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Malcolm was waiting outside the mess hall doors when Hoshi approached. He’d obviously showered, to judge by his slightly damp hair, and had changed into black jeans and a grey shirt, making her glad that she, too, had taken the time to shower and change into blue jeans and her favourite teal t-shirt. It was a gym shirt, technically, but the material was soft, the hems didn’t irritate her skin, and the colour was bright and cheerful without being overpowering.
“Right on time, Ens- Hoshi,” Malcolm corrected himself with a quick smile. “Just a heads-up, Trip and Travis are already inside and said they’d hold seats for us. They’re probably almost finished, though, knowing how fast they eat.” He flashed a grin at her, gesturing for her to precede him through the mess hall doors.
She grinned back at him, nodding in thanks as she went to stand in line, turning to one side so they could continue to converse instead of him staring at her back. “I hope Trip remembers to keep the seat in the corner for you,” she remarked. At his look of surprise, she chuckled. “I’ve noticed you like to keep a wall at your back; two if possible. I assume it’s so no one can creep up on you while you’re unaware, and the table we usually use has a great line of sight across the mess hall.”
“Well, yes, on both counts.” Hoshi knew immediately what he was thinking.
“Don’t worry, you’re not exactly predictable, Malcolm,” she reassured him. “It’s simply what makes sense as a tactical and security officer, after all. I can’t imagine a tactical chief worth their salt would leave themselves open to sneak attacks.” As she spoke, Hoshi inspected the meals on offer, selecting a mango chicken curry and some lime-coconut sticky rice pudding for dessert.
Malcolm chose the same, and chuckled upon noticing her raised eyebrows. “I do like something other than pineapple, you know. These are some of the foods I used to have in Malaysia and Chef does a pretty good job of recreating them when they show up on the menu.” He leaned a little closer as they made their way to the drink dispenser, dropping his voice. “Don’t tell, but the sticky rice pudding was adapted from a Thai national dish, and I asked Chef to forego the green bell peppers in the mango chicken. Too bitter.”
Hoshi smothered a grin. “Your secret’s safe with me,” she promised, placing her order of green tea on her tray. Across the room she could see Trip and Travis at their usual table, so headed that way once Malcolm had grabbed a glass of reconstituted mango juice.
“Hey Hoshi, wanna join us?” came a voice from her left, and she looked over to see Malcolm's second-in-command, Esk Parker, sitting with Janelle Kelly and Mike Rostov from Trip’s engineering team.
“Can’t right now, guys, but breakfast tomorrow?” she answered. Janelle and Mike nodded in the affirmative, the former’s smile lighting up the room as usual. Rostov glanced at Hoshi as he nodded, then immediately returned his gaze to Janelle, seemingly unable to keep his eyes off that grin. Esk’s eyes slid to her boss walking a few steps behind Hoshi, and her eyes widened, then narrowed, as enlightenment dawned.
“Won’t make breakfast, but we’ll have our usual sparring session tomorrow night, okay?” She tipped her chin at Malcolm, saying "Boss," and he nodded back, smiling.
“Sounds good, Esk. See you then.”
Trip had, indeed, saved the wall seats; Malcolm gestured for Hoshi to take the one under the window, then sat himself down in the corner seat so he had a wall at his back, Hoshi on his left, and a clear path to his right should he need to jump up in a hurry. Trip sat opposite him and Travis opposite Hoshi.
“Not havin' tea tonight, Mal?” Trip asked, noticing the mango juice. Malcolm looked up and shook his head, taking a sip of juice.
“Normally I’d have coconut milk with this meal,” he explained. “I’m not a fan of green tea, and standard black tea with milk just wouldn’t do.” Trip's lips twitched as he listened to the explanation.
“Never thought yer tastes would stretch to so many options,” he said cheerily. “I allus pegged you for a tea, coffee, and orange juice man.”
“Not at all, Commander,” Malcolm returned placidly, then revised the name as he saw the chief engineer frown. “Trip. Malaysia is a country with a wealth of flavours and experiences. I couldn’t stick to three flavours if I tried. Normally I’d have Teh Tarik, but that’s a little more involved than the beverage dispenser allows for.” He continued eating, looking up as the silence stretched on. Trip and Travis were staring at him, eyes slightly narrowed. Trip's lips were parted and Travis's mouth was pursed and twisted to one side. They were clearly bewildered, he thought privately. Hoshi was calmly eating her dinner, her eyebrow quirking at him as he glanced her way.
Pressing her lips together to keep from laughing, Hoshi put down her fork and asked on behalf of the others, “What’s Teh Tarik, Malcolm?” They looked faintly relieved that she’d taken the pronunciation out of their hands.
Malcolm put down his fork in turn and lifted his napkin to his lips, hiding his smile. Hoshi’s eyes twinkled his way before she returned her gaze to her plate, lips twitching ever so slightly. The armoury officer took a sip of juice before replying.
“It’s a black tea drink, but it’s not prepared the usual way. It’s almost equal quantities of strong black tea and sweetened condensed milk, poured from one cup to another until the drink is creamy. I have it whenever I’m back in Malaysia, but it’s so rich and sweet and strong that I limit myself to one a day.” He picked up his fork again. “I’d make it here, but it’s a long and involved process, and frankly, part of the fun is watching the street vendors or waiters prepare it. I’ll take you some time.” He glanced up from under his eyelashes, noting Trip and Travis smirking. “ All of you.”
“That sounds delicious,” Hoshi admitted. “I’m sure the others would be most pleased to take you up on your offer - I know I plan to.” Her eyes swivelled meaningfully to the chief engineer and helmsman, who hastily agreed.
"What was it like growing up in Malaysia?" asked Travis, his tone curious. "You seem so... well, British. Like someone who'd never been out of the country." Trip snorted, and Travis blushed, ducking his head. "Sorry, Malcolm. No offence."
Malcolm's lips pursed momentarily in amusement. "None taken," he assured the young helmsman. "My father was a navy man, so technically I grew up all over the world. We just happened to spend the longest time in Malaysia. But since we usually lived in expat compounds, I was able to retain my ... shall we say, innate Britishness." His smile took any sting from his words, and Travis' expression brightened. Malcolm took a bite of his dinner and swallowed before continuing. "As to what it was like living there, it would take too long to describe. I suppose the easiest would be to say it was hot, crowded, full of history, filled with amazing smells, delicious food, and friendly people; safe, incredibly diverse, and utterly beautiful." He paused. "Sounds like a travel ad, I suppose, but then I've never been very good at descriptions. On a personal level, I miss the cultural festivals and the food most of all."
"Sounds like you wish you were back there, Mal," Trip mused. "Well, I guess since your folks are there..." He trailed off, glancing at Travis, missing the way Malcolm's smile twisted briefly.
"I visit Kuala Lumpur every now and then," he offered, and continued eating.
Hoshi opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it. If Malcolm didn't want Trip and Travis to know that his parents didn't live in Kuala Lumpur, he had his reasons, and it wasn't for her to tell his story. She sipped her green tea instead, warming her hands on the mug.
“Well, it’s been great chattin' to y'all, but I’m bushed,” said Trip. “So I’ll say g'night and see y'all on the bridge tomorrow mornin'.”
“Same,” said Travis, standing and picking up his tray. “See you at 6, Hoshi, Malcolm.” He gave an abashed grin when the tactical officer winked at him.
The two headed off across the busy mess hall, Trip veering off to speak to Rostov and Kelly, Travis to Liz Cutler at a nearby table, before depositing their trays in the disposal area and disappearing through the mess hall doors.
“Finally,” he murmured. “Not that I don’t like being around them, but they were getting in the way of you finishing your story.”
A little chagrined that he remembered, Hoshi hesitated, but his expression was so charmingly expectant, eyes twinkling and nose faintly wrinkled, that she had to give in. “What would you like to know, si- Malcolm?” she asked, resigned to regaling her clearly mischievous senior officer with the tale of one of her more embarrassing moments.
He winked. “Don’t worry, I’m not planning on having you rehash the entire thing,” he reassured her. “I confess that I am intrigued, of course, so I’d like to know a little more about this feat.”
Hoshi relaxed a little. “I don’t mind telling you; it’s just a little embarrassing since I lost control and got kicked out of Starfleet; and I’d rather tell you something that paints me in a good light,” she confessed. “But then, who doesn’t want their senior officer to think well of them?”
“You managed to break your commander’s arm when you were still a cadet, and I would presume he was properly trained to prevent that; I’d say that’s a good light, certainly for your security chief.” She looked up suspiciously, in case he was teasing, but his face was open and guileless and she realised that he was serious.
“Well, what he didn’t know is that I have a black belt in aikido. I know you know, of course, because it’s on my profile now. And I know a few other martial arts that aren’t listed on my profile, although I was far more proficient back then.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Now I’m even more intrigued. Which ones?”
“I grew up between Brazil and Japan, so as part of my dance lessons I got into capoeira; and then I also mixed in jiu-jitsu since it’s practised in both countries, and some Wado-ryu karate to go along with the jiu-jitsu.” Malcolm looked impressed, so she hastened to clarify. “I wasn’t an expert by any means, aside from my black belt in aikido. And I haven’t used most of them in years, except capoeira; I resumed it when I was teaching in Brazil, before Captain Archer convinced me to join the mission.”
“Well, I was going to offer you combat training lessons, but it seems you’ve got that well in hand.” His smile took any sting out of his words.
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that; just because I can perform katas and spar with Esk doesn’t mean I’m combat-ready. She regularly kicks my as- my behind,” Hoshi said, hastily correcting her wording.
Malcolm's lips twitched once more. "Esk's very good at that; she even takes me down fairly frequently. So in the spirit of camaraderie, I promise to let you kick my arse at least once a training session," he offered, and she let out a surprised giggle, clapping her hand over her mouth before she attracted too much attention. He grinned at her reaction and began eating his dessert while she composed herself.
“What about you, what martial arts do you use in your combat training sessions?” she inquired, digging into her own dessert with gusto. The lime and coconut were fresh on her tongue, the dessert chilled and delicious, and she savoured her bite while she waited for him to continue.
“Well, I was fascinated by the local martial arts in Malaysia, although my father wanted me to learn karate - which didn’t make much sense in a country that wasn’t Japan and already had its own fighting style, but he insisted.” His mouth twisted wryly before he continued. “So I took up Goju-ryu karate and on the side I started learning silat , the Indonesian-Malaysian art; and added muay-thai and taekwondo for good measure. I was a bit of an overachiever, so I also learned a bit of hapkido when I was in Korea, specifically with weapons. Perhaps you can teach me capoeira; I'm always interested in learning more. But in general I just throw everything into one pot and use whatever works at the time.”
“Like MMA fighting?” Hoshi asked, spooning more rice pudding into her mouth.
“Mixed martial arts? Yes, precisely. Now, Ensign Sato,” she looked up quickly at him using her rank, and saw the smile before he hid it, “don’t think I’ve missed that you’ve somehow managed to evade the topic of your commander. I still want to know what happened.”
One side of her mouth quirked, and she looked away. “I should have known you’d notice,” she confessed, and looked back at him. “Okay, for real this time.” She took a breath and marshalled her thoughts, then began. “One of my tutors taught me card games to help me with mathematics, and I turned out to be good at poker. So, when I went to Starfleet Academy, I started a poker game on the weekends. Just weekends, mind you - the Academy’s rules are pretty strict, after all.”
Malcolm’s grey eyes were steady on hers; he’d finished his dessert, pushed away his tray, and was now sipping from his mango juice as he listened.
“Um, I was - not making bank, but doing fairly well; I was the head player, after all, and it became a game itself for the others to try and beat me. We didn’t play for much, at least not in terms of credits; but I generally won anyway, so it became a point of pride to win against me.”
She shrugged and looked away, her eyes going unfocused. “My commander heard about the game and somehow found out where we were holding that weekend’s session. He barged his way in - he was a commander, after all - and demanded to be let into the game to ‘show an upstart how to play.’” A faint frown crossed her face, then was gone. “I said no, this was an invitation-only game, and he wasn’t invited. He started sweeping the chips and cards off the table, and I grabbed his arm to stop him, and…” Her eyes came back to his, a little frown back between her eyes. “Well, we got into a tussle and that’s when I broke his arm. By the time security got there, I’d made everyone clear out to stay out of trouble, so it was his word against mine, and we know how that goes.” She took a deep breath. “And that’s how I got kicked out of Starfleet.”
Now Malcolm was frowning. “And the Academy didn’t take your side into account?” She shrugged again, and said nothing, her eyes dropping to her plate, where she toyed with her spoon. “Who was this commander?”
Hoshi looked up at that. “I’d rather not say, if you don’t mind,” she said quietly. “He’s still in a position of some authority and I don’t want to risk being taken off the ship.”
“Hoshi-” he began, and she stopped him with a sharp shake of her head.
“Not going to say, Malcolm,” she said tightly, her tone making it clear that the matter was closed. For a moment they stared at each other tensely before he nodded and she relaxed slightly, a small smile crossing her face. “Tell me more about Malaysia,” she urged. “How long did you live there in total?”
“Five years,” Malcolm responded, allowing himself to be diverted. “I joined Starfleet from there.” For a while they talked of inconsequential things, until Malcolm said, “Looks like we may be outstaying our welcome,” and Hoshi looked up and realised that the mess hall was nearly empty.
“Oh,” she said in surprise. “I didn’t realise… I’m sorry to have kept you talking for so long.” She’d flushed, and now pushed herself away from the table, about to stand and pick up her tray. Malcolm put out a hand to forestall her.
“Hoshi, if it’s not too forward of me … would you like to watch a movie with me? In my quarters,” he added self-consciously. “It’s still early, and I’ve been enjoying the company.”
She looked at him in surprise. “If you’re sure,” she said hesitantly. “I know you’re not exactly comfortable fraternising, especially with lower ranks.” Now it was his turn to flush.
“Well, we’re going to be on this ship together for a long time, so it’d be nice to make some friends along the way,” he explained. “And since I got it so terribly wrong when you were trying to find out my favourite food, let me make it up to you by putting myself in the same boat.” He grinned. “You could always decline on the grounds that it might be awkward working together.”
That surprised a laugh out of her, and the tension drained away. “I think I can overlook that, Malcolm. I’d love to join you for a movie.”
“Excellent. Let’s go, then. Do you like action, adventure, or intrigue?”
“Got anything with zombies or dinosaurs or kaiju?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”