CHAPTER 13

Malcolm was conscious by the time Travis and T'Pol returned to the cabin. He had been moved to the bunk, and Hoshi was seated next to him, gently stroking his forehead.

Liz Cutler said there was no reason to move Malcolm to sickbay. She gave him an analgesic for the headache he had, and told him to call her if it became any worse.

Hoshi could tell Liz would have liked an explanation for Malcolm's condition, but T'Pol dismissed her and the med tech, saying that Liz would be informed of the circumstances later.

"Close the door as you leave, Crewman," T'Pol ordered her.

As the door shut, Malcolm struggled to a sitting position, a grimace on his pale features at the pain in his head.

"Are you sure that's wise, Lieutenant?" T'Pol asked.

"No," he said.

Hoshi gave him an affectionate look as she propped him up with pillows. Taking her hand in his, Malcolm squeezed it.

"I owe my life to you," he said. "I never would have expected Trip to try a stunt like that."

T'Pol cleared her throat. "We have yet to determine whether the commander is responsible."

"Oh, come on, Sub-commander!" Hoshi burst out, standing up to face her superior officer. "Who else could have set this up? Trip cornered me in the captain's mess and all but admitted that he had done something that would kill Malcolm."

"There are any number of crewmembers who have the expertise necessary to 'set this up,'" the Vulcan countered icily. "As far as Commander Tucker telling you he was in the process of killing Lieutenant Reed...perhaps you are becoming delusional. The madness could be beginning to affect you."

Hoshi looked in disbelief at T'Pol.

"You think I'm going crazy?" Hoshi asked incredulously. "Trip's tried to kill Malcolm two -- maybe three -- times!"

"Three times?" Malcolm asked before T'Pol could say anything.

Hoshi turned toward him. "The first time was when the captain attacked us at Trip's instigation on our last scavenging mission," she said, causing T'Pol's eyebrow to rise. "And there's this time, of course." She hesitated, knowing her suspicion couldn't be proved. "And...this morning in the mess hall."

"In the mess hall?" Malcolm repeated. "Trip sat with us at our table. How was that an attempt on my life?"

"I think he put something in your coffee but I wasn't certain. I didn't want to take the chance."

"That's why you knocked the cup out of my hand!"

"The incident with the coffee is supposition," T'Pol stated. "However, I would like to hear more about the attack by Captain Archer."

Malcolm tried to settle more comfortably against the pillows as Hoshi sat down next to him again and related the events surrounding the confrontation, including the captain's claim that Trip would re-install him as captain.

"The attack took place," Malcolm confirmed when Hoshi finished her tale. "The captain knocked me out. When I came to, I could hear Hoshi and Trip talking out in the corridor, but I couldn't hear what they were saying until I got the armory door open. When I did, I saw them, and I also saw the captain unconscious on the deck."

T'Pol considered for a few moments. Travis remained out of the way of the sub-commander's pacing, his eyes following her back and forth.

"There was no reason for the commander to be down there," T'Pol finally said. "Why didn't you report this incident?"

The question was directed at Hoshi, who shook her head. "Malcolm hadn't seen most of it, and he hadn't heard what the captain told me about Trip making a deal with him or what Trip said after he stunned the captain. It would have been my word against Trip's."

"There's something else we need to think about," Travis said, breaking his self-imposed silence. "Even if the commander has got whatever it is that's making people crazy, can we afford to force him to go down below? Don't we need him to work on the engines, especially now that the Blaniats may be helping us to get out of here?"

Malcolm nodded in agreement, then winced at the pain the movement of his head caused. "That was my reasoning for not telling you, Sub-commander," he said. "Trip may well be our ticket out of here."

"I must agree with you on that point, Lieutenant," T'Pol said. "The Blaniats will be contacting us in a few hours. Until then, no action will be taken against Commander Tucker."

Hoshi tried to protest but T'Pol raised her voice. "In the interim, at no time is Lieutenant Reed to be by himself. I do not wish to provide another opportunity for the commander...or anyone else...to attack him again."

T'Pol strode to the cabin door but stopped before opening it.

"Our top priority at this moment is the contact with the Blaniats," she said. "They may hold the key to our safe departure from this area of space. Once outside it, we will be able to contact Earth and Vulcan, and arrange for proper care for our fellow crewmen who have been afflicted by the insanity."

As she opened the door, Travis spoke up. "You said for the lieutenant not to be alone at any time, but I get the impression you don't want us to tell anyone else about Commander Tucker."

T'Pol favored him with a look that, had it been a phase pistol blast, would have bored a hole through him. "That is correct, Ensign," she said. "The fewer people who know about this, the less difficult it will be for them to work with the commander."

"But--"

"Either you or Ensign Sato will have to be with Lieutenant Reed at all times." She paused and looked pointedly at Hoshi. "Considering your living arrangements, that shouldn't be a hardship."

Hoshi's jaw dropped as T'Pol left the cabin. Next to her, Malcolm began to laugh, then moaned as the laughter made his head hurt.

"I'm not sure, but I think she's developing a sense of humor," Travis remarked. "Did she really say that?"

"Yes, she did," Hoshi said indignantly. "She's one to talk. She and Trip have been shacked up for almost a year--"

She was drowned out by both men's laughter. She flopped down on the bunk next to Malcolm. When their laughter died, she asked, "Are you two finished? This isn't funny, you know."

"It's just that you sounded so...so..." Travis tried to come up with the right word but couldn't.

"Self-righteous?" Malcolm suggested, and Hoshi smacked his arm.

"She's trying to protect Trip," Hoshi said. "It makes me angry that she didn't believe me. I'm still not sure she does."

"She's a Vulcan," Travis said. "She can't help it."

Hoshi got up and began to pace as the two men traded glances. "What if the madness is affecting her?" she asked.

"Who can tell?" Travis asked. "Unless she does something violent, or illogical, we won't know."

"Maybe it affects Vulcans differently," Hoshi persisted.

"Give it a rest, Hoshi," Malcolm said, patting the space on the bed next to him. "So far, T'Pol's behaved as she normally would."

Grumbling, Hoshi came to sit next to him. "I still don't trust her," she muttered.

"You distrust anybody you want," Malcolm said with a smirk. "Your distrust of Trip saved my life."

As she smiled and snuggled up next to him, Travis cleared his throat. "It's about suppertime," he said. "Why don't I go down to the mess hall and get some food to bring back for you two?"

"Thanks, Travis," Malcolm said. "I really don't feel up to climbing a couple of decks' worth of ladders right now."

Travis gave them a mock salute and left.

Malcolm carefully put his arm around Hoshi's shoulders as they sat side by side on the bed. He watched her face as she stared straight ahead at nothing. After a while he asked, "What are you thinking?"

She looked at him and gave him a sad smile. "I could have lost you."

"But you didn't," he said, his arm tightening around her. "You were my guardian angel, looking out for me."

Hoshi slid her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. "How could I have been so stupid, though? I was worried about you, but I didn't even think Trip might try something with me."

"He tried something?" Malcolm asked suspiciously. "What did he do? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You've got enough to worry about. He tried to kill you. All he did was try to have his way with me," she said, deciding not to go into details which might set Malcolm off on one of his rages. She wasn't up to it tonight. She was tired and they still had the Blaniats to deal with. "Let's just say that he made a pass of sorts and was rebuked -- violently," she said, unable to keep a note of satisfaction out of her voice.

Malcolm chuckled. "Did I say you were an angel? Let me amend that. You're an avenging angel."

Avenging angel. Hoshi liked the sound of that.

She was rapidly approaching the point where, T'Pol's orders or not, she was going to have to do something about Trip. This last attempt on Malcolm's life had been too close. If she hadn't figured out what was going on, Malcolm could be lying in sickbay covered head to toe with a sheet instead of sitting here next to her.

Perhaps, instead of waiting to react to whatever Trip tried next, it was time to take the offensive.