A Fine Mess-Ch. 10

A Fine Mess

By Chianna

PG - Action/Adventure/Romance
Disclaimers in part one

Chapter 10

Hoshi’s Gunfight at the OK Corral

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The next morning, Hoshi was up bright and early. Something about the transmissions being relayed between the capital city and their camp just didn’t feel right. Her sensitive hearing had picked up background noise that she just couldn’t place.

She went back to the communications tent and did a separate recording of background noises as camp personnel went about relaying messages to various planetary locations. After identifying all of the individual noises, she could not isolate the noise that she had heard when she eavesdropped on the transmissions using Enterprise’s comm. equipment.

There has to be a correlation she thought. Quickly she started cross- referencing the messages that had the background static with the transmitters being using in the tent.

Ah ha, she thought. All the transmissions with the troubling static came from one set located in the far back corner of the tent. Hoshi moved back to her temporary station and listened in on the conversation taking place at that transmitter. She noted the operator earlier only because he was generally smaller and darker than many of the other Aviarians. He had seemed oddly solitary given the natural warmth with which everyone else had greeted the enterprise landing party.

It was the same static in the background. Well let’s run this message through Enterprise’s decryption filters and see what we’ve got here. Hoshi was in her element and when finished, found that her worst suspicions were indeed verified. Hoshi stepped out of the tent.

"Hoshi, to T’Pol." Hoshi murmured quietly into the communicator.

"Yes, Lieutenant"

"I think that you and the Commander need to get to the Communication tent right way. Someone here has been piggy-backing encrypted transmissions on some of the outbound messages."

"Understood. I will contact Mr. Tucker to meet us there. Maintain surveillance until we arrive. T’Pol out."

Hoshi, stood outside the tent, trying with only limited success, to look like she was just hanging out. She saw the Commander and T’Pol closing from two different directions when she saw movement on the far side of the tent closest to Tucker. She yelled out a warning to the Commander, but she could see that he did not know where the threat was coming from. She knew that she would not be fast enough. In that split second, she regretted that Malcolm had not come in her place.

Before she was able to fire, she saw a blur knock the commander to the ground. T’Pol had made a flying tackle just as a beam passed neatly through the air where Tucker had been standing just a moment before.

T’Pol rolled and ducked behind some crates for cover, pulling her weapon in one fluid movement. Hoshi was running to the sub commander’s position trying to stay under cover.

"Trip, Trip. Did you fall down?" Rook was running to the place where T’Pol had flattened the chief engineer just seconds earlier.

"Oh Shit! Shit, Shit." Tucker spied the boy running to him at full tilt, right into the crossfire. Trip took off like a sprinter out of the blocks, trying to keep as low as he could. He scooped Rook up and tucked him under his arm like football. He heard the whine a phaser and hit the ground covering the boy with his body as the bolt shot harmlessly past them.

As one, Hoshi and T’Pol stepped into the open, firing at the enemy when he exposed himself to take the shot at Tucker.

Their aim was dead on. The false Aviarian fell to the ground.

Taken by the moment, Hoshi bellowed in Klingon "Heghle'neH QaQ jajvam."

"You did admirably, Ensign, but I do not think that saying ‘It is a good day to die’ is accurate in this situation. Our weapons were set on stun."

"It’s the only Klingon battle cry that I know... so far. And it sure felt good to say it." Hoshi was not in the least bit apologetic. All she could think of was seeing the look on Malcolm’s face, when she told him about her duel between the tents.

Trip was dusting off the boy who was no worse for wear and seemed to think that this was all great fun.

He hollered back to his two shipmates. "Hosh, you can holler anythang your little heart desires so long as you get my back like ya’ just did."

Hoshi smiled. She’d come a long way since her first mission. "I was calling you to check out the gear this one," pointing to the unconscious spy, "was using. Guess we already have our answer. I’d like to transit the information that I have on the piggyback signal so that the Aviarians can track any other encrypted transmissions to the source and apprehend the spies."

"An admirable plan ensign. Proceed."

"Commander, you need to take a look at the message. I think that they were trying to order their ships to attack Enterprise so that they could make their escape without being exposed."

Trip scanned the message and passed it to the sub commander. "We need to get back to Enterprise ASAP, T’Pol, before all hell breaks loose. Let the planetary authorities take care of the spies. We need to take care of our own now."

"Agreed." T’Pol turned to Hoshi. "Contact the Doctor and tell him to meet us on the Enterprise."

Trip felt a tug at his pant leg. "You and T’Pol leaving me?" Trip could see storm clouds threatening all over the little fella’s face.

"Hey there pard’ner. You don’t think I’d take off without inviting you for a first class inspection of the Enterprise now, did ‘ya?"

"No." Rook’s answer didn’t sound too confident.

"Well now then, ya got my promise as an Officer an’ a Gentleman," he gave T’Pol a quick wink, "that you’ll see every inch of engineering – top ta’ bottom. Is that clear Cadet Rook?"

"Cadet? I can really be an cadet?"

"Why when I tell the Captain how ya’ ran ta’ help me... It might even be worth a medal or two. You’re in charge here ‘til we return."

Hoshi hid a smile behind her hand as the Commander saluted his little comrade. Mimicking Tucker, the little boy gave the salute right back. Rook turned and ran back toward the nursery. Trip had no doubt that

Rook would have things ship shape in no time. Heaven help ‘em, he smiled to himself.

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Continued in Chapter 11
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