Chapter Three
Violation
Ensign Dina Samuels leads her charges to the turbolift for a brief rise to D-deck, and is starting to feel slightly uncomfortable. It has nothing to do with the towering height of her charges, though Saal had to actually duck when he entered the lift.
It is, in fact, the way he is openly staring at her. It is not curiosity about a new species or anything of the kind. That she is fairly used to, having served for many months aboard Enterprise and been part of several Away teams.
No, this kind of look is far more familiar and discomforting. She knows it very well from men, and it frequently meant they were trying to use their eyes as x-ray machines. The only thing that compels her to not openly confront him is that the ship, in the person of her Captain, is involved in diplomatic negotiations with these people. She is not privy to what, but she had overheard enough in Sick Bay to tell her that negotiations were indeed going on, and that Archer and Phlox considered them to be quite important.
But when the lift stops and she leads them down the corridor, she can almost feel Saal's eyes rubbing her rear. She tries walking as slowly, as 'motionlessly', as possible, which is more difficult than it sounds, but there is not much more she can do. He isn't doing anything he could be slapped for, but she could wish he would use a little more 'human' restraint.
They reach D/145 barely soon enough for her, admitting Kapaar into the room set aside for him. She tells him what she can about the details of the room, knowing he is not technologically proficient yet not wanting to sound condescending, all the while not envying Jonathan Archer one bit for the tightrope he must be walking.
She tells him last about the intercom, which she explains could be used in getting answers to any questions. She suspects it will be getting a lot of use.
This duty done, she reluctantly leaves with Saal, wishing she could have placed him first before settling in the more discrete Kapaar. He too had looked, but she had not felt the urge to slap him. Saal, on the other hand, is in desperate need of one.
But she remembers the subtle emphasis Archer had placed on their titles of First and Second Maav, picking up the cue about how they should be treated.
Thus, she tries to push her discomfort aside and treat the Second with the same courtesy she had the First in settling him in.
She tells herself she is overreacting, that the way he looks at her might mean nothing like she interprets it. Maybe it is a cultural thing. Maybe it is innocent. She tells herself she is reacting foolishly, to not be uncomfortable, to push aside her feelings and do her job like the professional she is. She does not voice any objection to his very obviously undressing her with his eyes, well aware of the Captain's need for smooth diplomacy on this mission. She knows none of the details, of course, but as a good officer she does not wish to complicate the Captain's mission; in her own thoughts, not to 'screw it up'.
She instructs him on the details of the room, pretty much the same speech she gave to the First, firmly keeping in mind that he is not human and she should not expect human behavior from him. She is uncomfortable, but pushes it aside. She is a professional and would do her job.
But when she tries to leave he does not step out of her way. She steps aside to pass him and he blocks her path again. "Excuse me." She says politely, a little more put out by his behavior. It is one thing to be undressing her with his eyes, another to keep her from her duties. Unexpectedly, the tall man grabs her arm, yanking her into his embrace. He holds her with his left arm around her as he bends to her and kisses her hard. She pushes against him, her protests muffled by his lips mashing into hers and, as she struggles, his right hand comes down between her legs and he actually lifts her off the floor!
Her weight is supported painfully on her crotch as he kisses her harder, his mouth pressing so hard on hers she would either have to open her mouth or have her lips mashed against her teeth. She does neither, putting her hands up high near his throat, her thumbs pressing into the hollow at his windpipe and she shoves him back with all her strength. He drops her as he staggers back, vastly surprised, but she is ready and lands on her feet.
"Now listen!" She says angrily, her mouth sore but trying not to show how much that and his hand between her legs had hurt. "I've been patient, I've been polite, but that's it! I don't know what you're used to or what you expect, but you do not farging touch me, understand?"
Unmoved by her anger, far from angry himself, he growls something the UT does not render, and reaches for her faster than she can block, his hand clamping tightly about her left breast. Instantly Dina rams the heel of her right hand into his wrist, violently breaking the hold and then her fist whips back and high up, slamming across his right cheek hard enough to stagger him.
x
Dina faces him down, despite having to look up so high at him. He is nineteen inches taller than she is, and it is like looking up at a giant, but Dina is not deterred. Height means nothing if he does not know how to use it. The trouble is, she realizes, he probably does.
Dina hides as best she can how much pain she is feeling in her sensitive breast, first tightly squeezed and then yanked when she broke his hold. She did not hit him as hard as she might have, holding back a bit in the interest of the mission, but her anger mounts. "Listen, bastard, I told you one time! Keep your farging hands off me!"
He grins, clearly pleased at her desire to fight and reaches for her again. This time both hands predictably grab for her breasts, but she brings her own hands down over his before he can reach her, thumbs to the backs of his hands and she twists sharply up and outward. She steps back, keeping her grip and, taking advantage of his longer reach, brings her right foot up in a high kick into his jaw, letting go at the last instant as he is knocked several paces back.
He is staggered from the powerful kick, but shakes it off as she crouches, hands up defensively, ready for his next move. He seems quite content to fight, happy at the prospect.
She does not intend to slug it out with him, knowing she would lose against his greater reach and strength. But her strength is mostly in her lower body, so it is there that Reed focused her unarmed training.
She might have considered holding back, but she can see in his eyes, in his manner, what he intends; and she has absolutely no compunction about kicking him in a vulnerable spot to stop him.
"Look, it's only in the interest of Captain Archer's diplomacy that I'm not handing your head to you, but this is your last chance!" He smiles, liking a challenge, and suddenly charges her, his hands going for her throat.
She sidesteps his rush, grabbing him and shoving as hard as she can in the same direction, her foot coming out to trip him and he ends up against the far bulkhead with an impressive crash.
Dina realizes he is probably quite surprised, doubting that a woman from his world puts up much of a fight. 'More's the pity.' She thinks. 'If they did, he wouldn't be so cocky.'
He reaches for her quickly. She twists to the side and her right fist snaps up sideways into his nose once, twice, three times as fast as she can hit. Angry, he holds his nose, looking down at her with mounting rage.
She backs away, still facing him, but seeking room to maneuver, prepared for another attack, hands up, dancing lightly on her feet as she shakes her head warningly. "Stop this now! I am a Starfleet Officer and I assure you Lieutenant Reed makes sure we all have excellent training. Stop this, and we'll both walk away. I'll even let this be our little secret; all in the interest of interstellar diplomacy." She does not believe for an instant it will be that easy, and is prepared when he charges her.
She kicks him hard in his stomach, the force of her kick halting him and bending him over. She does not try to use her hands against his greater reach; this is not a club fight. Grabbing the long mane of blond hair that protrudes from his head covering, she brings her knee up as hard as she can, gratified by his grunt of pain as she lets go and he staggers back, holding his face, blood pouring from his nose as he looks at her, surprise overwhelmed by growing rage.
"You just don't farging listen! You are not touching me – got it?"
He charges, leading with his hands and his rage.
x
She doesn't let him get close, ducking away, spinning and launching a strong kick to his chest, which halts him. In the same motion she kicks him again in the stomach, using her momentum to turn and launch a high roundhouse kick across his jaw which slams him into the door. He leans against it, stunned, as she stands poised, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet, open hands ready.
"Had enough? I don't know about women on your planet, but on Earth we have a saying; 'Life's a bitch – and so am I'!" He stands upright, shaking his head to clear it. "Just say the word, pal, and we can end this. I'll walk out that door and you can keep your balls intact!"
He steps away from the door. "Word."
x
Dina, relieved, allows herself to visibly relax. But only visibly, for when his fist shoots out to her stomach she is ready, shifting to her left to avoid the blow and, as he gets close, she rams her elbow into his side.
As he passes, she kicks him behind his knees, which buckle, sending him to the floor. He turns over, looking up at her. "Last farging chance! You get up again and try anything; I'll have you in Sick Bay for a month!"
He stands up and she is ready as his fist flashes toward her face. She ducks to her left, arm up to deflect the blow, and she never has time to avoid his other fist as it slams into her face.
The heavy blow stuns her and she staggers back, barely able to keep her feet, for an instant dazed as well as surprised. She is hit so hard that immediately she loses all sensation in the right side of her face. Before she can shake it off his hand is at her throat, his other at the top of her uniform and the fast sound of the uniform's zipper is surprisingly loud as she is almost pulled off her feet by the force of its opening.
She swings her fist up as hard as she can, barely able to reach but connecting solidly with his jaw as he is rocked back. True to her training, she turns and kicks him as hard as she can, knocking him even further away. She hears a dull 'thump' as he hits the bulkhead, and she takes an instant to shake off the effect of his own punch and close her uniform. Reaching quickly, not taking her eyes off him, she grabs the zipper which had been pulled all the way to her hips and tries to tug it back into place, but it will not move. Sparing a glance down, she finds that the zipper has been pulled all the way to her hips and actually torn right off its leads. It will not close again.
x
Looking up at her opponent towering over her, who is even now shaking off the effects of her defense, she catches sight of herself in the mirror next to him. Her uniform gapes wide, though the black shirt still covers her. Blood she can not feel is flowing from her nose down her numb face.
Dina had been angry before, now she is furious. She had never doubted he'd intended to rape her, but she'd kept control of her emotions. At first she had held back, in the interest of 'diplomacy', then started to hit harder as the violence increased. Now fury gets the better of her as he leaps for her.
She expects him to go for the rest of her uniform and catches his right hand, twisting it as hard as she can. She raises her foot and brings it down with all her strength into his shin. Then, keeping her grip on his hand, she steps back and kicks him again in the stomach, then as hard as she can across his face, reversing the kick an instant later to bring her heel back across his jaw.
She lets him go as he staggers back. Not even bothering to pull her uniform closed, she gives up trying to reason with him, steps forward to get longer reach and kicks him as hard as she can in her long chosen target –
which has absolutely no effect.
Momentarily surprised, she is caught completely off guard as his fist comes in and slams into her face. Stunned, she staggers back but can not get her arms up fast enough to ward off a second punch which knocks her even further back.
He grabs her uniform, yanking her forward. She barely has time to see it coming when his fist hits her so hard she is knocked off her feet to slam onto the deck.
Dina is stunned by the impact, having landed flat on her back so hard her breath is knocked out of her. She lies on the deck, unable to get her arms and legs to respond. She feels, as a distant sensation, his hands at her hips and her uniform pulled apart so viciously it rends with a loud tearing. But it is the feel of his hands clutching her black shirt and pulling it completely apart that breaks through her stupor a moment before she feels her bra snapped violently in half.
Shaking her head, trying desperately to clear it, she sees he has shredded her uniform and feels his hands on her panties, ripping the fragile material from her. Fury and terror clear her mind and she sits up, raises her hand, fingers stiff in a way similar to T'Pol's Vulcan greeting and she drives her long nails directly toward his eyes.
In the last instant he ducks his head and her sharp nails rake two deep furrows down his forehead. Before she can try again his hand comes up to grab her gaping uniform and yanks her closer so hard her head snaps back. She gets her head down in time to see his fist as it crashes into her face; and in almost the same instant the back of her head slams into the steel deck.
Blackness envelopes her; a blackness through which she is only semi-aware of what is happening to her, but cannot move to prevent it.
xx
In the corridor outside, Captain Archer and Trip Tucker are just passing, having left the Teer to his contemplations in D/147, right next door,.
"I'm not sure I like it." Trip says. "I can't put my finger on it, but I have the weirdest feeling about this deal."
Archer stopped before the forward turbolift, looking at his friend. "I have the exact same feeling, like a nagging voice in the back of my mind that won't shut up, and won't speak loudly enough to be heard."
"Well, let me know when yours speaks up. In the meantime, I'll keep worrying."
"Are you sure you don't know what it is?"
"Well, there's the Teer. He's a pretty shrewd negotiator. He's finding out what we have before he asks for what he wants. He won't ask for anything. He's waitin' for us to commit ourselves."
"I got that too." Archer agrees, pushing the button to open the turbolift door, stepping aboard followed by Trip. "But when you come down to it, we really need that topaline. I'm just hoping that whatever price he asks is not more than Starfleet is willing to pay."
The turbolift door closes and the car carries them upward toward the bridge.
No one hears the bloodcurdling shriek that slices through the bulkhead.
xxx
In the gym, only thirty meters from Tia Anlor's quarters on E-deck, Hoshi Sato, Liz Cutler and Tia are just coming out of the shower/changing room, each of them clad in shorts and halters. The garments are not tight but still mold to their bodies like a second skin, and Liz tries to avoid showing a slight disappointment at the fact that they have the room all to themselves. More so that Jim Cien is on a different shift this week.
This is their regular workout time during afternoon break, but usually there are several others of the crew with them after Alpha Shift's lunch period. This time, however, they are alone. Liz refrains from allowing her disappointment to show. She secretly enjoys the looks from her male colleagues, even if she pretends not to notice while they pretend not to look. It is all part of the 'game', the mention of which had once left Hoshi annoyed and Tia bewildered.
As Tia sets up the programming on the treadmill, Liz starts a series of stretching exercises while Hoshi sits at the weights bench, setting the pin at a moderate 40 kilos, far less than a challenge. Bracing her back against the chair's rest, she grabs the hand rings and shoves hard, almost slamming the weights to full extension.
"Take it easy; you're going to hurt something." Liz advises.
"It's only 40 kays."
"Not you; I was talking about the equipment." Hoshi gives her friend a sour look.
Tia steps onto the treadmill and starts to run. She is used to long-distance running, and had once astonished her friends by maintaining a steady flat out run at the maximum speed of the machine for a staggering thirty kilometers. These days she limits herself to ten; and the breakneck speeds are now intermingled with a more normal variety of paces.
"I promise not to break the weights." Hoshi says sourly, shoving the left one with all her strength until it jumps in the track to ram loudly into the metal top and comes back down hard. She barely keeps it from slamming her arm back.
Liz looks at her, surprised. Hoshi had been sullen all through lunch, telling them hardly anything about the hours spent on the surface, which was unusual for her. Normally, after a planetary stop, no matter who went down, each of them knew all the details the others had experienced. Now Hoshi had kept herself to a bare report, offering no details, clearly leaving a tremendous amount out; like the reason for her sullenness.
"All right, Hosh, you're acting like your PMS is on warp drive. Care to tell me what's bothering you?"
"No." She shoves with both hands, and the weights almost hit the top of the track.
"All right." Cutler repeats, coming up to her. "You don't have to talk about it, but it's obvious you need more than what this machine can do for you."
"Then what machine do I need?" Liz's lips move in three silent syllables, but even though Hoshi smiles, she does so sourly. "Even that wouldn't help right now."
"Actually you look more like you need more than a machine. You need a real workout. Come on." She urges with a grin. "Get up."
"Why?" Liz reaches out, 'slapping' three fingers against Hoshi's cheek. Hoshi gapes at her, astonished. "Liz, wha-?" Liz, grinning, 'slaps' her other cheek with three fingers and dances back out of reach as Hoshi tries to brush her off. "What the hell are you -?" Liz comes in fast, her fingertips 'thumping' against Hoshi's forehead before she is again out of reach, back onto the mat. "Oh, you've really had it!" Hoshi exclaims without any anger as she gets off the seat. Liz grins at her, dancing lightly back as Hoshi comes onto the mat, raising her fists.
"Come on. Let's see what you've got that's burning a hole in your -!" She is cut off, dodging to her right to avoid Hoshi's fist. "That's it. Come on. Let it all out." She ducks under another 'attack', returning one that makes Hoshi draw back.
Tia watches her friends spar, seeing the difference in them. While Liz's manner is almost 'playful', dancing lightly on her feet to dodge the linguist's attacks, Hoshi holds herself tightly, an unexpressed anger just below the surface.
Hoshi feints with a punch to the face which Liz avoids, avoiding just as easily a high kick that sails over her head. "That the best you can do?" She asks as she dances back. "Too much time on the bridge is making you soft."
Hoshi blocks a punch, launching one of her own that fails to get past her friend's defense. She continues with a fast left that she would have sworn just grazes Liz's cheek, but the other shows no sign of it. "You couldn't handle the best I could do!" She retorts.
"Let's find out." Liz ducks low, comes in under her guard and rams her fist deep into Hoshi's stomach.
x
Hoshi clutches her stomach, doubled over with a long, agonized groan, eyes wide in shock as the breath is knocked out of her and she slowly falls to her knees, as much in surprise as from the hard punch. She looks up at Liz, gasping, unable to get her breathing rhythm back as she gapes up at her friend, astonished. The woman had not held back one bit.
"Liz!" She gasps breathlessly. She can not believe it; Liz had truly punched her. That was a serious attack. "What the f –?" She has to dive to the side as Liz aims a vicious kick right at her face. Hoshi rolls and is up on her feet, arms up to shield herself. She'd heard the rush of air; that kick would have knocked a tooth out had she not avoided it.
"Mad enough yet?" Liz asks. She aims another fast kick at Hoshi's head, but Sato grabs her ankle at the last instant, twisting and pushing Liz off balance.
"You figure it out!" Hoshi comes in before her friend can recover, but her fist misses by almost a millimeter as Liz dodges to the side, blocking as hard as she can. Liz is surprised at how hard she had to block; there had been enough behind that punch to lay her out had it connected. Unfortunately for the Biologist, Hoshi is not done, continuing the momentum into a turn that brings her in close, her elbow getting under the woman's guard to ram into her ribs, staggering Liz several feet back.
"Better!" Liz exclaims when she regains her balance, clutching her side. Hoshi does not pursue her advantage, giving her friend a chance to find her footing before she comes in with a fist barely blocked before it reached Cutler's jaw, and Hoshi blocks an almost simultaneous blow to her chest. They draw a step apart, circling one another, fists up, seeking an opening. "Now, what happened down there to get you in such a mood?" She asks, aiming for Hoshi's jaw, a stunning punch barely blocked in time. "Should have seen that one coming."
Hoshi's foot came out, catching Liz just below her left knee, driving her back, knocking her off her feet, forcing her to roll out to get back up. "Should have seen that one coming." Hoshi retorts as Liz favors her knee.
"Must have really been something; you're playing dirty."
"That's not dirty. I can show you dirty!"
"Why don't you?" Liz asks, aiming a kick at Hoshi's stomach that she barely pulls out of range of. She continues about, a high roundhouse kick Hoshi barely blocks with both raised forearms, the impact jarring her. Catching her leg, forcing Liz to balance on one foot, Hoshi aims three fast faux kicks to the back of Liz's legs, her lower back and behind her head, not touching but showing what could have happened had she connected before she lets go of Liz's leg.
"Had enough 'dirty' for one day."
"Tell me." Liz comes in, grabbing Hoshi's arm, but her friend pulls out of the grip, moving to twist Liz's own arm back behind her but Liz slips away. As they trade and block punches and kicks, Hoshi begins the story of the shockingly intimate 'First Contact' with 'representatives' of the Capellans.
x
"Doesn't sound so bad." Liz decides when it is over, ducking under an irate swing from her friend. "They might have started out shooting."
"It is absolutely disgusting!" Hoshi exclaims. "They are all over them!" Liz tries to kick her in her ribs, but Hoshi catches the woman's leg, twisting and shoving her off balance. Liz rolls on the mat back up to her feet. "I wonder; if I weren't there, what would have happened!" Hoshi says tightly.
Liz closes the distance between them, feinting high and then coming low in an attempt to use her foot to sweep Hoshi's legs out from under her, but Sato jumps just in time, forcing Liz to take a step back. "What, no men for your 'receptance'?"
"Certainly not! One of them offered; I told her I'd break her hand."
Liz aims a fast punch to Hoshi's stomach, but she deflects it, coming in instead with a fist aimed at Liz's face, which is barely blocked in time. "Not very 'diplomatic' of you."
"You weren't there." Hoshi swings a backhand punch at Liz again, but the woman catches her wrist, Hoshi grabs hers in turn and Liz clutches Hoshi's arm, both women straining as all four arms are locked together almost as one.
"What's really eating you?" Liz asks, her voice showing the strain as they lock together, each bearing down on the other. "Did you really think the men are going to take advantage of the offer?"
"No, damn it!" Hoshi says tightly, trying to lean into the grip, force her friend down to her knees even as she resists Liz's efforts to do the same. "I knew they wouldn't. And Captain Archer did not allow it." She manages to get a slight advantage, driving Liz downward inch by inch.
"No surprise there." Liz fights harder, her voice stressed as they strain against one another, forcing her way up again and fighting to drive Hoshi down, their bodies hard against each other as they fight for advantage. They are almost equally strong; neither can gain over the other though neither eases the contest. "So, if you didn't believe they would fall on them like a pack of rabid targs, what's got you so mad?"
"Those Capellans! They use their women as sex objects! The men are expected to use them! The way everyone talked, that's the way they do things! The women have no rights, no dignity! They're not 'receptance' – they're receptacles!"
"No rights?" Liz asks, barely able to speak clearly – both women are being forced down by the increasing pressure as Hoshi's anger grows and Liz bears down in return, straining as hard as she can to match her friend's strength. "No dignity? You sure of that?"
"No." She admits, fighting even harder as the strength of her argument weakened. "But how can they? They are used."
"Different cultures. Who are we to say what compensations there are? And women have been used as sex objects on Earth for thousands of years. Sometimes we even enjoy it."
x
Hoshi is shocked at her friend's viewpoint and Liz takes advantage of her hesitation to fall backward unexpectedly, Hoshi falling forward over her onto the mat and the two women roll across the mat. Liz, on top at the end of the roll with Hoshi landing face down, comes up on one knee, grabs Hoshi's ankle and pulls back, bending it up as she puts her own knee onto Hoshi's back, pinning her down, pulling her leg back up just to the limit of Hoshi's endurance as she yelps in pain. "Should have done some stretches first." Liz reminds her as she clutches the woman's ankle, bending back. Her foot is braced on the mat beside Hoshi's head.
"I'll stretch you! Let me up!" She yelps as Liz forces her leg a half inch further.
"Nope. Not 'till you admit it."
"Admit what?" She demands, pushing up off the floor in an effort to break the hold, but Liz kneels harder into her back.
"I think the reason you're so mad is that Tribe Akaar now thinks that you perform your services to this ship on your back!"
"No!" She fights harder, trying to push herself up, but Liz has her pinned, her foot braced up by Hoshi's head so she cannot get any leverage. "I'm mad because those women – because that entire culture uses them without regard for them as women; without any dignity for them. They are playthings and pawns and –." Hoshi screams shrilly as Liz bends her leg back all the way; then eases up a moment later.
"Bull! I know you too well. You're as in favor of equality as the rest of us but you've had the same 'other cultures; other norms' speeches I did, and probably a hell of a lot more often. You're not changing anything. This is not about civil liberty; this is personal. Admit it!"
"Damn you!" Hoshi tries to fight her way up, but Liz pulls harder, forcing her back to the mat. "All right, yes! It's not just the Capellans; it's watching this happen all my life! It just makes me so mad when I see women used like playthings. Like pawns! Now let me up. Come on; this is dirty fighting!"
"No 'tisn't. I could show you dirty fighting."
"No. Why don't I show you?" Hoshi pushes herself up off the mat far enough to reach up to the smallest part of Liz's shorts, pinching hard. Liz shrieks, leaping away and rolling to her feet just as Hoshi regains her own.
"You're right!" Liz exclaims breathlessly, circling her adversary again, moving very carefully. "That is dirty fighting. But I wouldn't worry about what the Capellans think if I were you."
"I'm not worried."
"We know you're a virtuous woman."
"Thank you!"
"You're only a slut on your weekends."
x
Outraged, Hoshi swings a vicious right at her friend, but Liz grabs her arm, turning into the swing and pulling Hoshi off balance and over her body, slamming the Linguist hard onto her back on the mat.
Hoshi lays stunned, breath knocked out of her, unable to try to move as Liz sits down hard next to her. Looking down at her friend, Liz shakes her head. "And you say I have to watch my temper." She says breathlessly. "Looks like I finally found your button."
Hoshi nods, her breath just starting to come back. "Enough." She whispers, breathing hard. "I give."
"Good. I was getting pooped." She sighs, breathing heavily as well. "You know," she says wistfully, looking at the door, "I just wish Seamus would walk in here right now."
"Why?" Hoshi asked suspiciously.
"So I can find out if that Capellan is right; if you really do do your best work on your back."
Hoshi pushes herself up onto her elbows, glaring up at the grinning woman. "Listen, you –!" But Liz has her hands held up placatingly and Hoshi decides she doesn't want to be mad anymore. Several times this 'workout' had come a bit too close to the real thing for her liking.
"I just hope that while they're here the Capellans don't expect us to return their favor." Liz says. Hoshi feels a chill go through her body, but forcibly dismisses it.
"I'm sure the Captain will make it very plain to the Teer. He's already told them this is not our custom. We are not up for grabs."
"Pity." Liz sighs. "Seven feet tall?" She asks with a speculative tone. Hoshi nods. "I wonder if they're proportional."
Hoshi lets herself fall back to the mat with a sigh, thoroughly exasperated.
xxx
Lieutenant Malcolm Reed walks toward the turbolift on D deck on his way to his quarters one level below, thinking intently of his bunk and long awaited pillow. It had been a very long day, having started early in Gamma Shift, and though it is only midway through Alpha he only wants to rest. He intends only to nap for an hour, as there is no way he is about to be away from his post while on duty with a tense negotiation session in the works.
He is not paying particular attention when a door ahead and to his right slides open. There is nothing unusual about that to snag his attention from his much anticipated destination until a naked woman staggers out into the corridor in front of him.
He halts, surprised; naked women in the corridor being vastly uncommon. But his surprise turns to astonishment as he recognizes Ensign Dina Samuels. An instant later he takes her in; her long brown hair completely disheveled, both eyes blackened and face bruised, swollen and bloody. Trails of red blood flow down her face, dripping down her body as she staggers to him and collapses into his arms!
He holds her upright against his body, the realization that she is unconscious coming just as the turbolift door a few meters ahead opens and two crewmen exit, stopping short at the unexpected sight of the Armory Officer hugging a naked woman. Then they go even more still, their expressions alerting Malcolm to the extent of the situation as they notice a trail of blood leading from the doorway and also flowing down her legs.
A movement to the side draws their attentions to the still open door. Framed within, looking at them with an air of cool curiosity, stands Saal, Second Maav of the Capellan delegation.