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"Code of Honor"
Rating: PG-13 Only about 4 or so chapters to go here...please leave a review. Thanks! Sixteen “You had this all planned, didn’t you.” Ofee grinned and shrugged at Malcolm’s remark. “Don’t underestimate the resourcefulness of Boomer captains, Malcolm. Keeping you and Hoshi in the dark made your reactions in Lysander’s cargo bays even more realistic. Sorry about the cloak-and-dagger, but it was necessary.” “Ah. It all makes sense now,” Malcolm said, his tone slightly sarcastic. “It was a well-done operation, and even you have to admit that,” Mona chimed in. Captain Uwe Hausberg had captured the illegal transactions with his remote cameras and Travis had pulled the Lysander’s manifests as even more proof of Thea Brunswicke’s treachery. The discovery of metracel-blue derivative, cleverly hidden in Lysander’s stores, was the nail in Thea’s coffin. Now the former captain was under house arrest in her own quarters under guard. “Perhaps we can recruit some of you into the Centaurian Security Force.” Mona chuckled. “We’ll keep it in mind, Commandant Reed.” Hoshi stuck her head out of the bridge hatch. “Meeting’s about to start, you two.” “We’d best get going, then.” Malcolm smiled and allowed Hoshi to take his hand as they went to Sickbay. His wife seemed more cheerful in the few days since they’d retrieved Philippe and Paul. Unfortunately, the Comte de Jeunier, the former commandant of the CSF hadn’t survived his initial dose of metracel-blue. It had taken Hoshi all of her skills to pull Malcolm out of a rage and depression. Malcolm still felt the guilt for not reaching his friend in time, but it wasn’t quite as sharp. He wondered if Oneko had a hand in it as well. Malcolm shook his head and brought himself to the present time. He was impressed and surprised at Paul Mayweather’s actions. Paul allowed Phlox to hook him up to a blood-cleansing unit, in exchange for several favors. Dante’s Sickbay was filled with people: Malcolm, Hoshi, Ofee, Mona, Travis and Rhianna Mayweather, Bernhard, Johannes and Phlox. Philippe sat on an adjoining bed, also connected to a unit, while Captain John Chao, Captain Uwe Hausberg, and Captain Sandosh attending via comlink. To Malcolm’s surprise, Paul and Ofee had set up remote holo-links with Ravi Nandjani and Stuart Reed on Aldeberan, Sophie du Pries on Alpha Centauri, and Ju’reel on Draylax. The Draylaxian leader sat in his office on his trading ship, attended by Lieutenant Dumond of the Centaurian Security Force. Malcolm noticed the looks between Philippe and Sophie and it confirmed his suspicions about their relationship, despite the fact both of them conducted themselves with utmost professionalism. And to top it off, Oneko lay curled next to Philippe, purring up a storm. Malcolm suddenly realized he hadn’t seen the avatar in quite some time, ever since they’d visited Draylax. Why had she been absent for so long? Malcolm caught Bernhard’s look of approval, and thought Perhaps she’d been helping Bernhard and Johannes. That’s probably the reason why we hadn’t seen her. “Ofee, I understand this is going out to every Boomer we’ve deemed trust worthy?” Paul asked. “Everyone that we could find within range,” Ofee replied calmly. “I hope you know what you’re doing. I’ve burned some bridges and some credits setting this up for you.” “If this works, you’ll recoup your credits and more.” Paul smiled at her, then sobered as he addressed the mixed crowd. “Thanks to everyone who agreed to this. We need to work fast if we’re going to stop Asagawa and her cronies. Admiral Reed—“ he inclined his head at Stuart, “—has complied quite a body of evidence detailing the spread of metracel-blue in the Colonies and its use in the Consortiums. He’s relayed it to Admiral Gardner at Starfleet Command. The info is pretty thorough—and damning.” Stuart gave him a stiff nod and replied, “It’s enough to put people like Thea Brunswicke and Ravi’s great-uncle Vishra away for a long time. Good riddance, I’d say.” Philippe looked shaken and pale, but his voice was even. “I’ve contacted Colonel Lomagne of the Centaurian Security Force...he’s replaced Commandant Allemande as head of the CSF. We’ve located the body of Comte de Jeunier; he will be taken home and buried with full honors.” “Mon Dieu,” murmured Lieutenant Dumond. The news of de Jeunier’s “accidental” death from metracel-blue overdose hit the CSF hard. Philippe had personally told Malcolm the news; Malcolm had retreated from everyone, even Hoshi, for several hours. Oneko was there to comfort him, but Malcolm still reeled from the loss. “Ju’reel and I will be present at Vega for the meeting,” Ravi Nandjani spoke up. “The three of us—Sophie included—have put together a proposal to help combat the smugglers to present to the other Consortiums and Starfleet. Admiral Gardner has assigned Columbia to escort us.” Travis shook his head. “Looks like Starfleet’s taking this seriously. Finally.” Paul glanced at Ofee, who nodded back. “We’ll arrange to convoy to Vega as well. Captain Chao, Captain Hausberg, Captain Sandosh, make it clear to your people that Boomer rules apply. If anyone is found to be in collaboration with the smugglers, their cargo and ships are forfeit. Do I make myself clear?” Malcolm was taken aback at the coldness in Paul’s tone, and both Travis and Rhianna stared at him. Oneko hissed once at Philippe’s side, as if in complete agreement. There was a flash of—sadness?—on Rhianna’s face, but also a grim understanding. The Mayweathers were proud Boomers, and they were determined to rebuild the Boomers’ reputation as honest folk. Malcolm was impressed—but also worried—at the hard-line stance that Paul was taking. Philippe seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “Soyez prudent, mon ami. We don’t want to have unfounded accusations flying about because of intraship rivalries. There will be others who will try to take advantage of the situation to protect themselves.” Rhianna nodded, albeit reluctantly. “As much as I hate to think of our people doing it, son, I agree with Philippe. Thea’s already trying to bargain her way out of possible punishment by implicating other Boomers, whether or not they are guilty.” “Good point, Philippe, Mom. Use discretion, but we can’t afford to have any leaks this time,” Paul agreed. “Too much is at stake here.” “Yes,” agreed Sandosh. The Tellarite captain had been silent for most of the conversation, but now he made his opinions known. “Be assured that I will be diligent in who joins my convoy, Paul.” “And may I suggest you assign a liaison to each major Boomer ship, just to be safe,” said Captain Chao. “That way, our forces are split evenly, and not all concentrated on one ship, the Dante.” “Excellent idea,” Stuart seconded. “That way, if anything happens to one, not all is lost.” Malcolm inclined his head to his father. Stuart had regained much of his equilibrium in the month since his brush with death; Malcolm’s heart rejoiced at the return of the old Reed fire in Stuart’s eyes. Hoshi smiled and gripped her husband’s hand, for she had noticed as well. “All right, we will.” Paul glanced at Ofee. “What’s our ETA to Vega?” “Forty hours, Paul. We’ll get there in time, come frozen comets or meteor storms,” Ofee answered with confidence. “Good. Everyone register their ETAs with Ofee or Mona. Have a safe trip and we’ll see you all at Vega. Mayweather, out.” Paul nodded at Ofee to cut the connection, and at her nod, he slumped back on the pillows. Rhianna was on her feet, while Travis hovered over him with a worried expression. Phlox examined Paul, then shook his head. “He must rest,” Phlox said. “And you as well, Master Trieste. No arguments.” “Je ne pas argumenter,” Philippe replied, and Oneko meowed in agreement. “I believe my guardian here has taken it upon herself to make sure I rest.” “She can be quite convincing,” Malcolm deadpanned. “Ofee, we need to plan our strategy when we get to Vega—“ Phlox wasn’t finished. “And you are also recovering, Mister Reed. If you do not want to be confined to Sickbay yourself, I suggest a minimum for six hours of sleep.” Oneko swiveled her intense green-gold glare at Malcolm and he chuckled. Hoshi put a hand on his arm. “Phlox’s right, Malcolm. We’ll have time.” Ofee gave them a humorous look. “Don’t make me put a guard at your door, Malcolm.” “None needed.” Malcolm sighed and shook his head. “I’ll say it again: My life is dominated by females.” “And don’t you forget it,” Hoshi said as she led him out of Sickbay, to the relieved laughter of everyone else. Hoshi was as good as her word, making her husband rest in between planning sessions with the Boomer captains. Bernhard Mueller was back on Schwarzwald at Captain Hausberg’s right hand, while Johannes Birkenwald was on Lady Ameratsu with Captain Chao. Paul had taken over Lysander, with Travis as his first mate. Rhianna insisted on keeping an eye on her two sons, and Phlox had sent over several portable blood-cleansing units for Paul’s use. Hoshi had volunteered to be on Vhrum, but Captain Sandosh assured her that he would be fine. So she remained on Dante with Malcolm. Malcolm noticed that she and Oneko seemed to spend quite some time together in Sickbay with Philippe and Phlox. His protective instincts told him there was more than met the eye, so he wandered down there when Hoshi believed he was asleep. “That’s wonderful news, ma petite!” Philippe said. “Does he know?” Malcolm froze in his tracks. What?? “Not yet, Philippe.” She spoke in French, which Malcolm could understand as easily as English. “I don’t want him to worry; he already has too much stress, with everything going on. Stuart’s been nagging me at every turn. It’s hard to believe my father-in-law can be such a mother hen.” “You do realize that everyone will ‘mother-hen’ you, whether you wish it or not.” “I suppose I ought to get used to it. Rhianna’s appointed herself as an honorary grandmother. She’s telling me to eat more, rest more, don’t stress so much, don’t skip the tai-chi routine, and for God’s sake, don’t eat too much chocolate from Stores. I try to tell her that it’s not me that insists on the dark chocolate.” Philippe laughed and said something in reply, but Malcolm didn’t hear it. He stood there, mouth open, in complete shock. His first thought was: Does everyone know but me?? Suddenly, he understood the looks that Johannes had been giving him. It was one of complete sympathy, for his wife Treesal— And no wonder Phlox was after him to rest as well. Phlox had appointed himself an “honorary grandfather” as well as one in fact. Stuart’s odd concern on Aldeberan made perfect sense now, as well as Captain Archer’s initial reluctance to let Hoshi step foot off Enterprise. Malcolm felt a silly grin spread across his face. Philippe was talking about gifts for the nursery, and Malcolm shook his head in bemused wonder. If Hoshi was harboring the secret for his sake, let her. It now gave him a reason to beat the metracel-blue and put an end to this smuggling affair once and for all. He turned and made his way back to the quarters he shared with his wife. A questioning meow caught his attention; he glanced down to see Oneko pacing him, with a wise look on her face. “You knew, didn’t you,” Malcolm told her. Oneko didn’t answer, but twitched her whiskers in response. |
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