Author's note: Three chapters today. Hoping to get this puppy posted in its entirety before the holidays hit.

CHAPTER 15

The wind picked up as they reached the crest of the hill. P'kora leaned closer to Malcolm to be heard as he pulled him down to a squatting position.

"They won't hear us, but they might be able to see us," he said loudly in Malcolm's ear.

"Where's the cave?" Malcolm asked.

Pointing to the opposite hillside, P'kora said, "There -- where all the vines are hanging down."

Malcolm could barely see across the small valley through the pouring rain. Once he knew what he was looking for, however, he spotted the opening, along with a flicker of light.

"They've got a fire going," he said.

P'kora grunted. Gesturing to the side, he indicated the route they should take to descend. He moved out stealthily, Malcolm close behind, each of them trying to keep to whatever cover they could find.

The Lanari was moving across the slope as they worked their way down so they could approach the spot from the side. Once they reached the valley floor, they circled farther around so they could come upon the shelter without being seen by anyone inside who might be looking out.

Malcolm took the lead from P'kora and was cautiously moving toward their goal when he saw the vines at the opening pushed aside. Ducking behind some shrubbery, he pulled P'kora down with him, and they peered out between the fronds.

A tall Lanari who had to be F'linu emerged from the shelter and looked around before taking a few steps to one side, hitched the rifle he was carrying on a strap higher on his shoulder, and turned to face a tree. As the man continued to stand there, Malcolm had to suppress a grin as he realized what F'linu was doing.

He glanced at P'kora, who nodded, and the two men sprung from their concealment, quickly covering the distance between them and the unsuspecting Lanari.

F'linu, preoccupied and unable to hear them over the drone of the rain, was taken unawares. The first indication he had that he was not alone was the tip of P'kora's rifle barrel touching his neck just below one ear.

Malcolm quickly relieved F'linu of his rifle before frisking him. His search turned up a knife and a small handgun, both of which he pocketed. Finished with that task, Malcolm took a few steps back.

"Turn around," P'kora ordered.

F'linu slowly turned to face them. He was taller than P'kora, and the police supervisor wasn't a small person. Malcolm didn't think he'd like to fight this man hand-to-hand.

Now that they'd caught F'linu, Malcolm's gaze shifted to the opening of the shelter. Hoshi had to be in there. He took a step in that direction, intent on getting to her, when he heard P'kora shout.

In the next instant he was shoved from behind, and fell face first into the mud. Rolling over quickly, he took in the scene in an instant.

A massive tree limb had come crashing to the ground, unheard over the barrage of the storm. If P'kora hadn't pushed him, he would have been struck and, judging by the size of the branch, killed. The Lanari police supervisor was an arm's length away, also sprawled on the ground.

The limb had fallen between them and F'linu. Pushing himself up, Malcolm looked over at the other side of the thick branch and its leaves.

F'linu was gone.

Hoshi's sweat-soaked clothing hadn't completely dried, and she was shivering violently as she waited for F'linu to return. If she came down with pneumonia, she was going to be so mad at herself.

She'd probably only get one chance, so she would have to make the most of it and catch F'linu off-guard. If she couldn't knock him down with the first blow, she seriously doubted she'd get a second try. The Lanari was much bigger than she was, and there was no way she could to win any type of physical skirmish with him.

One way to even the odds, she determined, would be to extinguish the fire. He wouldn't be able to see very well in the cave if the only light was from outside, and it might give her an extra moment or two as his eyes adjusted to the dimness. Dropping the branch, she hastily put out the fire.

Grabbing the branch again, she kept her eyes on the entrance. She would have to rely on her sight to alert her to his return as the storm was still too loud to hear him approach. Standing a little to one side of the opening, she held the branch ready to swing at him as soon as he set foot inside.

No sooner had she had gotten into position than the vines shook as a hand pushed them aside. She could see a silhouette. As he stepped into the cave, she swung the branch as hard as she could.

The shock of the branch's impact stung her arms, and she heard a muffled "oomph" as the person dropped to his knees and clutched at his mid-section. Dropping the branch, she gathered herself to jump over the body obstructing the opening when details began to register in her brain.

This man wasn't tall enough to be F'linu and he wasn't wearing the same clothes. And he looked an awful lot like...

"Malcolm!" she cried, dropping to her knees beside him and grabbing him in a fierce embrace. "Oh, Malcolm! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. I thought you were F'linu. He's the person who kidnapped me. What are you doing here? I thought you were..."

As she ran out of words, she heard Malcolm laughing, one arm wrapped around his torso where he'd been struck.

"What's so funny?" she asked as he held her against him with his free arm and began raining kisses on her face.

"You," he said. "To think I was worried about you. You seem to be doing fine without me. Remind me never to get you mad at me in future."

"Malcolm! We've got to get out of here." She shook him as she clutched at him. "He's going to be back--"

She screamed as a body blocked out the faint light from outside. Scrabbling around on her hands and knees for the branch she had dropped, she was almost incoherent. "Malcolm! Do something! It's him. It's--"

"Hoshi! Calm down," Malcolm said, slowly getting to his feet, still holding his bruised stomach. "It's not F'linu."

Pushing herself back on her heels, Hoshi tipped back too far and lost her balance, and wound up sitting down ungracefully on her rump. She stared up as the tall Lanari entered and said, "Oh."

"This is P'kora. He's a police supervisor," Malcolm said by way of introduction. Addressing the Lanari, he asked, "Did you find him?"

"No," P'kora replied, "but I have found his trail."

"Uh, guys?" Hoshi put in from her spot on the floor. When both men looked down at her, she asked, "What do we do now? F'linu's still out there running around, and there's this storm and..." Looking mournfully at Malcolm, she burst out, "I just want to go home!"

Malcolm squatted next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, which he squeezed lightly. "It's going to be a while yet, I'm afraid."

Hoshi reached up to squeeze his hand in return despite her disappointment. "Guess we're stuck in this cave for a while, huh?" she said.

"Guess so."

P'kora cleared his throat. "You two should stay here, yes. I'm going to track F'linu."

Malcolm stood back up to face the policeman. "It's too dangerous out there right now. You said so yourself."

Hoshi began to shake as the two men argued. Must be reaction to the whole situation, she figured, clasping her arms around herself. She was cold again, too. This couldn't be good for the baby, she thought, and shook even harder.

"You have found her," she heard the Lanari say. "That is why you came here. There is no need for you to do any more. However, if I catch F'linu, my superiors may overlook the fact I did this without authorization. I will contact you as soon as the weather permits."

Reaching into his pocket, P'kora pulled out a lighting device similar to the one Hoshi had seen F'linu use. "Here. You will need this."

He handed it to Malcolm and, without further comment, spun around and slipped back through the vines, leaving them swinging in his wake.

Malcolm stared after him for a moment. Then Hoshi's teeth began chattering and he took in her soggy appearance.

"Let's get the fire going again, shall we?" he said, kneeling down to arrange the half-burned branches and looking around for dry tinder to help start it.

Hoshi was shivering too hard to help him. She watched anxiously as he gathered up some dry leaves and placed them strategically on the pile.

"For heaven's sake!" she said between teeth chatters. "Light...the damned...thing."

Malcolm didn't answer. He concentrated on getting the fire started with the leaves, and fed a few twigs to the tiny flame that took hold. When the fire began to greedily consume that fuel, he added larger branches until there was a bright, cheery blaze.

Hoshi sighed as she felt the warmth from the fire reach her, and she scooted a little closer to the blaze. Malcolm came to sit next to her, putting one arm around her.

"We're both pretty wet," he said.

"You're even...more soaked...than...I am," she stammered.

Malcolm sighed as he pulled her closer, pressing her head against his chest. "At least I'm still fairly warm from running around in the forest."

"Can't you contact the ship to get us transported out of here?" she asked plaintively.

"Afraid not, Hoshi," he said, giving her a light kiss on the top of her head. "The storm is generating some type of interference. We'll have to wait until it's over."

Hoshi grumbled as she wiggled as close to him as she could get. He was right -- he was nicely warm despite being wet.

"I wonder how Trip is getting along," he said, and told her about their headlong rush through the forest, only to be separated by the accident at the stream. "Kleth and Slanea should be taking good care of him," he added.

"Slanea?" Hoshi asked curiously. "Who's Slanea?"

Trip had fallen into an exhausted sleep, for which Kleth was grateful. He and Slanea had tried to make Trip comfortable but there wasn't much they could do. The engineer's arm was in the makeshift splint, and the gash on his forehead wasn't deep and had stopped bleeding on its own.

At least, Kleth mused as he watched Trip sleep, the human was quiet, which was somewhat of a phenomenon. He had yet to figure out how the engineer could always find so much to talk about.

Turning away from Trip, Kleth stared out at the pouring rain. His battle garb was wet, but he voiced no complaint. It would serve no purpose other than to besmirch the honor he had gained in this trial.

He had to admit he never would have expected to be involved in such adventures when he had formed the shipping partnership with Ma'Com. These humans constantly amazed him.

Glancing across Trip at Slanea, he growled softly as he caught her eye. To his surprise, she growled softly back. That was a good sign. Perhaps she was receptive to him after all.

"Tell me," he said, "how is it that you came to be aboard a human ship outside the Empire?"

Her growl turned into a snarl at his words, and for a moment he thought she was going to launch herself across the body of their fallen friend and attack him. When he didn't react, her snarl smoothed out and she peered at him curiously.

"You are truly interested," she said in amazement as she looked at him.

"Yes."

She shifted her gaze to the rain falling outside their lean-to, and Kleth waited patiently for her to speak. In the meantime, he admired her profile, strong and straight, her dark hair glistening with drops of rain. She was a beauty by all Klingon standards, and his heart begin to race in a manner he hadn't felt in a long time.

Her voice was low when, still staring at the dreary landscape,she began to speak.

"I am the oldest of my siblings," she said. "There are three of us, all female, much to my father's disappointment."

Kleth could relate to that. Every Klingon father wished for at least one strong son. To say her father was disappointed by having three female offspring was an understatement.

"We are not a strong house," she continued. "Father works for the military, but in a clerical position. He has had little chance to earn honor or advancement, other than by doing his job well."

"There is nothing wrong with that," Kleth rumbled sympathetically.

"No, there isn't," she agreed, turning to face him. "We have tried to tell him that. But it is not enough for him. He always comes up with one plan after another, trying to advance our house."

She looked down at her hands, which were clenched on her lap. "His latest plan involved marrying into a house with more prestige. Being the oldest, and as my sisters are not yet of an age to mate, I was the only one who could be married off."

She snarled again, but this time it was at a memory and not Kleth. "My father found a suitable candidate," she said. "Suitable for him, not for me. The man he picked was old and ugly, and not in good health. But he was willing to pay Father to marry me so that he could have someone to clean up after him."

Looking Kleth in the eye, she uttered a short, harsh laugh. "I would not have been a mate -- I would have been a nursemaid! I find no honor in marrying for that purpose." Looking away, she added, "There would have been no possibility of children. While my father might have gained prestige and money from the bargain, the house into which he would have me marry would ultimately die out and wither away."

Kleth let her sit alone with her thoughts without interruption. What she had told him so far had confirmed his earlier belief. She was a strong woman, and she needed a strong mate.

"I could not live the way my father wanted," she finally said. "I left. Perhaps not an honorable thing to do to my family, but what my father wanted me to do was worse. I am trained as an engineer, so it was not hard to find work outside the Empire."

Lowering her voice, she finished her tale. "I send most of my pay home to my mother. She understands my position, although she cannot tell my father that. And they need the money. She is using it to make sure my sisters are trained well enough that they will be able to stand on their own as I have, and not be forced into a dishonorable match."

Kleth watched as her shoulders slumped. No doubt she was waiting for him to berate her for disobeying her father. It is what the majority of Klingon males would do, so ingrained were the nuances of their strict culture that a child's willful disobedience would be seen as a reason to disown that child.

But he wasn't a typical Klingon male. As her story had unfolded, he felt as is he were in the presence of a kindred spirit, one who valued personal honor over the demands of a culture that could be unreasonable and unbending.

Now if he could convince her that she was worthy, he would be that much closer to having found a life mate.

Reaching out over Trip's supine form between them, he touched her face and turned it toward him. Unflinching deep brown eyes under proud forehead ridges gazed into his.

He growled quietly, and heard an answering rumble from her as she bared her teeth, nipping sharply at the palm of his hand where it rested on her cheek.