the little dog as nothing more than their next meal.

"And finally," T'Pol said, "in my study of Earth's history, I have found references to ship's cats. It was not uncommon to find them aboard sailing vessels, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries. They served the useful purpose of rodent control."

Having said her piece, T'Pol turned to face the captain fully as he rose to his feet.

"This isn't a sailing ship and we don't have any rats," he said tersely. "And what would happen if everyone in the crew decided they wanted to bring pets on board?"

"This is different, sir," Hoshi said. "I rescued them."

"Yes, you did," he shot right back. "I won't dispute that. What's to be done with them is another matter."

He went to stand by the window, gazing out at the planet rotating peacefully below them. "We can't send them back. We'll just have to keep them until we can find a good home for them."

A broad smile broke out on Hoshi's face and she all but jumped up and down. "Thank you, sir!"

"Don't thank me yet," Jon said, unable to keep a small smile from his face either. "You will be entirely responsible for their care. And if they cause problems, I may have to revise my decision."

"You won't have to, sir," Hoshi said. "I'll make sure they don't cause problems."

"There are some conditions," he added. "Where have you put them?"

"In my quarters."

He nodded. "Good. That's where they are going to live. But take them to sickbay and have Phlox check them. I want to make sure they aren't bringing any alien organisms on board. The last thing we need is an infestation of the local equivalent of fleas."

Jon paused to rub his hand across his eyes before looking at Hoshi again. "I don't want them underfoot. And keep them away from Porthos." He stared at her a moment. "Dismissed."

Hoshi and Travis turned on their heels and headed for the door. As Travis opened it, Jon called out, stopping them. "One more thing."

Hoshi turned, her brow furrowed, wondering what more conditions he could possibly put on the cats and her.

"Do me a favor," he said with a funny look on his face. "Don't name them Sushi or Sake, or anything else that has to do with food. Pick out something more appropriate for a starship."