CHAPTER 10
Reed and Tucker were asleep when Kleth walked into the cell and hauled Reed unceremoniously to his feet. "Wake up, Human," he barked.
"Where are we going?" Reed asked, throwing a glance over his shoulder at Tucker who had been roused by the commotion.
"You are going to the see the captain."
Reed could feel Tucker's eyes on him as he was pushed out of the cell. A guard shut the cell door and locked it as Reed and Kleth started down the corridor.
Kleth did not speak again until they were outside Hoshi's cabin. Reed was surprised when the Klingon didn't push the chime, but instead turned to scrutinize him appraisingly.
"I will be outside her door. Do not try to hurt her," Kleth said.
"Knowing you're out here, I'll make an effort to restrain myself," Reed said sarcastically.
"It is not her I am worried about," Kleth said, and Reed detected an undercurrent of amusement in the Klingon's voice. "Anger her, and you may need me to rescue you."
Kleth did laugh then as he punched the door chime. When the door slid open, Kleth gave him a shove that thrust him stumbling into the room. Reed regained his balance just in time to keep from falling, and he heard the door shut without Kleth following him into the cabin.
Quiet laughter brought his head up quickly. What he saw made his heart race.
She was standing behind a desk, her hair freshly brushed and shining down around her shoulders. She had removed the battle armor and wore instead a long, dark green gown with a definite Klingon flare, the low-cut bodice cinched under her bosom and the long sleeves snugged at her wrists. Draped around her hips was the gold sash from the battle armor.
Even from across the cabin, he could see the gleam of amusement in her eyes, and the small smile that graced her lips all but begged him to come closer. The battle-armored captain had intrigued him, but he found this version of the Human woman among Klingons much more appealing.
Straightening up, he returned her interested gaze.
"Kleth enjoyed playing with you, didn't he?" she asked softly, her voice like a caress.
Reed, breaking out of his reverie, managed to say, "Is that what that was?"
"Oh, yes. But he was right," she said, and her voice suddenly became icy. "Don't anger me, or it will go badly for you."
He watched, bemused, as she sat down behind the desk and looked up at him.
"Don't just stand there. Sit down," she ordered, and he moved to sit in the chair in front of the desk, keeping his eyes on her the whole time.
She stared at him for a long time, not speaking, and he wondered what she was thinking. When he refused to look away from her critical regard, she dropped her eyes to a padd on the desk.
"Your ship is very interesting, Malcolm Reed," she said, picking up the padd. "A very efficient one-man spy ship except for one thing -- its engine doesn't seem to be working very well."
She had gotten right to the point, but he was surprised by her next statement.
"No matter. It will be good enough for my purpose."
"What purpose is that?" he asked.
"I need a ship."
"You seem to have one already," he remarked succinctly.
She frowned at him, and he could see the beginnings of anger in her eyes.
"Idiot," she said. "I need another ship. It's required."
"Required for what?" he asked, wondering if he would anger her further with the question.
She leaned back in her chair and regarded him. He resisted the urge to squirm under her gaze and stared steadily back at her. She seemed to be weighing some kind of decision.
He started when she abruptly stood and began to pace. Trying not to be distracted by the swing of her hips under the gown, he focused on her words.
"You're just doing your job. You're trying to stop the pirates." She halted her pacing and looked over at him, and he could see the amusement was back in her eyes. Reaching down to the sash, she flipped the edge over and pulled the tracker loose, tossing it to him. "It happened to be my luck that you came across the Falcon."
He wondered why she hadn't destroyed the tracking device, but was distracted when she walked to the front of the desk and sat down on its edge, facing him.
"What if I told you the Falcon isn't really a pirate vessel?" she asked.
"I'd have to say you are lying," he replied.
She growled angrily, a perfect imitation of Kleth but on a softer plane, and he prepared himself for her to hit him.
"Do I have to spell it out for you?" she spat instead. In a hoarse whisper, she grumbled, "I honestly don't know why Kleth thinks so highly of you. You're just like all the other 'fleeters. Duty only, and no imagination."
Reed said the first thing that popped into his head. "It would take a lot of imagination to figure out why you would become a pirate after your husband was killed by them."
This time she did move to strike him, but he was ready and grabbed her wrist when her hand was a scant few centimeters from his face. For a long moment they stared into each other's eyes, and he could see the grief that the anger couldn't hide. When she stopped exerting force against him with her arm, he released her.
She attempted to retreat around the desk but he sprung up and grabbed her by the shoulders, spinning her around. She tried to strike him again, but he grabbed both her wrists.
"I suggest you tell me how you came to be the captain of this ship if you expect me to trust you," he said, and felt her struggles cease. He let go of her as he added, "That is what you want, isn't it? For us to work together?"
As his gaze drilled into hers, he could see something else in those luminous brown eyes, and he was startled when he saw tears begin to well up. The last thing he expected was for this strong, incredible woman to cry.
"What I want doesn't matter!" she cried, dashing her hand across her eyes, preventing the tears from spilling over. She moved away from him to sit behind the desk. "What I need is something else," she said gruffly, and he could see her tough Klingon manner assert itself.
"What exactly is it that you need?" he asked in a businesslike manner as he sat down again. If she wanted to act as if there hadn't been a sizzling current between them when he'd touched her, he'd go along for the time being.
"Your ship," she said, then gave a short laugh. "But you already know that. What you don't know is why I need it."
Reed nodded, encouraging her to continue.
"You are aware that the pirates in this quadrant are becoming more efficient, claiming more ships and more valuable prizes. That is why you're here on board the Falcon, after all," she said. "As I told you back on that miserable planet, there is another, more important pirate than me. His name is Shidak."
Reed pondered this information as she fell silent. He now had a name to work with. Her next words, however, surprised him.
"I going to use your ship as the token I need to be admitted to Shidak's inner circle."
"Why?" he asked, still unable to piece together why she wanted to move even higher in the pirates' ranks when she had denied being a pirate.
"Shidak is building a powerful organization with himself as its leader. He rarely goes on raids any more, but is content to sit in his stronghold, directing the other pirates and taking a share of their loot."
"Why would the other pirates be willing to take his orders?" Reed asked.
"Because he supplies them with information. Good information. Where valuable cargo will be shipped, and when. The patrol locations of various Starfleet vessels which could interfere. Even names of colony officials who are willing to look the other way for a bribe. He has contacts deep inside many agencies, including Starfleet. And he's begun forcing some of the shipping companies to pay a 'fee' to keep their shipping safe."
Hoshi paused to take a breath, and Reed spoke up. "I need to know, before I can trust you," he said, "why are you doing this?"
She looked away, opening a drawer on the desk and pulling out a framed photograph. He saw a small smile curve the corners of her lips as she looked with melancholy sadness at the picture.
"This is why," she said, handing it to him.
It was a photo of Matthew Hayes, Reed saw. He was standing in front of the entrance to H-S Shipping, a smile on his handsome face, his eyes crinkled against the bright sunlight.
"That's my husband. Shidak is responsible for his death," Hoshi said softly but with conviction. "I'm going to kill him."