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Hoshi clenched her teeth and increased the speed of the treadmill. She was frustrated and needed to get it out of her system in one way or another; exhausting herself seemed a good one.

She just couldn't accept the way things were going. The Enterprise crew had become her family and right now it felt like a pretty disrupted family. Trip, the man-with-the-winning-smile, had not been himself since the incident, looking tense and troubled all the time. Malcolm, the knight-in-shining-armour, was locked in the brig, accused of treason. The Captain, the man-who-will-befriend-you, lay in sickbay felled by the latest 'friendly' species. At least T'Pol has come out of her coma, she consoled herself. Maybe with her stringent logic she will be able to set things right again.

The door of the gym opened and Ensign Brown came in.

"Ah, Ensign, good evening," he said jovially. "I just left another message to send to Earth near your workstation. Lady friends…" he said allusively as he took a couple of steps towards an exercise bike. "No rush, whenever it is convenient," he added reassuringly.

Hoshi nodded her understanding, stifling a grunt of hostility. Somehow she felt sure that he should be the one locked away in the brig. Yet here he was, with that smug smile of his plastered on his round face while Malcolm was being treated like a criminal.

She went on jogging and panting, unobtrusively observing Brown as he began to cycle away. There was definitely something wrong with the guy. He was way too cheerful for the circumstances. Malcolm was his CO, for heaven's sake! After all they had gone through together in the Expanse, he should feel very differently.

Another message… curious. Hoshi narrowed her eyes. Time to take a closer look at all those letters, she resolved. Her decision came so abruptly that she slowed down without thinking, losing her jogging rhythm and almost her balance. She quickly pressed the button to end her exercise and went to get her towel and water.

"Good-bye, Ensign," she said coolly as she gained the exit, glad to escape Brown's appreciative but not appreciated looks.

Trip was lying on his bunk, trying to empty his mind so he could perhaps get some much-deserved rest.

He had spoken to Teron again and the Prime Minister had promised to investigate Asek's possible involvement, revealing that his Chief Advisor had indeed acted a bit strangely lately. This had given Trip some hope.

He had immediately taken the news to Malcolm, who had seemed more relieved, though, to learn that T'Pol had regained consciousness. Trip had been pleased to leave his friend in slightly better spirits. Yet his mind couldn't find rest. Glancing at the hour he saw it was past eleven and wondered if he shouldn't give up trying to relax on his own and get Phlox to help him.

Hoshi felt her heart rate accelerate. This couldn't just be a coincidence. What were the odds… She punched a few keys and returned to the other messages, knitting her brow in concentration. Come on, Hoshi.

After leaving the gym she had come straight to her station, not even stopping in her quarters to get changed, which had earned her a funny look from the young man who was working the shift.

Half an hour later she picked up a padd and jumped off her chair, rushing to the turbo lift while shouting to her replacement that he could go back to work. This earned her another funny look, but right now she was too excited to care.

Stepping out of the lift she forced herself to walk for a few metres, but soon she had broken into a jog; after all the corridors at this time of night were… she never finished the thought as she bumped into a bulky shape and found herself on the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ensign," a deep voice said as a hand was held out to her.

Damn, never run around corners, Hoshi scolded herself. She raised her eyes to the owner of the hand and saw with a sinking feeling that it belonged to the very last man she wanted to see right now. She couldn't avoid blushing deeply as she quickly reached out to pick up the padd that had fallen from her hands. Brown, however, was faster.

"Thank you," she said tersely, holding out her open hand to get it back. Before returning it, Brown glanced at it and his eyes hardened, and Hoshi cringed seeing that in the fall the padd had accidentally turned on.

"Working late?" he asked with a mirthless smile.

Hoshi put on her best poker face. "When you mentioned you had left a message to send home, I suddenly remembered tomorrow it's my mother's birthday. So I wrote to her. You'll be happy to know that your letter, with a bunch of others, are on their way to their destinations," she replied in what she hoped was a believably light tone.

Brown studied her with narrowed eyes. He suddenly seemed much less cheerful than in the gym, and Hoshi felt her stomach clench.

"So, if I may, what was your hurry, Ensign?" he asked blocking her way.

"That's none of your business, I believe," Hoshi replied levelly.

"Perhaps we could have a chat over a cup of coffee in the mess hall," Brown offered unperturbed, in fact sounding as if he wouldn't take no for an answer.

Hoshi bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't need this right now. "Perhaps another time," she replied, trying to get past him.

Suddenly Brown grabbed her by an arm. "I'm afraid I can't let you go, Ensign," he said darkly.

"I beg your pardon?" Hoshi asked angrily, trying unsuccessfully to break free. "Let go of me!"

"I underestimated you. Our linguist extraordinaire has proven her talent again," Brown said through gritted teeth as he pulled Hoshi forcibly along the corridor with him.

Hoshi understood there was no point in playing dumb. "So what are you going to do now, kill me?" she challenged him. "You wouldn't be able to pin that crime on Lieutenant Reed, now that he's locked in the brig," she ground out.

"There are many ways to make a death appear like an accident," Brown suggested pressing a knife to her back, and the evil glint that flashed in his eyes told Hoshi she was in a lot of trouble.

Trip banged the command irritably with his flat palm and the door of his quarters swished open. He thought he had left the turning and tossing in bed in the Expanse, but apparently he was wrong. Well, Phlox wouldn't deny him something to relax. It wasn't as if he'd never asked him before.

As he was walking along the corridor he saw Müller coming from the opposite direction.

"Evening, Ensign," he greeted him tiredly. "Goin' to get a good night's rest?" he asked rubbing his eyes.

Müller nodded his greeting. "Well, Sir," he replied hesitantly, "Actually I was going down to the brig. I thought I'd check on Lieutenant Reed, see if he needs anything before I turn in."

Trip gave the man a friendly smile. "That's good of you," he said softly. "Lieutenant Reed is lucky to have such a loyal second."

His words were followed by an embarrassed silence, and that's when both men became aware of tense voices arguing further down the curving corridor.

"You're not going to get away with it, Brown. I paged Commander Tucker and told him I have found evidence against you. So drop that knife and face it, it's over."

Hoshi's voice was shaky but carried clearly all the way to them, and Trip and Müller exchanged an alarmed glance. Müller automatically brought his right hand to his leg, but he was already off duty and unarmed.

Brown's tense murmur carried less, but Trip and Müller heard it all too well. "Nice try, Ensign, but I'm willing to bet you're lying. Sorry, my dear: I'm afraid it's your Lieutenant Reed who's going to be remembered as a traitor. Not that you need to worry about it, since you're about to meet an untimely death. A shame really, you're such a lovely lady."

Trip got Müller by an arm and pushed him inside a side door. "Get Lieutenant Reed," he softly urged. "I'll follow them and keep an eye on the situation. Check for our biosigns to find us."

"Be careful, Sir," the ensign warned. "We don't know how Brown will react if he sees you."

Trip cracked the door open and saw that Brown and Hoshi had passed by and were a few metres ahead. "Get back as soon as possible. Go!" he said in an imperative whisper, and Müller left at a silent jog in the opposite direction.

Trip slipped out of his hiding place and began to follow Brown and Hoshi, keeping a careful distance.

"Where are we going?" Hoshi asked in a tense voice.

"Well, since you are still dressed in a sweat suit, might as well orchestrate something in the gym, hmm?" Brown answered. "I wouldn't mind giving Commander Tucker a few pangs of conscience, getting you electrocuted on some malfunctioning piece of equipment, but that would take too much planning now. Too bad, he'd deserve it, him and his romances with aliens," he hissed in her ear. "But you can always slip and bang your head, can't you, darling?"

Hoshi felt a shiver travel down her spine. Was this really Ensign Brown? The same Ensign Brown who had been through hell with them and back? The taciturn man who seemed too shy to mingle with the rest of the crew?

She forced her mind to work. The gym, she knew, was likely to be empty at this time. The crew were either working or asleep. Well, she wasn't going to go without a fight, she steeled herself. She may not come out of it alive, but if she got Brown injured – or a few cuts herself for that matter – she may be able to thwart his plan to make her death look like an accident, and reveal his deception. That would at least save Malcolm.

TBC