Surefoot 07: Uncertainty Principle

She hugged back.

Unable to stop her towel from slipping off. "Um..."

"I'm going to close my eyes and turn around for a moment," he offered.

Blushing, she replied, "I'd appreciate that."

*

The descending sun had turned the normally aquamarine sky of Malbruk II a deep salmon pink, but lanterns on high poles had been erected in various places. There were tables of food and drink set out at the foot of the slope and a music player, but now, everyone was assembled in a semi-circle around Commander T'Varik, in dress uniform, as was Kami and Sasha, standing at her left side, watching as Hrelle and Giles, similarly clad, approached.

Hrelle stopped and tugged at the sides of his uniform. "They never make these things comfortable."

Giles tried to keep from fidgeting as well. "Thank you again for asking me to do this, Sir. It's an honour."

"I should be thanking you, Giles. I know this is technically shore leave for you and the others, but-"

"I owe you so much, Sir, it's the least I can do. Also, you've put out a lot of food and drink for us."

Hrelle chuckled. "You should know that, under Caitian law, the M'Traals also end up marrying each other today."

Giles stopped, paling. "You're kidding."

"Yes. Keep moving."

The two males walked up towards the summit, until Sasha stepped forward, her voice clear as she pointed at Hrelle. "I am the M'Traal to this female on this blessed day! Who approaches?"

Hrelle stopped, dropping to one knee, hands lowered, head bowed and answering in the expected fashion. "I am Esek Hrelle. I seek Kami Shall."

"What is your business with her?" she demanded.

"I would marry her. And we would have many babies that will far-"

But Sasha pointed at him warningly, cutting off the rest of his joke, before she looked to Kami for assent. The older female, looking radiant and proud, smiled and nodded.

As the quartet was complete, T'Varik to each of them in turn, her voice carrying to the assembled cadets and crew. "Since the days of the first wooden vessels, all ship's masters have had one honoured privilege: that of uniting two people in the bonds of matrimony. And so we are gathered here today with you, Kami Shall, and you, Esek Hrelle, in the sight of your fellows, in accordance with our laws and our many beliefs so that you may pledge yourselves to each other. Please touch."

The couple reached out and clasped hands.

"Kami, do you take Esek to be your lawfully-wedded spouse?"

She smiled as she gazed into his eyes. "I do."

"Esek, do you take Kami to be your lawfully-wedded spouse?"

He smiled back. "I most certainly do."

"Kami Shall, Esek Hrelle, with the power vested in me by Starfleet Command and the United Federation of Planets, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss, or show some other display of affection you would prefer."

Hrelle smirked. "Not in front of these dirty bastards."

The couple embraced, nuzzling into each other, as the crowd cheered.

*

Night came quickly, the stars dazzling in a lazy river that cut across the sky, held back as were the insects by the lights around the party. People danced, ate, laughed, and congratulated the newlyweds.

"Captain? Counselor?"

Hrelle and Kami turned to face T'Varik, Hrelle responding with, "Thank you for your help today, Commander, and with arranging all this."

"I must thank you for the honour of performing the ceremony. I understand it is a rare privilege."

"Well, I never got to do it in my time on the Furyk, and I doubt if the opportunity will ever arise on the Surefoot. So congratulations."

Kami moved in and hugged T'Varik. "Thank you, sweetheart. For everything."

The Vulcan accepted the contact with expected aplomb. "Now, if you will excuse me, I will return to the ship and take command again."

"Oh? Are you sure you want to go so soon? The party's just getting into full swing."

"I have had sufficient enjoyment this evening, and there is much preparation to be made for the Grappler's arrival tomorrow, and the disposition of Lt. Aiken." She offered them the Vulcan salute. "Peace and Long Life, to both of you."

Hrelle smiled. "And to you, T'Varik."

She nodded and departed.

Hrelle turned to Kami, realising he hadn't let go of her for more than an instant since the vows were exchanged. "You take my breath away. And speaking as someone exposed to the vacuum of space, I know what I'm talking about."

"No need to sweet talk me, you've got me now- but you don't have to stop, either."

He chuckled. "Well? Shall we dance some more? Or shall we depart for our shelter for a... lie down?"

She eyed down. "Just a lie down?"

He shrugged. "Well, eventually we'll lie down." His hand moved up to stroke her face, her mane. "Thank you. Thank you for making the happiest male in the Galaxy."

She drew in, purring against his neck, before replying in a murmur, "Think you'll still be feeling happy when you're the one getting up at 0300 Hours to feed our cub?"

He started, drawing back. "Cub?" He glanced down between them, as if his eyes could scan into her.

"No, idiot, I'm not pregnant." She smiled. "It *is* something to discuss though, isn't it?"

He smiled.

*

Malbruk II Colonial Base, Detention Centre:

Martin Aiken lay on his bunk, awake, desperately wishing for sleep; the hyperzine he had taken to temporarily boost his abilities were still in his system, preventing sleep. And the base doctor refused to give him anything to help him, which was tantamount to cruel and unusual punishment, at least in Aiken's view.

But Aiken didn't mind so much. He would win out in the end. Not with regards to the sleep - but with the knowledge that, with the people he had watching out for him, he would never face trial. They promised him that.

The lights suddenly went out, shifting to a minimal red backup system. He blinked, sitting up eventually as he looked out through the wide doorway. The station where the guard was usually posted was unoccupied; Aiken had heard him called away on business moments before, but didn't think anything of it.

His heart quickened. Was this it? They were helping him escape now?

Before he could react further, he heard a door outside slide open; seconds later, Professor Solberg stepped into view, moving briskly, without the aid of a cane. "Lieutenant."

The younger man rose from the bunk. "Now? They're getting me out of here?"

Solberg held up a hand. "No. This is just so I can debrief you without the security devices recording my presence." He suddenly pressed his thumb against the side of Aiken's neck. "Sit down."

Aiken frowned at the man's actions, but complied, looking up at him. "When am I getting out of-"

"You really screwed this one up, didn't you?" Solberg told him, sneering. "You had one job to do here: ensure my colleagues were conditioned enough to forward their findings on the Spheres to me and not the Federation Science Council, so that I could pass it on to our real employers. Imagine what they could have done with machines that could alter probability in their favour, helping them win battles, defeat enemies-"

Aiken rubbed at his eyes. "Yeah, well, the Spheres are all gone now, aren't they? Looks like I'm not the only one who screwed up, huh?"

Solberg shrugged. "Fortunes of Science; I'll be forgiven, especially when I blame it all on Starfleet. You, however, are an entirely different matter altogether. When the Surefoot was called here, you were given specific instructions to contrive a way to get into Hrelle's head and learn what you could. You could have played it by the book, saved your boosted abilities for the man himself and got us everything we needed to know. Instead, you used this opportunity to try to get off this rock, and away from our employers." He grunted. "As if you could."

Aiken felt himself sweat, his head pounding. "Get out of here, leave me alone, I feel awful. The comedown from the hyperzine-"

"No. It's the Nanites you ate with your meal tonight." He held up his thumb, displaying a tiny silver dot in the centre. "I just activated them. They're on their way now to your carotid artery, programmed to create a lethal clot. You'll be unconscious in about sixty seconds, and dead soon after, seemingly a side-effect of hyperzine abuse; you have that long to tell me what I need to know."

Aiken looked up at him, his heart pounding. He tried to stand up, but Solberg pushed him down again. "You have about fifty-five seconds now. Why was Hrelle assigned to this sector?"

"I- I don't know, I never melded with his mind-"

"What about his Counselor? The cadets? She's his lover! You must have picked up some secondary data!"

Sweat felt like it was pouring down his face now, and his vision was turning red. "It's- It's just a training mission, hauling supplies around, maintenance, that's all-"

"Nonsense. They wouldn't assign someone with Hrelle's experience and expertise here unless they suspected something. What about all the communications traffic we picked up between his ship and Starfleet Intelligence these last few months?"

"He's- he's had a feud going on between him and Admiral Arrington, a long-running feud-"

"And he just happened to stumble on the Nausicaan contract on the freighter Beholder?"

Aiken nodded. "It- It was an accidental discovery... please, don't-"

"So as far as you learned, he doesn't know about any of the other operations our employers are running here in this sector?"

Aiken shook his head, clutching his neck. "Please- Please help me-"

Solberg finally nodded. "I'll pass that on. Thank you for your cooperation, Lieutenant." He turned to leave.

"Wait!" Aiken tried to rise, but dropped to his knees as if in supplication. "You said- You said if I told you what you needed to know, you'd spare my life!"

Solberg stood in the doorway and grunted. "I never said anything of the sort. I said you had about sixty seconds to tell me what I needed to know before unconsciousness and death overtook you.

The Bel-Zon don't reward betrayal, Lieutenant.

Goodbye..."

THE ADVENTURES OF THE SUREFOOT WILL CONTINUE IN... THE WALKING WOUNDED