CHAPTER 17

Malcolm stared out at the rain over Hoshi's head. She was nestled on his lap, leaning against his chest, sleeping peacefully.

Not that he didn't mind sitting in his skivvies with Hoshi on his lap, but he was starting to get chilly again. He needed to stir up the fire, which had burned down, and he wanted to see if his shirt had dried enough to put back on. Gently easing her off his lap, he settled her on the floor of the cave. She must be exhausted if he could do that without waking her.

He went over to the fire and stirred it with a branch. He added a few more pieces, and it blazed up brightly. The heat felt good, and he stretched to loosen his cramped muscles.

His pants were still soggy, but the shirt, made of a lighter material, was almost completely dry. He shrugged into it and immediately felt warmer.

Noticing the handgun and knife he had taken from F'linu lying on the ground next to his disruptor led his thoughts off on another tangent, and he wondered how P'kora was getting along tracking the insurgent leader.

Malcolm was still torn. He had wanted to assist the Lanari, but he also knew Hoshi needed him with her.

He owed P'kora. Without his help, he never would have been able to find Hoshi. Perhaps when this was over, if P'kora was kicked off the police force, Malcolm could find some sort of job for him aboard the Morning Star. It wouldn't bother him to have a few more alien crewmembers. He already had a Klingon engineer, after all.

Operating a cargo ship wasn't without risk. Maybe he could create a position for P'kora that involved security and defense of the Morning Star. It would be just his cup of tea, Malcolm mused.

Hoshi mumbled something in her sleep, and Malcolm turned to look at her. His heart swelled with love as he stared down at her where she lay curled up on the ground. He had never envisioned the sort of predicament they were in when they had talked about starting a family.

Of one thing he was sure, however -- he was never, ever going to allow her to go off on her own alone again after this. She wouldn't like it, but that's the way it was going to be. He didn't know if he could bear to go through something like this again.

A flash of lightning drew his eyes back to the cave's entrance. If the infernal rain ever let up, he and Hoshi could make their way back to the stream. They'd have to find some way to cross it to rejoin Trip and the others.

The easiest thing would be if the communications interference cleared and he could contact Orwell aboard the Morning Star to have them beamed up. Easy, yes, but doubtful, considering how this whole affair had been going so far.

He hadn't really been seeing the scene outside as his thoughts occupied him. But an out-of-place movement suddenly caught his eye, and he gave his full attention to what he could see from the opening.

All the foliage was bent in one direction under the force of the wind, but Malcolm had seen a branch on a bush bend in the opposite direction. There was no way that could happen unless something -- or someone -- was exerting force against it, as if to hold it back so that a person could see out from behind it.

Not taking his eyes from the opening, he called softly to Hoshi. "Hoshi! Wake up!"

She mumbled and stirred sleepily.

"Hoshi! For heaven's sake, wake up!"

She blinked and yawned loudly. "What is it?"

"There's someone out there."

Her eyes flew open wide and she hastily got to her feet.

"Get me the disruptor," he said quietly, holding out his hand as she took a few steps toward him to peer over his shoulder.

In a moment, he felt the reassuring cold hardness of the disruptor in his palm, and his fingers closed around it. He heard a click and glanced at Hoshi. She was standing next to him, studying the Lanari handgun he had taken from F'linu.

"Don't even think about it," he told her.

"What?" she asked. "Like I'm going to let you have all the fun."

"Hoshi," he said, exasperated. "You shouldn't be taking chances in your condition."

"I'm pregnant, not crippled," she said. "What did you say?"

"I said, 'What did I do to deserve such a stubborn wife?'"

"We're not married yet," she snarked back at him.

Malcolm sighed. "All right. You keep the gun. Just don't get in my line of fire. OK?"

"Agreed."

They both peered out, looking for anything out of place. After a few minutes, Hoshi asked, "Is the rain letting up?"

Malcolm poked his head out through the hanging vines. Sure enough, the downpour had lessened. The rain was still coming down at a good clip, but not nearly as forceful as it had been.

"I think you're right," he said, pulling his head back in to find Hoshi staring at him. "What?" he asked.

"Sticking your head out like that wasn't the smartest thing to do if you think F'linu is out there."

"You're probably right, but he doesn't have any weapons. Where do think I got that gun you're holding and the knife?"

"Oh," she said, shifting on the balls of her feet. "Well, he might have a stash of weapons out there, for all you know."

"Doubt it." Malcolm frowned as a new thought struck him. "But he may have gotten the better of P'kora and taken some weapons from him. Damn! I wish I knew what was going on out there."

"Ah, Malcolm?"

He turned to look at her. "Yes?"

Biting her lip to keep from laughing, she glanced pointedly at his briefs. "You might want to put your pants on before anything else happens."

Kleth and Slanea had finally managed to get a fire going, and Trip could feel the warmth beginning to seep into him despite his wet clothing. The fire was definitely more mood elevating than the rocks they had heated with their disruptors. Safer, too, Trip thought, since one of the rocks had exploded from the energy of the disruptor beam hitting it.

The two Klingons had killed an animal the size of a large dog for food. While they seemed to have no trouble eating it raw, Trip doubted he could take even one bite of it that way, and had convinced them to rig up a spit so that his portion could be roasted over the fire. He was watched Slanea as she rotated the haunch, cooking it evenly.

"I could do that myself," he told her.

"Yes, but there is no need for you to do so. I have nothing else to do."

Trip chuckled, then winced at the pain from his broken arm. "Yeah," he said. "I noticed Kleth's not around right now." At Slanea's glare, he hastily added, "I'm teasing! You should know that by now."

A smile softened her expression as she looked at him. "Yes, I should. And you should be able to tell I'm am teasing you as well."

Trip looked away under her fond scrutiny. He was uncomfortably aware of the way she had been acting toward him recently, in particular her close attention to him during the meal aboard the Falcon as well as the way she had been looking after him since he had been injured. Maybe this would be a good time to get some things out in the open.

"Ah, Slanea? There's somethin' I've been meanin' to talk to ya about."

"Yes?" she responded, continuing to turn the meat over the fire.

"Um. About the way you've been actin'..."

She gazed curiously at him, and he became flustered. Gathering up his courage, he plowed ahead. "Well, ya been actin' like you like me."

"Of course I like you."

"More than a friend, I mean."

"Of course. You are my superior aboard the Morning Star."

"Even more than that. ... Ya aren't makin' this any easier, sitting there starin' at me!" He stared back at her and suddenly blurted out, "Why have ya been comin' on to me?"

"'Coming on?'" she asked in puzzlement.

"Ya know, like you want to have...um...a more...intimate...relationship with me," he finally managed to get out.

He watched in fascination as her brow furrowed at his words. He hoped he hadn't made her angry, because he sure wasn't up to any kind of fight with her. He was surprised, then, when she turned away from him, studying the fire intently, but not before he had seen a blush begin to tinge her dark cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"For what?"

"It was not honorable of me to behave so," she said, gazing at the roasting meat as if it were the most interesting thing she had ever seen.

"What do ya mean, Slanea?"

"I did not realize you took my actions to mean something else," she said. "You are my superior officer on the Morning Star, and I was trying to be...nice," she ended with a grimace of distaste.

"Nice?" Trip's eyebrows shot up.

"So that you would give me a good report at the end of my probationary period."

"What!"

She turned to look at him but lowered her gaze in embarrassment as soon as their eyes met. "It was not honorable what I did. It had nothing to do with my abilities as an engineer. I believe you humans call it 'sucking up.'"

"Slanea--"

"I know now that I was wrong about humans in general, and you in particular," she said. "You would not let yourself be swayed by such obvious overtures. I ask your forgiveness for my miserable ploy to better my position."

Trip stared at her where she sat by the fire. She had been trying to butter him up to get a good review? She was a nice enough person, but she really wasn't his type, and he had been a bit put off by her attention. He felt a certain amount of relief as it sunk in that she hadn't been attracted to him.

Wait a minute! That was rather insulting in its own way. He was so damn confused at the moment.

He watched as she pulled the sizzling haunch from the spit, checking to see that it was cooked all the way through. She frowned as she handed it to him.

"Very dead and burned," she remarked.

"Thank you," he said and took a small, tentative bite.

She watched intently as he chewed and swallowed. Under her questioning gaze, he said, "Not too bad. A little gamey, but nothin' a good barbecue sauce couldn't fix."

"Barbecue?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Yeah. It's a sauce made of any number of ingredients that spices up the meat," he said. "For having lived among humans for a while, your knowledge of human cuisine is sadly lackin'. I'll introduce you to my Uncle Sylvester's county fair award-winnin' sauce when we get back to the Mornin' Star."

Trip was taking another, bigger bite as she puzzled over that statement when Kleth entered their shelter.

"I have scouted in all directions," the big Klingon announced. "There is no sign of the others."

"We'll just have to wait for them to come back," Trip said around a mouthful. "Unless you two want to go after them?"

Kleth and Slanea exchanged a look.

"What?" Trip asked. "I can look after myself here. Just leave me a disruptor and I'll be fine."

"You cannot sleep and maintain a watch at the same time," Kleth said firmly. "I will go. Slanea will stay with you."

"Kleth--" Trip started to protest.

"Do not argue with me!" Kleth said fiercely. "Someone must stay with you."

Without a further word, Kleth left the lean-to and headed in the direction of the stream. Trip had no idea how the Klingon would get across, but he didn't doubt for a moment that Kleth could do it.

Sighing, Trip said, "He sure is a stubborn cuss."

He heard Slanea sigh as well, and turned to look at her. "Yes, he is," she said admiringly as she gazed after Kleth's departing form.

Trip shook his head. He'd never understand Klingons.

Malcolm tried contacting the ship again but the communicator continued to emit only static. Putting it back in his pocket, he peered out at the rain which had slowed to a steady drizzle.

"The storm seems to be almost over," he said, weighing their options and trying to come to a decision about what to do.

"But you still can't contact the Morning Star," Hoshi said.

He nodded. "We're just going to have to take matters into our own hands."

She watched as he put out the fire and tucked the knife into his belt. With a sinking feeling, she realized he meant for them to go outside.

Since Malcolm had shown up, she had felt safe in their small cave, but she knew it was an illusion. They wouldn't truly be safe until F'linu was caught and they were off this planet.

"We need to get back to Trip and the others," Malcolm said. Turning to her, he asked, "Are you up to it?"

"Of course. But what about the stream? You said it was flooded."

"The crest should have passed by now," he said. "We'll find some way across."

Lowering her voice, she said urgently, "If that's F'linu out there, he's going to follow us, you know."

"That's what I'm hoping," Malcolm said grimly as he hoisted the rifle onto his shoulder.