Chapter Three
Rodd and Beri
"Tia, I apologize." Hoshi said. "You certainly put things in perspective."
The golden hued woman grasped the pillowcase. "Then remove this I may?" Without waiting for an answer, she pulled the material off, settling it over her knee. "Silly I feeling was." She saw Hoshi glance at the two men, neither of whom had left their spots during all of the drama. "Know what thinking you are, and concerned you should be nyasi."
"No?"
"Shar-les, well, that our 'business' is." Hoshi nodded. "As to Shame-ous, touch me he shall not or, as Elizabeth says, 'bat his balls out of the park' I shall." The bemused expression on her lover's face made Hoshi laugh. "Besides, respect for him have I nyasi."
Surprised, Hoshi sobered. This she did not want. "Why not?"
"He punch worth daakis can not."
x
"Well, on that note," Commander Tucker said firmly, picking up one of the boxes that Hoshi had carried, determined to retrieve the situation from the session of feminine bonding, or 're-bonding', that it was turning into, "we still have to find this Rodd and Beri and see if they have what we need to fix the pod."
"I think we have something more to consider as well." Seamus spoke up. "Namely; the odd nature of these people here."
"So far, everything about them has been odd." Tucker replied irritably. "Just what do you have in mind?"
"Well, sir, now that we're here and I've had a chance to examine them closely -."
"I'll just bet you did." Hoshi said with a tone just a tiny notch below accusation. Seamus gave her a hard glance, but determined to carry on as though she had not interrupted.
He had been trying very hard not to notice either of his crewmates. Hoshi was one thing – he knew her with an intimate detail only an attentive lover could; but Tia was quite another. He remembered vividly the many, many images that had intruded upon his monitors in Astrometrics just two weeks ago. It had been made very clear to him, even if he did not already know it thoroughly, that the Auran had a total disregard for covering any 'special' or 'particular' parts of her body – such being a human concept, not an Auran one. In the privacy of her own quarters this was even more strongly demonstrated.
She was also, save for her golden toned skin; so 'human' externally as to be startling, not to mention vastly stimulating, for both the similarities as well as for the 'exotic' differences. He knew there were internal differences; quite a number of them in fact, but these mattered not at all, particularly when presented with such stunning external similarities.
But this was different. Though the reality was far better than a few hundred images, he knew he had to be very, very careful.
He could not afford to let his notice of the stunning golden woman be noticed by either Hoshi or – worse – Commander Tucker. This was trouble he did not need.
So he kept his tone as level, as impersonally analytical, as he could; and continued as though Hoshi had not spoken.
x
"I managed to draw a few conclusions. And while I grant you I am not the Biologist here, I'll bet you ten years pay that our theory is right. These people did not evolve here."
"No bet at all. This is a group of settlements that have become permanent, nothing more. This is not a race that sprang up from the mud on a primitive planet, and over millennia populated the globe with civilization after civilization. We've seen nothing but the modern equivalent of Earth's early to mid-20th century played out here."
"I'd say this race is almost certainly from Earth. And they have ample knowledge of several alien races, despite not appearing on those famous Vulcan Star Charts. But if they are from Earth, then what are they doing here at this level of development?"
"That's the 64 billion dollar question. Who brought them here?"
"Is possible you wrong are?" Tia asked doubtfully, not liking that her companions were confidently reaching conclusions.
"They're definitely human." O'Cathain said. "No doubt about that. I checked very thoroughly." Hoshi glared at him sharply – there was only one way to do a 'thorough' check, but this time she held her tongue. If they got on that subject again, they would be fighting about it all day.
"It's pretty clear we need a lot more information." Trip took out his communicator from the sleeve pocket, pressing the button that raised the antenna grid. He was greeted with a nerve jangling burst of static. He did not even bother to transmit a signal, snapping it closed.
"To Rodd and Beri's?" Seamus proposed
"To Rodd and Beri's."
x
The four headed toward the door, but when they reached it Hoshi hesitated. She started to pull off the blanket, but stopped. "I can't." She looked up at Trip. "I can't go out there." She did not want to beg him not to make her, but her tone carried the plea clearly.
The expression he turned to her was one of understanding, but it did not make her feel any better that he was being 'understanding'. "It's all right. We've got the Universal Translator. It's gotten us along so far."
She looked at the door, the struggle between duty and shame clear on her face. She had to be out there; could not trust their success or fate to a device, even if she had programmed it to the best of her ability. It was not perfect; was not infinitely adaptable; could not reprogram itself indefinitely as situations changed. All these things she could do, which was why she was here, why she was on the Enterprise in the first place.
Moreover, she couldn't hide herself here while the others went on to complete their duties. As ashamed as she was, she couldn't bear the thought of being so … so cowardly.
x
But the trauma of what had happened just over two weeks ago, with the illicit displays of Mary Tigat's contraband pictures on every monitor on the ship, was still too fresh. Every woman on board had been deeply humiliated, one deeply traumatized by what that woman had done. That one crewwoman; Alicia Carstairs, Tigat's own roommate; had been driven to try to take her own life.
Now, worse by far, she was being asked to endure far more than nude photos of herself upon computer screens. She was being asked to strip again and go out in public naked. To put her nude body on the ultimate display before a whole town. Never mind that naked women were de rigor, were so common they were not noteworthy. She was not from this culture, did not have this fallback.
She just couldn't do it.
It was one thing to allow Seamus to see her. That was nothing unusual for her. It was all right when she was in the 'mood', could choose the time. But she could not disrobe in front of Tucker. Never mind that Tia stood beside her, unconcernedly nude. That did not make any difference. She couldn't bring herself to expose herself so blatantly to him.
She couldn't!
x
She started to pull the blanket off, stopped, started again. No one said a word or made a move. They would let her make up her own mind. She started and stopped again and finally, with a vicious motion, she ripped the blanket from her body and virtually slammed the cloth onto the table. The few bruises she'd received in the two fights were now quite evident on her body, standing out starkly against her flesh. Trip tried his very best not to notice, keeping his eyes locked firmly on her face.
No one said a word, not sure what would have made the situation better or worse. Tucker looked instead at the supplies that were set on the table beside them. He looked at Hoshi, doing his best to keep eye contact and not a fraction lower. "Do you have your communicator?"
Hoshi looked at Tia resentfully. "She fried it."
Trip looked at his beloved, who stepped back sheepishly. "There time was nyasi."
"I don't suppose you retrieved yours?"
She shrugged. "Char-broiled?"
How he kept from saying anything he did not know, but Hoshi spread her arms expressively. "It hardly matters. Where would we carry them?" The two men exchanged glances. "Say it and die!"
Trip kept his lips pressed tightly together, trying not to smile, but it was a struggle. He finally managed to force enough of a straight face to say. "I wouldn't dare."
x
Tucker pulled open the door, but though he, Seamus and Tia stepped out onto the lawn, Hoshi held back, still unable to bring herself to move. Trip looked at her, but she shook her head tightly; blushing deep red. O'Cathain turned to Tucker. "Begging your pardon, sir, but it might be useful for the ladies to do some reconnaissance from here. If we can learn something about this culture, perhaps by interviewing some of the locals, it might help in our negotiations."
"You're right, Lieutenant." Tucker agreed, reading between the man's lines. It would be an opportunity for Hoshi to work and save face, particularly since he doubted she would be able to wield much influence in the haggling to come. "Hoshi, you and Tia conduct some discrete interviews. See what you can learn."
"Aye, sir." Hoshi replied, monumentally relieved.
xx
As they started down the road in the previously indicated direction where Rodd and Beri had their establishment, which had been reported as being near the low hills that bordered the far end of town, Tucker and O'Cathain walked in silence for a short span.
"What are your impressions, Lieutenant?" Tucker asked, finally breaking the silence.
"I think I'm going to be relieved and disappointed to return to Enterprise." The Astrometer answered, his eyes tracking a particularly impressive woman who passed them in all her unclad glory.
"Amen." Tucker agreed feelingly.
"I wonder what could have led to such a sharp division." O'Cathain mused; not at all opposed to whomever it had been who had made this arrangement.
"I'm not an Anthropologist." Tucker said.
"Neither am I." O'Cathain agreed, noticing particularly a woman approaching on the other side of the 'street', whose ample charms could attract the attention of a Vulcan. "But I know what I like!"
"I'd be careful, if I were you."
"How's that?"
"No one else is 'noticing' these women; so we better not either. No telling what the result could be." He grinned at his fellow. "You might wind up married."
"I could think of worse fates."
"I'll be sure to let Hoshi know."
O'Cathain's smile disintegrated for about a second. But then it was back in full force.
"But if the Captain is ever on the lookout for a 'shore leave' site, this one has my vote."
"Agreed."
x
He took a few more steps and then the bantering tone was gone from his voice. "Just so we're clear, Lieutenant, I've also seen you noticing Tia."
Seamus' expression froze, and he did not look at the Commander. But while he knew he had to be cautious in his answer, he did not dare insult the man's intelligence. "She is a very beautiful lady, sir."
"No argument there, Lieutenant. Just so we're clear; I don't want to have to discuss the matter with you."
"No, sir. You won't."
xx
Eventually, after a most memorable journey, during which the moment of tension between them seemed to have evaporated, they made their way to the far end of town; and the sight they beheld made that of all the nude women they had seen seem to pale in comparison. "I don't believe it!" Trip exclaimed.
Where every building they had passed on their trek had been very obviously constructed by hand out of native materials, the tremendous structure before them was of metal, white and featureless, but of very modern construction – modern for the technology of the 22nd Century.
It was huge, easily three stories tall and covering nearly a square acre of land. There was one door facing the town, and no visible windows.
"Rodd and Beri's?" O'Cathain hazarded.
"You think?"
"Well, at a guess, I'd say – yeah."
"This just keeps getting better and better."
The two men turned back to the sprawling warehouse. "Well, let's see what they have." Tucker said.
"Like a Mark 9 Speedster, maybe?"
"I'm thinking more like an XTM-4 mega-yacht."
"Make mine red."
"I'll see what we have in the budget."
x
As they entered, they quickly discovered that the inside upheld the implied promise of the outside. The cavernous interior contained widely spaced aisles that stretched away into the distance and contained, so their scanners reported, the most astonishing array of modern technological equipment and devices Trip had seen outside of San Francisco's Starfleet Headquarters.
Coming toward them was a man who easily stood two meters tall, who greeted them with outstretched arms and a smile to match. He was wearing clothes much like the other men on the planet did, but they fit him more like a costume. "Welcome, strangers." His voice boomed and echoed in the tremendous space. "I'm certain I have just what you are seeking."
Of that, Trip had no doubt.