Malcolm and Hoshi: The Missing Scenes

Kir'shara

“This is one of the times when I could curse Starfleet regulations.”

Hoshi bit her lip to keep back agreement as her lover rolled reluctantly out of the bunk and began pulling on his clothes.  She hated it too – the fact that even now they had to keep their relationship a secret, had to sleep in separate quarters.  One of the things she’d loved most about their brief return to Earth was the luxury of being able to fall asleep in his arms and wake to find herself still there.  Outside the bedroom they’d still had to exercise a degree of caution, but they’d made the most of room service.

Trouble was, it had shown them too clearly what they’d been missing.  And now they were back on board, they had to revert to business as usual.

Still, the alternative was to go for broke and announce their relationship.  Which would probably mean they’d have to leave the ship, and after talking it over seriously they’d come to the conclusion that neither of them wanted to do that yet.  So here they were again, communicating across the Bridge in code gestures to arrange when and where they’d meet up next, and sneaking in and out of each other’s cabins at dead of night.

Malcolm sure had that one nailed.  Starfleet regulations really sucked sometimes.

His uniform back in place, the lieutenant sat back down on the bunk to pull on his socks and boots.  Halfway through this operation, however, he stopped and sighed heavily.

“I didn’t exactly cover myself in glory today, did I?”

“What do you mean?”  She’d rolled over into the space where he’d lain, because it held the feeling of him a little longer.

Another sigh.  He looked down at his feet.  “Trip was right.  I was wrong.”

“Well, yes.”  She wouldn’t insult him by denying what events had proved.  “But you had to call it the way you saw it.  And you were the one who had to do the shooting in the fire-fight Trip got us into.”

“I didn’t achieve much there, either,” he said bitterly.  “Except get us into a situation Shran had to get us out of.  And at the end, the only thing that saved us from being blown to smithereens was the captain getting the High Command to call their attack dogs off.”

“Malcolm.  We were outgunned over and over again.  There was never any chance we could have done any better.  Even I knew that.  So obviously Trip did.”

“I know.  That’s not what really bothers me.”  In the starlight she saw his shoulders droop.  “I didn’t act in a professional manner.”

“WHAT?”  She was so surprised she sat up.

“I’m not joking, Hoshi.  I should have been reprimanded.  I disputed the captain’s decision.”

“You were the acting XO.  That was your job, if you thought he was wrong,” she pointed out.

“I know.  But if I disagree with the captain, if I feel that I have valid issues I should bring to his attention, I should do so in private.  I did earlier on; at least I got the procedure right there, even if I was wrong – again. What I shouldn’t have done was question his decision in front of everyone else.  I was completely out of order and I got away with it.  Captain Archer would have carpeted me, and I’d have deserved it too.”

Frowning, she tried to recall the exact sequence of events.  It was difficult; so much had happened that the details had tended to blur in her memory.

“I can’t remember you arguing with Trip at all,” she said at last.

“I can.  I can even quote you the exact words I used as I got started.  ‘Are you sure this is wise?’  For Christ’s sake.  In front of everybody, right at the start of a battle.  You never let the lower ranks see the officers disagree.  That goes back to the Middle bloody Ages tactical manuals, and I blew it.”

“Oh, God.  Open mutiny.  I’m just surprised Trip didn’t throw you in the brig and have you court-martialed.”  She threw her arms round him.  “Malcolm, will you lighten up?  Your job is to protect the ship.  Over and above anything else.  You had to say what you did.”

“What I did, maybe.  When I did, no.  Hoshi, I was totally out of order.”

“Then if you think so, you should go apologize.”

“I know Trip.  He’ll just shrug it off.”

“Then perhaps you should too.”

“I hardly think that’s appropriate for what I did!”

“Right.”  She was rapidly coming around to thinking that dealing with Malcolm’s conscience would have taxed King Solomon.  “I have a suggestion.  I’ll make a copy of the relevant section of the security tapes, and when we get back to Vulcan and you have a chance to speak to the captain, show it to him.  He won’t be in a position to dismiss it.  He’ll give it a fair judgment.”

“That’s true.”  He sounded absurdly relieved.  “Good idea.”

“There’s the plan then.”  Hoshi slapped him lightly between the shoulder blades.  “Now let me check the coast’s clear.”  She hopped out of bed and crossed to the door, with him close behind her.  “Wow, I can tell you’re feeling better already!”

“I’d defy any man not to feel better with this view in front of him.”  He kissed her ear.  “You will remember to do that tape, won’t you?”

“Of course I will.”  Not that that’ll do you any good, Malcolm, she added to herself silently as the door closed behind him.  The ship had taken some considerable damage during the exchange of fire between the Vulcan and Andorian fleets, and the security tapes had been among the victims of one of the power surges; she could remember having to reroute power through her board to a secondary data recording file, one of the minor dramas as the major one unfolded.  As the comm officer, she’d made it her business to check the damage before her shift ended, and it had been fairly extensive; she was pretty sure that very little of the relevant section was still in existence.  An official report to that effect was already on file, predating this conversation. 

She walked back to her bunk, a smile spreading across her face at how thoroughly sheer fate had outmaneuvered the ship’s tactical officer.  There was still warmth among the blankets, and she snuggled into it, breathing in the lingering traces of the scent that belonged uniquely to the man she loved.  Obviously she’d have to go through what was left of the recordings and make sure the relevant part was among the casualties before she could relax completely – after all, she hadn’t been checking for specifics when she reviewed it originally – but she was pretty certain already that it was.  Whatever Malcolm had said (and she was sure she’d have noticed it if it had been anything really out of the ordinary), all that would be left would be verbal testimony.  He might accuse himself, but it was highly unlikely that Trip or anyone else would back him up, at least as far as the severity of the offense was concerned; it was far more likely that Trip would claim to be unable to recall Malcolm saying anything out of the ordinary at all – especially if she just happened to mention to him beforehand what his junior officer had in mind.  And Captain Archer was quite used to his Tactical Officer’s urge for self-flagellation.  All in all, it was unlikely to result in the public flogging, loss of rank and twenty years in jail that her fiancé undoubtedly felt appropriate.

He might suspect, but what could he prove?

Nothing!