CHAPTER 4

Hoshi lay awake in her bunk, staring at the overhead bulkhead in her darkened cabin. She really wanted to go to sleep. She was due on the bridge first thing in the morning. She needed to sleep, or she'd be cranky all day, not to mention having horrid dark circles under her eyes.

She rolled over on her side so that her back was to the other bunk in her cabin. She put her pillow over her head, but it didn't help. She could still hear Violet snoring.

Hoshi wasn't surprised the woman snored. Somehow it seemed in keeping with her personality. She punched her pillow and reflected that she was lucky Violet didn't talk in her sleep. That would have been too much to bear.

Hoshi eventually drifted off into a fitful sleep punctuated by moments of abrupt wakefulness when Violet would issue a particularly loud snore. When the alarm sounded, Hoshi was almost grateful the long night was over except for the fact that she was so tired. Tonight, she thought as she levered herself up out of her bunk, she ought to be exhausted enough to sleep through anything, including Violet's snoring.

Looking over, she saw her roommate was awake. Only Violet's disheveled hair and sleepy eyes peeking out over the blanket were visible.

"You want the bathroom first?" Hoshi asked.

"No. You go ahead," Violet mumbled from beneath the blanket.

Shutting the bathroom door behind her, Hoshi was glad that Violet would be relegated to Malcolm's care for most of the day. She didn't know if she could do her required duties on the bridge while listening to a constant stream of inane chatter. Malcolm wouldn't have to worry about Violet's motor mouth, she thought enviously; the woman seemed to be petrified in his presence.

Hoshi quickly performed her morning ablutions and got into a clean uniform. Putting a bright smile on her face, she opened the bathroom door and stepped out.

Violet was sitting up on her bunk, her comfort item of choice -- the pillow -- on her lap.

"Next!" Hoshi said cheerily, moving over to make up her bunk.

Leaning over to tuck in the sheet at the far corner of the mattress, Hoshi almost fell on her face as Violet bumped into her on her way past in the narrow aisle between the bunks.

"Sorry!" Violet said.

"That's all right," Hoshi said through gritted teeth as she pushed her self upright and resumed making the bunk. When she heard the bathroom door click shut, she turned around and glanced at the chronometer. They'd have to hurry if they were going to be able to get some breakfast before she had to report to the bridge.

Not that she was looking forward to taking Violet to the mess hall. She and Malcolm had agreed it was best to let the crew see Ensign Smith out and about. At least they'd have a reason not to linger in the mess hall since they had to report for duty shifts, and both she and Malcolm would be there to deflect any inordinate interest in her.

Hoshi heard the water start running in the shower and sighed. If Violet took a long time in the shower, they'd have to skip breakfast. The prospect didn't bother Hoshi, but it would only be postponing the debut of Violet among the crew.

She sat down on her bunk to wait. After a few moments of listening to the running water, her eyelids begin to droop. The sound of the door chime jarred her back to full awareness. Another glance at the chronometer showed that Malcolm was right on time.

She pushed herself off the bunk and went to the door. "Come on in," she said, after opening it. "Violet's getting ready."

"We'll make a quick foray into the mess hall, then I'll take charge of her," Malcolm said, sounding to Hoshi as if this outing was a battle for which he'd planned tactics and strategy. Knowing Malcolm, he probably had.

The door to the bathroom opened. Violet came out, dressed in the same uniform as the night before. It was badly rumpled, but they didn't have time to fetch another uniform from the quartermaster. Hoshi belatedly realized she should have known Violet would need more than one uniform. She was going to be with them for two weeks.

Adding requisitioning another uniform to her mental list of things to do, Hoshi led them out of the cabin and down the corridor. She was trying to psyche herself for running the gauntlet of stares from curious crew members in the mess hall. If she was this preoccupied, she could only imagine Violet's mental state at the moment.

Hoshi paused long enough outside the mess hall doors to give Violet a reassuring smile and adjust her rank insignia which was slightly askew, but not long enough for her to bolt, which wasn't beyond the realm of possibility judging by the hunted look in her eyes. Malcolm, she noticed approvingly, had come up behind Violet. They had her boxed in. She couldn't run if she wanted to.

They entered the mess hall to find it about half full of crewmen eating before reporting for their duty shifts. Hoshi had been reasonably certain Travis would be among them, and there he was, seated at a table by himself, his gaze following them as they headed for the buffet-style serving line Chef set up for breakfast.

Hoshi quickly picked out waffles, some sliced fruit, and a cup of tea. Violet took two slices of toast and a glass of orange juice.

"I can't eat much when I'm tense," Violet whispered after seeing Hoshi look at her plate.

Just as well, Hoshi thought. She wasn't planning on dallying over breakfast in any case. The less they had to eat, the quicker they could get out of here. Taking a deep breath, she led the way to the table where Travis was waiting.

"May we join you, Travis?" Hoshi asked.

"Of course!" the helmsman answered brightly, rising to his feet.

Hoshi took a seat next to Travis, bracing herself for the upcoming inquisition. Travis was in full welcome mode, smiling broadly at Violet across the table from him. For her part, Violet glanced quickly at Travis and then sat down, keeping her gaze on her plate. Malcolm took the last seat.

"Travis," Hoshi said, "this is Ensign Jane Smith. Jane, this is Ensign Travis Mayweather, our helmsman."

"Welcome aboard," Travis said.

His smile slowly faded into a frown as Enterprise's newest crew member, eyes still averted, acknowledged the introduction with a slight bob of her head.

Hoshi caught Travis' eye and mouthed, "Shy."

Travis returned his attention to Violet. Malcolm wasn't being the least bit helpful as he began eating, so Hoshi decided it was up to her to deflect Travis' regard away from Violet.

"So, Travis," she said. "How long do you estimate it will be before we arrive at Earth?"

Travis' eyes lost their focus for a moment as he contemplated their current speed, distance from Earth, and astronomical variables -- just as Hoshi knew he would.

"Thirteen days and two hours, give or take a few minutes," he said after a few moments.

"You could really give Commander T'Pol a run for her money figuring out things like that in your head," Hoshi said, trying to keep the conversational ball rolling in a direction away from Violet.

Hoshi hoped that that by keeping Travis occupied, she was helping to make Violet feel more comfortable. She snuck a glance to see how their silent companion was doing. Violet, she saw, was looking in repulsed fascination at Malcolm.

The lapse in conversation registered with Malcolm and he looked up from his plate to find the others looking at him. "What?" he asked.

Hoshi shook her head and Travis shrugged. That's when Malcolm felt Violet's stare and turned his head toward her. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Violet gulped and looked at his plate. "You're actually eating...that?" she asked.

Malcolm looked down at his breakfast. Hoshi knew it was one of his favorites.

"Yes," Malcolm replied with noble dignity. "I put peanut butter on pancakes. I like them that way."

He speared a section of pancake liberally daubed with peanut butter and put it in his mouth. He chewed for several moments and then swallowed as his dining companions watched.

"Ew," Violet said quietly and put her napkin over her mouth.

Violet's one-syllabic comment effectively squelched any further conversation. Travis downed the last of his juice and, getting to his feet, said, "I've got to get to the bridge. It was nice making your acquaintance, Ensign. Hoshi, are you coming?"

"I'll be along as soon as I finish this," she said, waving her fork toward what was left of her own breakfast.

"Okay. See you there," Travis said. He directed one last frown at Violet, who had resumed her hunched-over posture, before walking away.

Hoshi waited until he was out of earshot and then let out the breath she'd been holding. "That went well, don't you think?" she said softly to no one in particular.

Malcolm merely grunted, casting a wary eye at Violet as he took another bite of his pancakes.