Torres read the prevarication in the green eyes, but didn't know what
she should do about it. "Dismissed."
She couldn't help the younger woman if she wouldn't ask for help. Or
could she? As Malista walked away, B'Elanna flagged down Crewman
Gerron. He came to her side, his own eyes following Shadow as she
left the Engineering section.
B'Elanna had noticed that Gerron Tem had been escorting or trailing
after Malista Shadow for days. She would have thought it was just a
crush, but she had somehow gotten the impression that Gerron was
interested in Megan Delaney. So why was he following Malista? And
watching her all the time? Though no one had told her anything
outright, Torres was forming her own theories. "Gerron, I want you to
go check out the repair work done on the Biology Department's
ecosystem sphere."
The young Bajoran squinted at her, unsure if he should speak up or
not. "Wasn't that work done last week?"
"Yes. But there's no harm in checking it out again," Torres said
blandly. "Preventive maintenance."
Gerron studied the half Klingon skeptically. She wasn't normally known
for wasting time---or a pair of willing hands without a very good
reason.
"Malista will be working there. She may need your help with the
environmental controls," the lieutenant added. Her face remained
determinedly neutral.
Gerron nodded. Now he understood. As the Chief Engineer and a
supervising Starfleet Officer, Torres might not have been informed
about what the Maquis were doing to protect Malista or why it was
necessary, but somehow she had figured out that something was going
on. And she didn't object to his assumption of unofficial and
self-appointed bodyguard duties. He went to get his tool kit.
************************
Lieutenant Trent Salaka, the Biology Department Supervisor, was
leaving just as Malista arrived. "Hello," he said, a bright smile of
welcome warming his hazel eyes. "Here to take care of our little
problem?"
She hesitantly returned his smile. Trent had been one of the men she'd
dated during the week in which she'd been trying to regain Harry's
attention and make him jealous. He'd taken her to a play as a favor to
Jenny Delaney.
He stood back to let her pass, saying as he did so, "Since we couldn't
get anything much done in this icebox, most of my people are taking a
late lunch break. Or early dinner break. Whatever. Give me a call if I
can help with anything."
"Thanks," she said, moving past him and into the lab. The door slid
closed behind her. It was very cool. Much too cool for humans to feel
comfortable working there in regulation uniforms. She started for the
environmental controls on the opposite wall. As she reached up to
swing the access panel open, she heard a slight sound to her right and
glanced in that direction.
Ensign Laro Longoria was standing behind the computer console, running
simulation models on the screen. He smirked as his eyes roved over
Shadow's body, which was well-defined by her form-fitting uniform as
she stretched her hands above her head to reach the panel latch.
She caught her breath, decided to ignore him, and sincerely hoped he
would return the favor. She returned her attention to her assignment.
The panel swung open and she looked over the controls and circuitry,
trying to isolate the problem. It could be the thermostat itself or
the.....
She felt a hand caress her right buttock and whirled to face him. She
hadn't heard his approach. Her hand came up to shove him away. He
caught her wrist and held it between them.
"Still playing games, chica?" Longoria purred. He brought his other
hand up toward her face. She ducked back away from him. As she did so,
the shoulder of her uniform caught on the corner of the open panel
door. Her jerking movement caused the material to tear, leaving a
three inch gap and a long, deep gouge in the top of her shoulder. She
hardly felt the pain. She was focusing on breathing, wondering what
she should do next.
When George Natwick had confronted her like this, it had been in a
public corridor. Any shout for assistance would have been heard and
responded to promptly. In this soundproofed lab, no one would hear her
shout---unless she hit her commbadge and called for Security. Was she
scared enough to justify that reaction? What would everyone say? What
would Harry think? Was Longoria just testing her the way George had?
Surely he wouldn't really...
Her eyes dropped to the floor. "Leave me alone." Her words were barely
audible. It was all she could think of to say. She couldn't move away.
She was pinned between the bulkhead and his body, trapped by the lab
tables on either side of them.
"What if I don't want to? What are you going to do? Tell your
boyfriend? It's against regulations to use your rank for personal
reasons. Come on, Malista! I've heard stories about you Maquis women.
Your savage sex lives. A woman who looks like you couldn't possibly be
an innocent. I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but I like
games. Make my dreams come true. Didn't you make Dishon a happy man
for three years? He was so protective of you. He wouldn't let me near
you. No one was allowed to touch. Or even look. He was very jealous,
wasn't he? Too bad about poor Niko. But no matter how good he was, I
bet I could teach you a few things. Or you could teach me!"
She tried to pull her arm away. His grasp tightened painfully. His
eyes played over her face and he leaned toward her. She could feel his
breath on her skin.
She turned her face away, straining to get away from him. "Don't!"
"Come on. You know you'll like it. I've heard stories about you. Niko
didn't want to share. I'm more generous. I don't mind sharing. Kim
doesn't have to know if you want to keep it a secret." He slid his
hand from her hip to her waist and tried to pull her closer. Her free
hand shoved against his shoulder. That didn't work. She was
frantically trying to remember what she'd learned about fighting in
close quarters in her self-defense class.
How serious was he? How scared was she? She wondered if she could
raise her leg enough to reach her boot and get to the....
The hiss of the opening door froze both of them in place. Longoria's
eyes guiltily darted toward the entrance. It was Gerron Tem.
"Let her go." His low voice was a dangerous snarl. The Bajoran cub
looked surprisingly dangerous, almost feral.
With a casual air of contempt for both of them, Longoria stepped back
wearing a nasty smile. He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender
as he returned to his computer console. "Sorry. Didn't mean to
trespass. I didn't know you had a prior claim, too."
Gerron's eyes, mere slits, flew to the laceration on Malista's
shoulder, took in the torn uniform, and the fact that---though her icy
mask of control was locked firmly in place---small tremors racked her
body from head to toe. He moved prot
ectively between Longoria and
Shadow, shielding her from even having to look at the other man. "Do
you want to go to Sickbay and have that taken care of?" he queried in
a low voice, concerned by her pallor.
"No, let's finish this first." Her voice was shaky, eyes fixed on the
floor.
"Well, if you don't need me," Longoria sneered, "I think I'll go get a
snack. It's impossible to think in this cold anyway. Things seem kind
of---frigid to me." With that parting shot, he strode out of the lab.
Gerron made a move to go after the man, but Malista caught his arm.
"Don't. He's not worth it."
"Malista, you have to report this---"
"I can't."
"Why not?" the Bajoran demanded.
"I don't want Harry or Tom to know about this," she said, looking
through her toolbox for a tool she couldn't seem to find.
"Why not?" he repeated.
"B-Because...because I d-d-don't," she said finally. "Oh, d-damn." Her
shaking hand went to her forehead. "What am I looking for?" she asked
him tremulously, her eyes pleading with him for understanding and
agreement.
He pulled a stool over and pushed her down onto it. "I'll take care of
this. Sit there and calm down."
As he worked on the controls, she tried to decide what she should do
now. She didn't see Longoria that often. Surely, she could avoid him.
She would just make sure never to be alone with him. This wasn't a big
problem. Not really. Gerron wouldn't tell. Not if she asked him not
to. "Gerron?"
"Yes?" He closed the panel. It had been the sensor in the thermostat
that was causing the problem. It had only taken a moment to replace
it. The temperature was already improving. It was getting warmer. He
looked at her.
"I don't want anyone to know about this. I'm going to handle this
myself."
"How?"
"I don't know. I---I'll stay away from him. I've managed to before. I
haven't seen him for a week at least."
"This is a small ship. You can't avoid him forever. What's his problem
anyway?"
She smiled weakly. "I think he's heard too many stories about
oversexed Maquis women and their erotic exploits."
The Bajoran shook his head. "I wish I knew how those stories got
started. If we spent as much time---" He paused to censor himself.
"Let's just say we wouldn't have had time for fighting if all those
stories were true."
"Yeah." Her mind was far away from him at the moment.
"Malista? Next stop, Sickbay." He cupped her elbow in his palm and
helped her to her feet.
"Oh, I don't think---"
"It could get infected---"
"No! The Doctor would be upset and report---"
Gerron almost growled in frustration. "You have to change your
uniform. Somebody will notice that." He pointed to the ragged,
blood-soaked tear. He was afraid to push her too hard. She was so
tense now, she seemed brittle. As if the careless flick of a finger
could shatter her into tiny shards. He'd seen women with that look in
the Bajoran refugee camps. Women who'd been victims of Cardassian
brutality. He'd hoped never to see it again.
Her eyes dropped to her shoulder. She'd forgotten. "Then I'll go to my
quarters. Now if I just had a dermal regenerator---?" She smiled at
him hopefully.
He scowled at her. "I suppose I could swipe one from the emergency kit
in the corridor near the cargo bay. Well, come on then." It was the
best he could do for now.
"And Gerron?"
"Yes?"
"Promise me you won't tell Tom or Harry---or B'Elanna?" she added
hastily.
He had no problem with that request. "I promise I won't tell Paris,
Kim, or Torres," he vowed solemnly. Of course, he had carefully chosen
his words. He hadn't promised not to tell *anyone*. "I'll meet you at
your quarters with the regenerator."
************************
Malista underestimated the number of watching eyes. Someone had seen
the pair leaving the deserted lab, and reported it to a friend. Within
twenty minutes of their departure from the Biology Lab, yet another
rumor began winging its way through the ship.
It took longer for Shadow to heal herself than she'd estimated. The
gash was quickly erased by the dermal regenerator. She had a spare
uniform in her closet. It should have taken no more than five minutes.
But when she'd changed her uniform, she'd become aware of the large,
perfectly defined, finger-shaped bruises forming on her forearm.
Healing those had required a little more time and care. One glimpse of
those and Harry wouldn't accept silence as an answer. The extra time
required led to even more speculation.
Another tattletale soon spread a report of seeing Gerron and Malista
leaving her quarters, some *thirty minutes* after Gerron had been seen
entering them. Thirty minutes was not explainable with an innocent
excuse that anyone could come up with readily. As the rumors made the
rounds, they grew and became so distorted as to be unrecognizable, as
rumors often do.
The Maquis version of the tale was that Gerron had assisted Malista in
fighting off a number of Starfleet crewmen who had been attempting to
sexually assault her. The evidence? The torn uniform, the cut on her
shoulder, and her distressed and disheveled appearance. There was no
report filed because, after all, she was a Maquis. The Maquis still
had a tendency to want to handle their problems outside of the usual
channels. Or possibly she didn't want to make waves that would affect
her boyfriend's career as a 'Fleeter? Or perhaps she didn't want Harry
Kim to find out because he would never believe her side of the story
and she didn't want to risk losing him?
The Starfleet crew members came up with a different version. With the
same evidence available, they speculated that Gerron had sexually
assaulted Malista Shadow and that she hadn't reported it because he
was a fellow Maquis or because he had threatened her. Or she feared
Harry Kim, Tom Paris, or both would go after Gerron.
Those who liked Kim and disliked Shadow also held forth a theory that
it wasn't assault at all. That Malista had been cheating on Kim with
Gerron and they'd gotten a little carried away. This story was
slightly more widely accepted since there was additional evidence.
Gerron and Malista were seen leaving her quarters after thirty
minutes---if not more---alone. During Harry Kim's duty shift.
The slight level of tension between the two factions increased to a
more uncomfortable level and threatened to erupt into something more
than hard feelings and suspicion.
*************************
George Natwick was sitting alone with his morning coffee when Malista
Shadow and Gerron Tem approached his table. With a welcoming smile,
the ensign stood and pulled out a chair for her. As she seated
herself, the Bajoran excused himself and went to sit with his Maquis
friends. The boy's behavior reminded Natwick rather forcefully of a
bodyguard droppin
g off his client in a safe zone.
"Good morning," Malista whispered. Her impassive mask was in place,
but he sensed she wasn't sure of her reception.
"Malista. How are you?" A casual approach seemed best.
"Fine. I'm fine. And you?" Her tone was of polite interest.
Natwick had never been one for feigning polite interest, but he
recognized it when he heard it. She was stalling as she tried to think
how to phrase her request. "Malista, can I help you with something?"
Blunt. Too blunt. She reacted with a slight start, almost a flinch. He
was afraid she was going to retreat without saying anything more. He
could all but see her mental gymnastics as she considered her options.
"Oh." She bit her lip, caught herself, and tugged her lip free of her
teeth with one hand. His gaze followed her hand. "Harry doesn't like
it when I do that," she explained breathlessly. "Habits are hard to
break. I keep forgetting."
The big man fought to keep any hint of bitterness from showing in his
smile at the mention of Kim's name and his role in Malista's life.
"Malista, why did you want to talk to me?" He softened his tone,
trying to sound as inviting and helpful as possible.
She took a deep breath and plunged right in. "You remember I was in
your self-defense class?" He nodded encouragingly. "The other day---"
She cleared her throat. "Well, I was wondering---"
"Get to the point. I can't help you if you don't ask," he stated
Trials 04 Shadow's Trial Page 24
