CHAPTER 19
Reed spent the rest of the morning with Tucker in engineering. His level of engineering knowledge didn't come close to what Tucker knew, but he could hold a welding torch and follow directions. He helped fix a number of relays as well as supervise one of the Klingon engineers who knew even less about plasma conduits than he did.
After several hours, he was ready for a break and something to eat. As he left engineering, Tucker pulled his head out of an access panel long enough to assure him that he'd soon take a break.
The Klingons on board the Falcon didn't eat a mid-day meal. Reed didn't know if that was a Klingon custom in general, or just these particular Klingons.
Whatever the case, Reed was hungry. He went to the docking bay, unlocked the scout ship, and, after entering, looked through the food supply. He picked out two sandwiches and was about to leave when a thought struck him. Turning back to the food storage bin, he rummaged around until he found another, smaller food packet.
Reed had only seen Hoshi that one time in engineering that morning, and he felt the need to check on her. So, taking the sandwiches and the other packet, he made his way to her cabin.
Along the way, he passed several Klingons, all of whom stared at him. He may have the run of the ship and their captain's bed, but they still didn't trust him.
Hoshi spent the rest of the morning making her rounds on the Falcon, checking on the upgrades Tucker was making in engineering as well as the ongoing maintenance throughout the ship. She'd managed early on to get rid of her ever-present watchdog, Kleth, by sending him in search of Malcolm. If those two didn't wind up killing each other, they'd probably turn out to be good friends.
But then Kleth had caught up to her in engineering. It wouldn't do for the captain to hide from the first officer, so she'd barged in on the group clustered around the engine and asked for a report, instead of slinking away, as had been her first inclination.
Kleth's smothering presence irritated her sometimes. She hadn't wanted to be bothered by it this morning, when she'd wanted to be alone with her thoughts as she wandered the ship. Kleth was a little too intrusive for her introspective mood, not to mention nosy about her developing relationship with Malcolm.
She wasn't even sure she and Malcolm had a relationship. They'd been thrown together by fate, nothing more, she realized.
The fact that Malcolm had showed up in engineering when she'd been there didn't help, either. Still trying to figure out her feelings for him, she was too aware of the man when he was around to think clearly, and she had made a quick exit.
She had given up fighting her attraction to him the night before when he had said that he cared for her. It wasn't love, but right now she'd take what she could get from him.
They'd been awake half the night, doing things that even now made her shiver in delight as she recalled them. What they didn't do much of was sleep. She yawned as she keyed in the access code and the door to her cabin slid open.
Do Klingon captains ever nap, she wondered, glancing longingly at her bed. Shifting her gaze to the pile of padds on the desk, she decided they didn't. There was too much work for Klingon captains to do to be able to indulge in something as undisciplined as a nap.
She sat down at her desk, picked up a padd, and had just turned it on when the cabin door slid open again.
"Didn't I lock that?" she asked Malcolm.
"No," he said.
"Maybe you'll take care of that for me?" she asked, stifling a yawn.
He smiled as he thumbed the lock on the inside before coming over to the other chair at the desk.
"Brought you something," he said, clearing off a space on the desk and putting one of the sandwiches and the other food packet in front of her.
They were ration packs from his ship, she saw as she looked at the markings. She peered through the clear cellophane at the sandwich which appeared to be roast beef. She'd been eating Klingon food for so long now that the dried-up meat didn't really appeal to her.
She couldn't tell what was in the second food packet, as it was in some type of silvery foil-like wrap. She turned it to read the inscription. Immediately her spirits took a leap upward.
"Cheesecake! You have cheesecake on your ship?" she asked in disbelief, grabbing the packet and tearing the end off, inhaling the rich scent of the dessert as she held it under her nose.
"That's the only one. I got it before Tucker managed to get a hold of it."
She put a piece in her mouth and closed her eyes, savoring the delicacy before swallowing with a moan of satisfaction. She opened her eyes to find Malcolm gazing in fascination at her.
"What's the matter?" she asked. "Haven't you ever seen anyone eat cheesecake before?"
He smiled. "I have, but no one's enjoyed it as much as you."
"I don't know when the last time was that I had cheesecake," she purred as she put another morsel in her mouth, closing her eyes again as she rolled it around with her tongue. "This is so good."
A strangling sound from Malcolm made her open her eyes.
"What?" she asked.
"Do you...do you have to eat it that way?" he stuttered. "It's a little...distracting."
"Eat your sandwich," she ordered, but took pity on him. She toned down her reaction to the cheesecake, settling on an occasional moan as she tasted each piece. Still, by the time she was finished with the treat, she could swear Malcolm was sweating.
Daintily licking her lips, she regarded him as he began to eat his sandwich. A stray thought crossed her mind that bringing her the piece of cheesecake was akin to Matthew bringing her cups of coffee as she worked. She quickly squashed that train of thought.
She waited until he had eaten to bring up a subject he had broached the other day. When he finished the last bite of his sandwich, she said, "You're right."
"About what?" he asked, getting up to get a glass of water.
"I don't have a plan," she said to his back where he stood at the resequencer.
He turned to stare at her, and she shifted uneasily under his gaze.
Returning to his chair, he set the glass on the desk. "I didn't think so," he said as he leaned back.
"Oh, shut up," she told him, but not rudely. "I've been so focused on getting to Shidak I haven't really thought about what I'll do once I get there." She paused, shook her head, and added, "Other than kill him, of course."
He leaned forward to pick up the glass and took a swallow. "Do you want some advice?" he asked, looking at her over the rim of the glass before taking another drink.
"Would I be talking to you about this if I didn't?" she countered testily, a trace of her Klingon temper showing.
"No, probably not." He put the glass back down. "First, you're sure that by bringing Shidak my ship, you'll be allowed to see him?"
"It will give me entry to his elite circle of pirate captains," Hoshi said. "Generally, if someone brings him a ship, he sees them, face to face, or so I've been told by some of the other pirates we've run into."
"What does he do with all these ships?" Malcolm asked curiously.
"It depends upon what type of ship is involved. Freighters, which have been altered enough to hide their original appearance, are used to transport captured cargo." Hoshi laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Oftentimes, the loot winds up going to its original destination, only Shidak gets the profit, not the shipping company that lost the cargo."
"I'd think he'd eventually run out of the need for more freighters. There's only so much freight to ship," Malcolm said.
"That's true," she agreed. "If that's the case, and if a captured freighter isn't in very good condition, it's probably sold for scrap, or broken apart and the pieces used in other projects."
She looked away for a moment, thinking, before continuing. "Faster and more heavily armed vessels that are captured are turned over to members of Shidak's inner circle. The captains find crews for them, and Shidak's unofficial fleet becomes even bigger."
"So, the fact that my scout ship has an experimental engine capable of--" Malcolm stopped suddenly and gave her a small smile as he continued. "Let's just say it can go very fast. My ship with its engine would be of interest to Shidak. If he could tear the engine apart, study it, adapt the pirate ships' engines..."
Hoshi nodded as she saw he understood the implications. "No one would be able to catch his ships if that engine is adapted for the pirates. He has to be interested in it."
She heard him sigh.
"We've got the bait," he said, "but what are we going to do when we get there? And how do you know where his stronghold is?"
"Kleth knows where it is," she said smugly. At Malcolm's inquisitive look, she smiled. "The Klingons on board this ship are renegades from their own people. Somehow, Shidak found out about them and made contact. He suggested that Kleth join his organization."
"Kleth turned him down, didn't he?"
"Yes," Hoshi said. "He may be a renegade, but he has certain standards. Piracy for the benefit of someone who has no honor isn't one of them."
Malcolm smirked at that, then sobered. "We still have to get inside his base of operations."
"I'm assuming he'll invite me," Hoshi said with a shrug. "He's not getting your ship any other way."
"You'll have to take me and Kleth along, and Tucker," he said. When she made a face, he added, "Don't give me that look. Pirate crews are mixed bags. Shidak shouldn't have any trouble accepting that your crew has Klingons and Humans shipping together. In fact, it's probably more believable than a ship full of Klingons led by the only Human on board."
She frowned at this slight of her abilities, but let it pass. He was right. She also realized that she wanted him there with her during the confrontation with Shidak.
"There is one problem," he said, interrupting her thoughts.
"What's that?"
"We're going to have to get Tucker into Klingon battle armor."