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"Code of Honor"
Rating: PG-13 Whew...anyway...the story gets more complicated and Malcolm remembers a long-ago memory from better times. Two “All he told us was that he’d be back in a fortnight. He wasn’t expecting any trouble, Malcolm. Just a routine thing to be cleared up on Alpha Centauri, just as a favor to Monsieur Trieste.” Madeline Reed’s face was calm, but Malcolm could read the worry in his younger sister’s eyes. “Mum is terribly worried, but you know her, she carries on like the usual. I suppose she’s used to things like this by now.” Malcolm sighed and shook his head. “As she’s fond of quoting, she is the wife of a Royal Navy man and the Wives are as strong and as honorable as their husbands.” “Malcolm,” Maddie chided with a hint of reproval in her voice. “Now’s not the time to be sarcastic. Speaking of wives, how is Hoshi taking it? I know she’s awfully fond of Father.” He managed a smile, despite the brief outburst of emotion. “She’s holding up, though she is worried too. Hoshi’s on Enterprise, assisting with a subspace relay project. She made me promise to update her every day on the situation.” “Sounds just like her. You married a good woman, brother mine.” She flashed him a brilliant smile. “By the way, remember than young man who’s joined the Semara Five archaeological dig? The one from County Kilkenny?” “Ah...Trevor, wasn’t it?” “Yes.” Her smile dimpled her cheeks. “I believe he’s finally getting comfortable with the staff. He’s found some translations; will it be all right if we pass them along to Hoshi? I’m sure she would be thrilled at seeing a completely new language.” “Of course it’s all right. If anything, Hoshi’ll be busy between those translations and the subspace relay project.” “Splendid. I’ll send those straightaway. You will let Mother and I know if you find anything?” He nodded and reassured her, “The very minute, Maddie. I’ll bring him home.” “Thank you, Malcolm. Be careful, all right?” “I will. Take care, Maddie.” Her image winked off the screen. Malcolm sighed again and met Travis’s bemused look from the helm of the shuttlepod. Oneko lounged on the helmsman’s lap, her loud purr bouncing off the pod walls. “You know, it’s amazing how little is said among the members of your family, but still how much is understood,” Travis remarked, as he had one hand on the controls and the other hand on Oneko’s shiny black fur. “We’ve always been conservative with our words,” he said mildly. “Complete opposite of my family. We’re all push and shove, loud and brash. We’re extremely polite to strangers, but family...boy, we can be evil to each other sometimes.” Travis chuckled as he made a course correction. “Honestly, when I met your family at the wedding, it was kinda refreshing.” “In what way?” “Ah...well...I’d met your dad when we were stuck on the Orion ship, and he didn’t seem too bad. I can see where munitions run in your family, though.” Travis sighed and shook his head. “He’s a—what’s the word Trip used? Yeah, a straight shooter. Doesn’t mince words and tells you exactly what he thinks.” Malcolm winced and Oneko gave a meow that sounded like some kind of admonishment. “Yes, he certainly does.” Travis suddenly frowned as he realized he’d broached a sensitive subject. The cat twitched her whiskers and leaped off his lap. She jumped onto Malcolm’s and began rubbing her face on Malcolm’s sleeve. Travis had the grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry, Malcolm—“ “That’s all right. I suppose the whole crew’s aware of my up-and-down relationship with my father. We understand each other better now, but we still aren’t exactly chums.“Before this whole business on Alpha Centauri, I hadn’t seen or talked to him in almost seven years. He shrugged as he patted Oneko. Her purrs were a soothing counterpoint to the emotions warring within him. Travis’s eyes widened in dismay. “Since before Enterprise launched. That’s a long time.” “Yes.” Travis seemed to understand his unspoken request to drop the subject. So he did. “This is gonna sound like a stupid question, but what’s a ‘fortnight’?” Malcolm blinked in surprise, then he realized that Travis, having been raised on a Boomer ship, probably didn’t know much British English. “Two weeks. Fourteen nights. Hence, fortnight.” Travis nodded. “Okay. Hoshi uses it sometimes and I always wonder what she means. She’s picked up a lot of British-isms from you. You should see the looks Trip gives her sometimes. He keeps muttering something about you ‘corruptin’ our resident linguist beyond savin’.” That startled Malcolm into laughter and Travis’s grin widened to mega-watt brilliance. Oneko snorted, sounding strangely offended. Malcolm raised his eyes to the younger man and said, “Thank you, Travis. I needed that.” “No problem, Malcolm.” He stretched in the pilot’s seat and added, “I’m gonna go take a nap. Wake me up in four hours and I’ll relieve you.” “Four hours. Right.” Malcolm slid into the pilot’s seat as Travis moved towards the back of the shuttlepod. His grin softened as he thought, Travis would make a good morale officer. Oneko meowed in definite agreement. Three shifts later, Travis woke him up out of a troubled slumber. Next to him, Oneko murmured sleepily in his ear. “Malcolm? We’re almost there. I’m getting comm traffic from Alpha Centauri and I think you’d better listen to it.” Malcolm sat up and shook his head to clear it from the cobwebs. He was still in his dream, the one where he’d been just a lad, two or three years old, and walking along the Dover seashore with his father. “Do you want to discover why the ocean has fascinated Reed men for so long, Malcolm? The thrill of discovery, the open expanse, the promise of adventure to come. Our ancestors sailed upon its waters, but we haven’t discovered all there is. That’s why we return, Malcolm. No matter how many times we journey, there’s still more to discover.” The strange thing was that Malcolm understood every word, despite his young age. Stuart Reed’s face reflected the wonder and the respect he had for the ocean. Every word Stuart had said rang true and the honesty impressed Malcolm. What might have been, had Stuart shared that simple honesty in simple words? If his father had shared his love for the ocean like that, as opposed to forcing it upon his son? Perhaps Malcolm would have gone through the Royal Naval College and joined the Navy, like Stuart wanted, without the aquaphobia. Or in spite of it, perhaps. Malcolm winced. If that had happened, he would never have been on Enterprise, never have met Jonathan Archer, Trip Tucker or Travis Mayweather. Or the love of his life, Hoshi Sato. The stars had something else written for you, old boy. Oneko yowled in concern and Travis said, “Malcolm? You’re starting to scare me a little.” He snapped back to reality and managed a smile at Travis. “Sorry, Travis. I was wool-gathering.” “It’s okay, but I think you really need to listen to this.” They went back into the main compartment of the shuttlepod. Malcolm sat at the comm station and boosted the volume. Carefully, he filtered out the various cross-channels that floated in Alpha Centauri airspace until the strongest voice came in loud and clear. He thanked his wife for showing him how to do it. “...And in financial news, the loss of EdML’s chief director, Philippe Trieste, has severely impacted the value of EdML stock in the Colonial Stock Exchange, as its shareholders scramble to protect their interests. The value had plunged almost twenty-five points in heavy trading...” “...There has been no clues to the whereabouts of Trieste or the head of the Centaurian Security Force, le Comte de Jeune. Foul play is suspected and both the CSF and Starfleet Intelligence are investigating...” “...The former Tanaka Enterprises out of Vega, now Atasaka Corporation, has entered negotiations with the Concourse of Altair, in the wake of the unexpected upheaval. Rumors are unconfirmed, but it is believed that the various ship contractors for both Consortiums are in the process of filing grievances for breaches of contract. Master Paul Mayweather, Trading Representative for EdML and senior representative of the Boomer community, has not commented on the impending crisis...” Travis’s face was a thundercloud. “Sounds bad. Paul told me he was mediating between the Boomers and the Consortiums. With him missing—“ “Sounds like a power grab among the Boomers. I hate to say this, Travis, but it seems that their unity is more of an image than anything else.” Travis nodded in reluctant agreement. “No wonder Paul didn’t want to tell me what was going on. Looks like we’ll be walking headlong into trouble.” Malcolm sighed as he automatically went into investigator mode. “Travis, I think we’ve got two issues here...EdML and the Boomers. When we land, can you get in touch with some of your Boomer friends and find out just what’s going on? I’ll do the same with my contacts in the CSF. I believe the two are related in some way; we just have to discover how.” “It’s a plan,” Travis agreed. A light flashed on the console. “We’re being hailed by Alpha Centauri Control.” Malcolm opened a channel and identified themselves. Neither of them was expecting the answer. “Shuttlepod Two from Enterprise, a fighter escort will rendezvous with you and accompany you to Cochrane Commons. Maintain radio silence until planetfall. Procedures have changed since your last visit, Commander Reed, and we insist you follow them. Control, out.” The two traded looks. “Interesting,” Malcolm deadpanned. “It seems that we’re going to find out what goes on beneath the surface.” Oneko arched her back and hissed in agreement. |
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