Squeaky

It was the beep of the comm that woke her up. Ensign Hoshi Sato groaned and rolled on to her back. "What time is it?" She muttered, half raising herself up on her elbows to read the chronometer on her desk. It was flashing "2:57 am" in large green letters, making Hoshi groan again. She flopped back down against her pillows and closed her eyes. The comm beeped a second time. "Damn it! I'm coming!" she snarled at the offensive piece of equipment, as she dragged herself out of bed and stumbled her way across the room to where it was placed beside the door. "Hoshi here." She groused as she smacked the comm button a little too hard.

"Hoshi! Glad you're awake!" Came the too-cheerful voice of Captain Jonathan Archer, "I've got interesting news!"

"Its three a.m." Hoshi said. She rubbed her face with one hand.

"Can you come to my ready-room in about five minutes?" Jon asked.

"Five minutes?" She asked, then sighed. "I'm not in uniform."

"That's okay." Jon replied, "I don't want to wait on this."

"See you soon, Captain." Hoshi said, and clicked off the comm, secretly pleased that she cut off Jon's last sentence. She leaned her head against the bulkhead for a moment, eyes closed, debating about whether or not she should just go back to bed and pretend that she had answered the comm while sleepwalking. Naw. Jon would just call her again.

Hoshi looked down at herself. She had thrown on a pair of lavender pyjamas for bed that, while not exactly indecent, did fit her body snugly. She debated for a minute about whether or not she should get dressed, then decided against it. He's the one who called me at three a.m! she thought. She slipped her arms into her bathrobe and feet into her pink bunny slippers and, with one last mournful look at her bed, left her cabin and went to the bridge.

She regretted not throwing on clothing the minute she stepped off the turbo lift and the entirety of the Beta bridge crew looked up at her as the lift doors opened. Ensign Cormack, on tactical, gave her a sympathetic look, while Ensign Darshan, the helmsmen, eyed her with frank approval. Ignoring them both, she walked to the Captain's ready room with as much dignity as she could muster, and then ruined the effect by ducking inside too quickly when the door slid open.

Hoshi stopped dead in her tracks, the closing door narrowly missing her as it slid shut behind her. Clearly she was not the only officer the Captain had called for the early morning meeting. Her horrified gaze feel upon Sub-Commander T'Pol, Commander Trip Tucker, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, Ensign Travis Mayweather, Dr. Phlox and Ensign Liz Cutler in turn. No one else was in pyjamas. Malcolm even wore his uniform. Hoshi could feel her cheeks redden, but she decided to brazen it out. "Hello, everyone." She said, secretly proud of how nonchalant her voice sounded.

"What's that in your pocket?" Trip asked, gesturing towards a lumpy mass in the left pouch of her robe. His southern accent made it sound like he said "yer" instead of "your."

"What?" Hoshi said intelligently. She glanced down at her side. Oh no! she thought, remembering exactly what was there.

"You've got something in your pocket." Trip said again. Hoshi could see a mischievous glint in his light blue eyes. "Looks big."

Hoshi sighed loudly. Trip could be like a dog with a bone sometimes, and she knew he wouldn't let the matter drop until he saw what was there. She pulled the brown fuzzy item out of her robe and put it on the Captain's desk. "There." She snapped at Trip. "Happy?"

"A teddy bear!" Trip exclaimed, picking it up to look at it. "Awww, that's cute, Hoshi!" He grinned at her, putting on a babyish voice, "what's his name?"

Hoshi grabbed the bear out of his hands. "I was going to call it Trip." she made a face at him. "Not anymore."

Trip pretended to pout. "I'm hurt." He said, "Y'all know how cuddly I am."

Liz reached over and gently plucked the bear out of Trip's hands and gave it back to Hoshi. "I'm glad you still have it," she whispered in Hoshi's ear as she leaned towards her.

Hoshi flashed Cutler a smile and a quick wink as she stuffed the bear back in her pocket. "Of course I do!" She whispered back. Cutler smiled and returned to her spot beside Dr. Phlox.

"If you are finished discussing the attributes of Ensign Sato's toy," T'Pol said, managing to convey deep sarcasm with only the merest raising of one perfect eyebrow, "then perhaps Captain Archer may start his briefing."

"Thanks, T'Pol." Jon said. Hoshi noted that he also was in uniform, and she self-consciously pulled the belt of her robe a bit tighter. "A few moments ago," Jon continued, "I received an urgent message from Starfleet. Turns out, there is a Minshera class planet not too far from here which is home to about two billion people. Now these people—" Jon paused slightly and changed position, "—have just suffered a terrible series of earthquakes that have decimated their capital region and surrounding areas." He paused again to let that piece of information sink in. "There are literally thousands of people who have been affected by this disaster, and Starfleet says that their emergency services are completely overwhelmed." Jon stopped and let his gaze sweep over the assembled crew. "Admiral Forrest says that this is the first time in its history that the government of the planet have asked outsiders for aid."

"That is correct, Captain." T'Pol added, "The Pal'lats have been in contact with Vulcan for years, but have never asked for our assistance, until now."

Trip glanced at Malcolm briefly as T'Pol relayed this piece of information, his eyes twinkling. "Well I'll be," he said with a smirk, "somebody not askin' the Vulcans for assistance!"

T'Pol raised her eyebrow at him. "As I said, Commander," she continued, "They had not asked for our assistance until now. Unfortunately—" She paused after the word, raising her eyebrow at Trip again, "The Vulcan ship Serenity is four days away, so the Enterprise has been asked to assist until it gets here."

"That's exactly the situation." Jon said, "Admiral Forrest contacted me precisely because he's hoping we can help. He's hoping the Enterprise can go to these people's aid, thereby performing an important humanitarian duty—"

"—And making 'first contact' at the same time!" Travis finished, flashing his trade-mark grin. Hoshi and Liz shared a small smile. Only Travis would get excited at the prospect of an earthquake.

"That's right, Travis." Jon said indulgently to his helmsman, "this could be the perfect opportunity to make a positive first contact with a new species. According to T'Pol and the Vulcan database," Jon said, making a small gesture towards the Sub-commander, "these people—the Pal'lats—have warp technology, and therefore we won't have to worry too much about cultural contamination."

"Not more than usual." T'Pol interjected smoothly. "It is always important to minimize the impact of Earth culture on other species."

"Thanks for the reminder." Trip said dryly, crossing his arms. Malcolm gave him a half smile.

"Yes, well." Jon said with a small laugh, "we always keep that in mind as best we can. Anyway—" Jon rubbed his hands together, clearly happy to get to the crux of the meeting. "-Here's the plan. T'Pol, Dr. Phlox, Travis and myself will take Shuttle pod one down to the Western city, which was hardest hit by the 'quake. Travis will then return to the ship and start ferrying down teams of the rest of the crew to help. Trip, Malcolm, Hoshi and Liz will go in Shuttle pod two to the Eastern city. I'll be in charge of the crew for the Western site, Trip for the Eastern. Our goal is to help however possible, such as with medical aid, and our scientific and engineering skills."

"Excuse me, sir." Hoshi interrupted, wincing inwardly as she brought attention back to herself and her inappropriate dress, "Shouldn't I be flying with you? I mean—" she paused slightly as Liz shot her a disappointed look, "- who is going to translate for you if I'm with the other team?"

"Translation will not be a problem, Ensign." T'Pol replied, "Vulcan has had a relationship with the Pal'lats for many years, and we will be supplied a Vulcan-speaking translator. I will act as the translator for our team."

"Oh." Hoshi said, both pleased to be able to work with Liz, but feeling strangely useless at the same time. "Well I guess that's okay then." She finished lamely.

"T'Pol, Hoshi, you two work together to make sure you both understand the nuances of the culture before we go." Jon looked at Hoshi sharply, "we don't want a repeat of our experience with the Kreetassen if we can help it."

Hoshi felt herself blush at the reminder of their disastrous first encounter with the aliens who had been so offended by their trip to the mess hall. "I'll do my best, sir." She said, avoiding his gaze.

"Good." Jon said. He smiled warmly at Hoshi. "Now, Dr. Phlox, Liz, I'd like you both to figure out what kind of medical supplies we'll need."

"I assume the Vulcan database has a description of the Pal'lat's physiology?" Dr. Phlox asked.

"Yes." T'Pol said. "I will ensure a copy is sent to sickbay." Dr. Phlox nodded his agreement.

"Trip," Jon said, continuing when the Commander met his gaze, "You, me, Travis and Malcolm will discuss the equipment we'll need to help shore up the buildings and locate survivors, as well as the best landing sites available in light of the wreckage." Jon surveyed the officers in front of him. "You all have four hours. Meet in the docking bay at 0800. Dismissed." Before anyone could leave the room, Jon spoke again, "Oh, Hoshi: uniforms are a requirement for this mission." He winked at her.

"Noted sir." Hoshi squeaked. She fled.

"Come again?" Trip said. He sat in the co-pilot's seat of the shuttle pod and had swivelled his chair around to look at Hoshi in her seat beside Liz near the back. Malcolm was in the seat beside him, piloting the craft. "They really like colour?"

Hoshi sighed. "I'll explain again, Commander." She said, "The Pal'lats do not just like colour, their whole philosophy of life is based around it." At Trip's raised eyebrow she continued. "Colour is used both consciously and unconsciously to express feelings, personality, mood—"

"- like, "I feel happy so I'll wear yellow?" Liz asked, looking up at Hoshi from where she was sorting medical supplies on the deck, "how is that different from what we do?"

"It's more," Hoshi struggled for the right word, "inherent. Like you just said: "I'm happy, I'll wear yellow." Right?" Liz nodded her agreement. "Well," Hoshi continued, "Trip might not agree with you that Yellow equals happy, and for Malcolm—" Hoshi paused as the Lieutenant looked back at her at the sound of his name, "yellow might be a colour representing all the evil in the world."

"Actually, I quite like yellow." Malcolm said. He flashed a mischievous smile at Trip. "Especially yellow hair." Trip grinned back, intense warmth in his blue eyes.

"Yes, well—" Hoshi continued, relieved when Trip tore his gaze away from Malcolm and began listening to her again, "for the Pal'lats, each colour has a meaning that is understood and shared by their entire society. But the meaning is so entrenched that it would be hard for them to articulate it." She paused for emphasis, "or even understand that it wasn't shared by the other cultures that they met."

"So, if I understand correctly," Malcolm said, having put the shuttle pod on autopilot to listen to the conversation, "If I were a Pal'lat, and Liz were a Pal'lat, we would both just know what it meant that my uniform was blue?"

"Exactly!" Hoshi smiled at him.

"So, what does a blue uniform mean?" Liz asked. She gave a worried smile, "I hope it's good."

"From what I was able to gather from the Vulcan database and the broadcasts we intercepted," Hoshi replied, "blue is the colour for life, love, happiness. That sort of thing."

"I guess they'd give blue valentines then!" Trip and Liz shared a laugh.

"At least our uniforms won't put us at risk." Malcolm said, "What about the colour of our piping?"

Hoshi looked thoughtful. "Um, red is the colour of blood, anger and excitement, so I think they would think it's appropriate for our Armoury Officer and our hot-headed Chief Engineer." She smiled at Trip.

"Ha ha." Trip scowled at her.

"The green piping," Hoshi said, continuing, "would mean that Liz and I are interested in growth, knowledge, and spiritual development, as those are the things that green represents."

"Makes us sound so deep!" Liz laughed. "What about other colours, like white or yellow?"

"White is for politics, leadership and command." Hoshi answered, "Yellow is the colour of mourning, death and re-birth."

"Are the Cap'n and Travis gonna have a rough time." Trip said, "wearing the colours of death to a natural disaster?" He frowned slightly.

"Not really," Hoshi replied, "Yellow is an appropriate colour for a natural disaster. It would make them look particularly sympathetic."

"About what you said before," Liz said, moving from her kneeling position on the floor to the seat beside Hoshi, "while they all know what these colours mean, they couldn't articulate it?"

"Well, they could." Hoshi amended, "but they would probably have to think about it a while." She turned to Liz, "think about it this way, you know that you're a woman—"

"Damn right!" Liz laughed.

"—and" Hoshi continued, rolling her eyes, "you know what it feels like to be a woman, but" she leaned in closer to Liz to emphasis her point, "could you actually describe what it feels like to be a woman to someone else?"

Liz paused. "I don't know." She said slowly. "I've never thought about it in that way."

"Exactly!" Hoshi said, a note of triumph in her voice, "and that's the way the Pal'lats are about colour. They've never had a need to describe the meaning of each colour, so it would be difficult for them to do so."

"Well, it shouldn't be an issue in this circumstance." Malcolm said, turning back to the controls of the shuttle pod, "I think we'll all be too busy to be concerned about what each colour means." He pressed a sequence of buttons on the computer screen. "Buckle up everyone, we're coming in for a landing."

"They look like they're all dressed for Halloween." Trip whispered close to Hoshi's ear. Hoshi allowed her lips to curve upwards in a small smile in response to Trip's statement. The Pal'lats did indeed look like they were in costume. They wore soft, flowing cloth in a variety of colours and apparently, several layers. It seemed that the Pal'lats accessorized due to what message they wanted to convey with their outfit, rather than what colours actually matched—at least to human eyes. It was like walking into a brilliant garden, or a Mardi- Gras festival. Some Pal'lats had even gone so far as to mark their faces in coloured designs and symbols; others had dyed their hair to noticeable shades of blue, green, pink and orange, all colours with very positive connotations. The Pal'lats themselves looked remarkably human, the only notable difference being extra nostril-like appendages up the bridge of their noses and half-way across their brow ridges. From a distance it looked like they were small black dots or smudges, and Hoshi was glad Cutler had briefed them on the Pal'lats' physical appearance or she might have been tempted to try to rub them off.

They had been met by a middle-aged female Pal'lat dressed in shimmering white robes liberally decorated with blue and green tuffs of cloth. She wore a long yellow scarf fringed with red looped loosely around her neck. Hoshi decided that the scarf must represent both her sorrow and anger at the life lost by these earthquakes. The woman's name was Ju'on, and she was the equivalent of the city's mayor.

"Thank you so much for coming, Ho'shi." Ju'on said. Her husky, whispery voice was pleasant to Hoshi's ear, as was the even tones of the language. Hoshi was speaking Pal'lati with the Mayor while the rest of the humans listened in on their Universal Translators.

"It is our honour to be of service to your people, Your leadership." Hoshi replied formally, and she and Ju'on clasped fore-arms in greeting. "We share your sorrow, and hope our help can ease your burdens at this painful time." Ju'on reclined her head slightly in an elegant acceptance of Hoshi's words. After a respectful moment, Hoshi loosened her grip of the other woman's arms, and indicated her companions. "May I introduce Trip Tucker, our Chief Engineer, Malcolm Reed, our Armoury Officer, and Elizabeth Cutler, Medical Assistant." They all stepped forward slightly and repeated Ju'on's small head bow when their names were spoken.

Ju'on regarded them all keenly with slightly narrowed eyes. "Two angry young men?" Ju'on asked, looking sideways at Hoshi as she traced the red piping on Trip's uniform with her fingertips.

"Merely excited about their work, your leadership." Hoshi replied, "They are very—" she thought for a second, then continued, "—white-tempered."

Ju'on laughed. "You are truly a green learner!" She said, and took Hoshi's arm in her own. "Come, I will give you a tour of our camp, and then bring you to the disaster area where you may do the most good." As they walked, Ju'on's retainers fell in step behind the Enterprise crew, giving the impression of a parade. The effect was ruined however by the terrible devastation around them. Everywhere they looked they could see fallen bricks, huge chunks of twisted metal and piles of debris. The impact of the earthquake had clearly been enormous.

Ju'on brought them to an area full of makeshift dwellings and semi- permanent structures. It reminded Hoshi of pictures she had seen of refugee camps from the last World War. She could see Pal'latians in the camps, most wearing yellow and red clothing, busy at the tasks of survival. Some were bent over small cooking fires; others carried buckets of water from the camp's only source: a large truck-like vehicle with five taps. Hoshi wondered where the water was replenished from, and how much each family would have for the day. She saw a group of five or six children playing in the dirt, kicking around an oblong piece of a building for lack of a ball. One of them wore no shoes. Feeling a lump forming in her throat, Hoshi quickly turned her attention back to Ju'on and the tour she was conducting of the camp.

"Here is where we distribute food," Ju'on was saying, indicating a small hut-like structure with a harried-looking man standing in the half-doorway reading a piece of cloth a woman had just handed him. "As you can see," Ju'on continued, indicating the woman's cloth with her hand, "we supply every displaced citizen with identification. This allows us to keep track of whom everyone is, how much food their families will need, and," she smiled, but it did not clear the sadness from her eyes, "hopefully reunite the family members that have been separated." She turned towards Hoshi, her eyes full of pain. "Everyday we find new bodies in the rubble."

"We're here to help any way we can." Trip said softly. "Just tell us what you want us to do, and we'll get right on it."

Ju'on turned to him, a sad smile on her lips. "Just find survivors," she said, "Survivors will bring blue back to these poor yellow hearts."

"I can't believe all they have for us to eat for breakfast is that spongy white stuff." Liz said. "I mean, their clothes are so interesting, you'd think the food wouldn't be so bland." She paused and moved closer to the wall of the building they were surveying, tricorder out in front of her. "What do you think, Hoshi?"

Hoshi looked up from where she had been kneeling by the structure's door, which was so tilted as to be at an almost 45-degree angle to the ground. "What?" She asked.

Liz rolled her eyes. "What do you think about the breakfast around here?" Liz said again, "We've only been here three days, and already I can't wait to get back to chef's cooking!"

"It tastes like rice cooked too long." Hoshi said, wrinkling her nose.

"Congee," Malcolm said. He was standing in front of a partially collapsed building, taking readings with his tricorder. "This one's about to fall." He muttered to himself.

"Yeah!" Hoshi agreed, "That's what it tastes like! That rice porridge stuff that they eat in Asia."

"Ugh." Liz said. "If that's what congee tastes like, give me oatmeal porridge any day of the week."

Hoshi turned to look at her. "Porridge? That's your favourite breakfast?"

"Yup." Liz replied. "Porridge with milk and brown sugar, and a bit of cinnamon. Its great on cold mornings!"

"I like eggs and bacon." Hoshi said, "You know, hearty enough to keep you going all day."

Liz gave her a suggestive smile. "I'll have to keep that in mind."

Hoshi blushed, "Stop it!" she muttered, indicating the Lieutenant with a small movement of her head.

"So, Malcolm," Liz said, winking at Hoshi, "what's your favourite breakfast?"

"Earl grey tea, no sugar, an orange and pancakes with peanut butter and maple syrup." Malcolm answered. He didn't look at her, but continued to scan the building in front of them.

"Pancakes with peanut butter?" Liz said, a horrified expression on her face, "that's your favourite breakfast?"

Malcolm turned to her and raised his eyebrows. "You did ask."

"I wasn't expecting the answer to make me feel ill." Liz made a face.

Malcolm smirked. "You should see what Trip likes to put on his pancakes." He turned back to his reading. "Liz, Hoshi," he said, frowning at the tricorder's small screen, "what do you make of this reading?"

Liz came up beside him and looked at the instrument. She frowned as well. "It looks like there's a biosign." Her face broke into a huge smile, "There's a biosign!"

"A biosign?" Hoshi exclaimed. "That's wonderful!" She turned to Liz and started to laugh, feeling giddy with hope. "That's amazing!"

"There's two biosigns, actually." Malcolm said.

"Two biosigns?" Hoshi nearly shouted. "What are we waiting for? Let's go—"

Malcolm raised his hand, effectively silencing her. "There is a problem, however."

Hoshi felt her excitement drain away with the dark expression on Malcolm's face. "There's a problem?" She repeated faintly.

Malcolm looked up at the building, stepping back a few feet for a better view. "The building is very unstable and could collapse at any time." He said.

"That is a problem." Liz agreed, crestfallen. She scanned the building again.

"How soon until it falls?" Hoshi asked, lowering her voice as if any loud noise could cause it to tumble down.

"I'm not sure." Malcolm replied. He looked around the area, "where's Trip and his team? We could really use their help right about now."

"Trip's back at the camp," Hoshi replied, remembering him leaving earlier in the day, "I think he's conferring with Captain Archer."

"Lieutenant," Liz said, "The bioreadings are very faint." She bit her lip and looked at Malcolm. "I'm not sure how much longer they'll have."

"Bloody hell." Malcolm muttered. "Is there anyone else available to help shore up this building?"

"I think that there's a Pal'lat work crew just a few buildings down." Hoshi said, "I'll go see if they can come help." Malcolm nodded his assent, and she left at a run.

It took her only a few minutes to reach the Pal'lat engineering crew where they were working to remove some rubble from the roadway. She recognized them as the crew that Trip had been working with before and was able to address their foreman by name.

"Mon'it!" She called, and a young Pal'lat separated himself from the group and made his way over to her. She greeted him with the traditional fore-arm grasping gesture, noting he wore a white shirt befitting his leadership position and yellow and red pants. His hair was dyed blue however, and Hoshi was glad he was not consumed with grief and rage as so many of his people were. Quickly she explained Malcolm's findings and the precariousness of the building. Mon'it was nodding in agreement and just telling her that he would collect his crew and their equipment when she heard a loud noise behind her. Whirling, she looked back the way she had come, her eyes widening in horror.

"Oh no." She breathed. She heard Mon'it exclamation of surprise behind her as they took in the scene of destruction before them. The building housing the two survivors had collapsed in a cloud of debris. Hoshi strained her eyes, but try as she might she could not make out the distinctive blue of her companions' uniforms through the dust billowing in the air. Her heart started hammering in her chest as she searched in vain for signs of Malcolm and Liz. Mon'it immediately turned and began to gather his crew, his voice and gestures conveying his sense of urgency. Hoshi nodded towards him once, and then took off running back towards the building, a prayer for the safety of Malcolm and Liz repeating in her head with every step.

"Liz?" Hoshi called, "Malcolm?" She coughed once against the onslaught of dust in her lungs, and bent slightly to peer into the ruins. The collapse of the building had caused the outside wall to fall, making the interior of the structure visible. Cautiously, she stepped over chunks of the wall to make her way inside. "Liz?" She called again, fear causing her voice to shake slightly, "Liz, can you hear me?"

Something blue caught the corner of her eye, and with a shout, she bolted towards it. The figure was half-buried under a piece of rubble, her pink hair crusted with blood. Hoshi put her fingers on the woman's neck, and sighed with relief when she realized the Pal'lat was still alive. Just as she began to tug at the chunk of stone, Mon'it arrived with his crew and two Pal'lat paramedics. Gently, he removed Hoshi's hands from the bricks. "Go find your friends." He said, "We'll rescue her." Hoshi smiled her thanks, and moved deeper into the building.

She looked around. The area was shadowed with dust and the afternoon sunlight. "Liz?" She called again, "Malcolm?" There was no answer. Hoshi pulled her communicator out of her sleeve pocked and keyed it open. "Trip, Commander Tucker, can you hear me?" She said, biting her lip while she waited for his response.

"Trip here." Came the curt reply, and Hoshi knew he was annoyed about being interrupted while talking to the Captain.

"Trip," Hoshi said, "There's been an accident. A building has collapsed-"

"Is Malcolm alright?" Trip asked, anxiety evident in his tone, "And Liz?" he quickly amended.

"I don't know." Hoshi replied, her voice beginning to shake with her fear and frustration. "I'm in the building now, but I can't see them."

"In the building?" Trip exclaimed, "Is it safe? Hoshi you gotta get out of there!"

Hoshi ignored his last statement. "I have Mon'it's team of engineers with me now sir," she said, "but it might be a good idea if you and your team came too." She swallowed against the lump in her throat, "I don't know how difficult it may be to get them out."

"Which building?" Trip asked.

"The isolated one on the corner where you were in the morning." Hoshi replied. "Mon'it's team is there. You can't miss it." She felt tears sting her eyes and she blinked furiously. "Please hurry."

"We'll be right there. Call me if anything changes." Hoshi heard Trip click the communicator off.

Taking in a shuddering breath, Hoshi folded her communicator back up and returned it to its pocket. She started to move again, heading towards the back of the building where the shadows were greatest, calling Malcolm's and Liz's name with each step. Her voice was becoming strained, and her throat was too tight from the tears she continued to hold back. A picture of Liz's body, crushed and bleeding kept intruding on her thoughts. Angrily, she shook her head to clear it.

"LIZ!" She screamed again into the semi-darkness. Her sensitive ears straining for a voice, any noise at all in the unnatural silence of the wreckage. "MALCOLM!"

"Over here." A voice cried weakly, and then stronger: "Over here!"

"Liz?" Hoshi said, whipping her head around towards the sound, and then she was half-running, half-stumbling towards the voice as fast as she could. She felt a jagged edge of stone bite into her leg and heard the rip of fabric, but didn't slow her pace. "Liz!" She shouted again.

"Hi." Liz said. She lifted one hand in a half-hearted wave. She was propped up on one elbow, her right leg partially covered by a large chunk of stone. Hoshi felt her legs give way with the intensity of her relief. She fell on her knees beside Liz and embraced her fiercely. "Ow!" Liz cried, "Careful of the leg!"

Hoshi immediately let the other woman go. "I thought you were dead." She stammered; blinking back tears once again. Immediately she forced herself back into officer mode and sat back on her heels. "How badly are you hurt?"

"I missed you too," Liz said, stroking the side of Hoshi's face with infinite tenderness. She brushed a stray tear off of Hoshi's cheek. After a moment, she responded to Hoshi's question. "I banged my head and I think I may have bruised a couple of ribs," Liz said, indicating a sore area on her right side, "But my leg is definitely the worst of it. I think it's broken."

Hoshi looked at the large rock pinning Liz to the ground. "Should I try to move it?"

"No, don't!" Liz cried, eyes wide, hand out to stop Hoshi. When Hoshi didn't move, Liz relaxed. "It hurts like hell now, I don't think I can face the rock being moved without a pain-killer first."

"Understood." Hoshi said, able to smile now that she knew Liz would be all right, "Don't worry, I won't touch it. There's a team of Pal'lat engineers at the front of the building, and Trip and his team are also on their way. We'll have you out in no time." She paused and let her gaze harden. "What the hell were you doing in this building anyway?"

"The two biosigns were growing weaker, Hoshi." Liz said, "I thought it would be safe enough if we just went in to look for them." Liz smiled sheepishly and blushed. "Malcolm told me it was too risky, but came in anyway once he saw he couldn't stop me from going. Pretty stupid, huh?"

"Yeah, but not entirely unexpected." Hoshi smiled.

Liz smiled back. "I should work on that." Liz's embarrassed expression quickly changed to one of concern. "Have you seen Malcolm?" She asked.

"No." Hoshi said, "I was hoping he was with you."

Liz thought a moment. "He was, but I think he had gone ahead of me when the building came down." Raising her head a little, she scanned the surrounding area, then pointed with her free hand. "My guess would be that he's over there somewhere." She grimaced at the pain that small effort caused her.

"Don't move!" Hoshi admonished. "Let me go check." She stroked Liz's hair, then unzipped Liz's sleeve pocket and pulled out her communicator. "Contact Trip," Hoshi directed as she stood, "Tell him where to find you." Liz nodded and Hoshi bent quickly and gave the other woman a brief, passionate kiss. "I'll be back soon."

"Good luck." Liz called. "I hope he's okay." Hoshi nodded and held up two crossed fingers. She started making her way towards the direction Liz had indicated.

Malcolm was hurt, badly. Hoshi could tell that as soon as she saw his body lying half on his side, partially hidden by a pile of rubble. He was only a few steps away from Liz, but at this angle, Liz could not see him from her position. Hoshi knelt beside his head. His eyes were closed and his face was terribly pale, his lips nearly bloodless. Gently, she shook his shoulders, trying to see if he would awaken. "Malcolm?" She called to him. He didn't move. Quickly, she placed her fingers on his neck, checking for a pulse. It was there, but weak and thready. Hoshi bit her lip, trying to remember the first-aid training she had received as a cadet. "ABCs," she muttered to herself, "A, airway. It seems clear. B, breathing." She placed her hand on his chest and waited. Smiling slightly as she felt it rise and fall beneath her hand. "C, circulation." Hoshi worried her lip with her teeth. "He has a pulse…" Systematically, she began running her hands over every part of Malcolm she could reach, starting with his head. She ran her hands through his hair, down his neck, across his shoulders and down his arms, checking her palms frequently for signs of blood. There was none. Kneeling over him, she ran her hands down his back. The side of her palm struck something solid and when she pulled it away, her hand was covered in blood. "Where'd that come from?" Hoshi said. Bracing herself against the ground with one hand, she ran the other down the front of Malcolm's body. Her path was blocked by a piece of rock pressed into the right side of his abdomen. When Hoshi tried to move it, she realized it was stuck. She looked closer, peering at the way the rock was pressed into Malcolm's dark blue uniform.

"Oh my god." She whispered. "Liz!"

Liz's reply was immediate. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I found Malcolm!" Hoshi cried, not taking her eyes off of the offensive piece of stone. "He's unconscious. I think he fell on something when the building collapsed." Hoshi swallowed hard. "I think it went through him."

"What?" Liz's voice was horrified. "He's been impaled?"

"Yes." Hoshi said. "It appears to be some sort of metal rod. Liz," she moaned, "its gone completely through his right side."

Hoshi could hear Liz rustling. "Damn!" She cried, "I can't get my leg out from under this stone to come help you!"

"I have to get it out of him now!" Hoshi yelled.

"No!" Liz said, nearly shouting. "Don't touch it! His liver's on the right side. If you pull it out, he could bleed to death in a matter of minutes."

Hoshi immediately took her hands off the stone. "What should I do?" She asked, "I can't just leave it."

"There's not much you can do," Liz replied. "The rod can't be removed until he's with Dr. Phlox in sick bay." Liz paused. "Is he bleeding a lot?"

Hoshi checked the front and back of the wound again. The blood felt sticky and warm and Hoshi quickly rubbed her hands on her uniform to get rid of the feeling. "I don't think so," she said. "It's hard to tell in this dark."

"That's a relief," Liz said. "At least we have a bit of time. Undo the zipper and cuffs of his uniform." She instructed, "It will help his breathing and circulation a bit. Let him know you're there by talking to him, or something. It will make him feel better."

Hoshi unzipped the front of Malcolm's uniform, revealing the black undershirt beneath. She undid the buttons at his collar and cuffs. She picked up one of his hands and began to massage the palm. It was lifeless and felt cool to the touch. "It's okay, Malcolm." She said, feeling awkward and useless, "help is on the way." She rubbed his hand for a few seconds more, listening to the low murmur of Liz's voice as she contacted Trip. When she heard Liz finish, she called back, "His hands feel really cold Liz."

"He's probably going into shock. Damnit!" Liz swore again.

Hoshi raised her head and looked back towards Liz. She could just see the back of Liz's head at this angle. "Do you see Mon'it, or Trip?" Hoshi asked, trying to see back through the gloom.

She saw Liz wave her arm high above her head. "Over here!" the other woman called. Liz then brought her hand down and Hoshi heard a shrill whistle. Suddenly, she heard a babble of Pal'lat voices. Mon'it and his team had found them. Hoshi nearly sagged with relief.

"I need help here!" She shouted in Pal'lat, and a few moments later Mon'it and two members of his team were at her side. The rest were with Liz, removing the rock as gently as they could.

"How can we help?" Mon'it said, concern written across his features. He knelt down beside Hoshi, looking at the wounded man.

"It's Malcolm," Hoshi said, "He's been impaled by a metal rod, we have to move him—"

Mon'it stood up. He backed away from Malcolm and stopped. "We cannot help him." He said.

"What?" Hoshi said, "He's hurt, but he's still alive," she explained, thinking Mon'it had misunderstood. "If we can move him and the rod together-"

"No." Mon'it interrupted her. "We cannot help him." He gestured towards Malcolm. "He wears black next to his heart."

"Black next to his heart?" Hoshi said. She looked back at Malcolm and felt the colour drain from her face. "Oh no." She breathed. By undoing the zipper on his uniform, Hoshi had exposed the entire front of the Starfleet issue black undershirt. She turned to Mon'it. "It's not what you think," she said quickly, "It's part of our uniform—"

He cut her off. "No." He said again. "He wears black next to his heart. His wish is to die. Come," he said to his crewmembers, "Let us go and leave Ho'shi to the mourning ritual."

"No!" Hoshi screamed, standing up and pulling at Mon'it's arm. "If you leave now, he will die! We have to get him out of here! Look," She said, pointing at her collar and unzipping her uniform partway, "We all wear black under our jumpsuits. It doesn't mean anything."

Mon'it looked at her sharply. "We noted that you all wear black next to your hearts when you arrived." He said, irritation evident in his tone. "It is fitting for soldiers to wear black so. You wish to die."

"No." Hoshi said again, plaintively. "It's not for that, it's just a-" she stopped herself from continuing. She had tried that argument, but to a people where every colour was meaningful, there was no such thing as 'just a colour.' She tried a different tact. "Our outer uniforms are blue, doesn't that count?"

"Of course," Mon'it said, surprised, "You are not cold-blooded killers! But it is black next to your heart." He said with finality, as if that explained everything.

Hoshi stopped as an idea struck her. "We don't wear black next to our hearts!" She cried. Quickly she unzipped her boots and kicked them off. Then she undid her jumpsuit, letting it fall to the ground while she pulled off the offensive black undershirt.

"What are you doing?" Mon'it cried.

"Hoshi?" Liz called, "What's going on?"

Hoshi stood in the demolished building, hands on hips, naked except for her Starfleet issue blue tank top and underwear. "See?" She said triumphantly, "WE WEAR BLUE NEXT TO OUR HEARTS!"

"M-my mistake." Mon'it stammered, trying to look anywhere but at Hoshi's partially clad body. "We'll move your friend right now."

"Oh my." Liz said, gaping at Hoshi along with the two Pal'lats who supported her. She flashed Hoshi a broad smile. "I have no idea why you're in your underwear, but you sure do know how to cheer a girl up!"

"What the hell's goin' on?" Trip exclaimed, running in with his team of engineers.

In the distance, they could hear the sound of a shuttle pod landing.

"How are you feeling?" Hoshi asked. She was sitting in a chair beside Liz' biobed in Sick bay, properly dressed in a clean uniform. It had be three hours since the shuttle had returned to Enterprise, but only a few minutes since Dr. Phlox had allowed visitors in to see the patients. Hoshi had nearly run all the way from her quarters.

"Not bad," Liz smiled dreamily, "Dr. Phlox put some sort of amoeba on my neck." She sighed contentedly. "Feels great."

"I brought somebody to cheer you up." Hoshi winked, and placed a small brown teddy on Liz's stomach.

"You brought Mr. Bear!" Liz exclaimed, picking up the bear with both hands and bringing it close to her face. She looked up at Hoshi, "Won't you miss him?"

"I'll be alright," Hoshi winked. "I know he's in good hands." The two women smiled at each other, their eyes expressing volumes.

"Speaking of good hands," Captain Archer said, coming up behind Hoshi and placing his hands on her shoulders, "That was very quick thinking on your part down on the planet." He moved to stand beside her. "Your actions probably saved Malcolm's life."

Hoshi felt herself blush. "Thank you, sir." She murmured. "I'm sure anyone of the crew would have done it."

"Maybe," Jon agreed, "but only you had the comprehension, the nuance of the language and culture, to understand that showing the Pal'lat your underwear was going to be the only way to convince them that Malcolm would indeed want to live."

Her blush deepened. "I'm glad he's going to be okay."

"Me too." Jon said. He looked across sick bay to where Malcolm lay sleeping on another biobed. Trip standing next to him, gently brushing the hair back from his forehead. "I think I'll go see how Trip is doing." Patting Hoshi once on the shoulder, he left to join his Chief Engineer.

"Well!" Liz said, a huge smile on her face, "Compliments from the Captain, huh?"

"Stop it!" Hoshi laughed. She instantly sobered and picked up Liz's hand. "You know," she said, "In the end, we only found 17 survivors."

"Don't forget the other 21 that the Captain's team found." Liz replied, but she wasn't smiling either.

Hoshi gave her hand a light squeeze. "I wish we could have done more."

"Me too." Liz answered, sadness in her voice. "At least the Vulcans have arrived to take over."

"Yes." Hoshi replied simply. They sat in silence for a while.

"You know," Hoshi finally said, giving Liz a small smile, "I think I'll put my hair up with a yellow clip for a while."

Liz squeezed her hand back. "Me too." She said again. "Me too."