The BLTS Archive - Three Truths: Malcolm's Truth Fifth in the 1000 Raps series --- Spoilers: Two Days and Two Nights Comments: If anyone would like to borrow any of these aliens, go right ahead. there are 3 Truths; each one can be taken separately, yet they hinge together, like a series-within-a-series, if that makes any sense). the title is taken with great respect from _"The truth must be told, however harsh it may be; it may redden your eyes, but it won't blind you."_ by the Ivorian writer Ahmadou Kourouma's 1968 book 'The Suns of Independence'. (yes, I found this in the same book as the other quotes). Dedicated to Shi-Shi2525 & Dragoncait, I must admit my kick-in-de-arse comes from the great John W. Cambell's proverb "Show me a being that thinks as well as a man, but not *like* a man." ps: I sincerely apologize if I've misspelled any of the non-English words in this. note: This takes place only a day after the events of "Hoshi's Truth". I also give a few of my private Enterprise theories.like Hoshi's name. :) some of the more obscure languages: Nauhtl--language of the Mayans; Eusperka(sp)--language of the Basques; --- I wake up, and treasure the feel of Hoshi in my arms. Its been so long since we cuddled, just cuddling, sleeping platonically just for the feel of one another. Oh how I missed this. Seeing what time it is, I ease her alarm clock to a face-down position, so she won't bolt out of bed to get dressed for duty. I look at my sleeve--I am still dressed...as is Hoshi. So why do I have this sudden, irrational fear that somebody's going to come barging in here, and find us like this? Aach, let them find out...just not in such a way that Hoshi is embarassed. I couldn't bear that happening...maybe that's why we agreed on the route we took, with Starfleet. Hoshi makes one of her Early Morning Sounds as her throat tries to wake up before the rest of her--that's what it sounds like, and I wouldn't have things any other way. Everything about her is beautiful, even the little sounds. Hoshi finishes waking up, then turns to me. "What time is it?" she asks in drowsy Nauhtl, having noticed the down-turned clock. "It's early yet," I lie, a white lie. English is good for saying them. "Really?" she asks in Hindi, sounding like she doesn't believe me entirely, but will humour me. "And what did you have in mind?" Much as I'd like to give you another massage, dear, there are things to do. "Let's get you down to Sickbay," I suggest in Eusperka(sp). Health before duty, as my dad always told me. Just when we finally get out her front door, we encounter Mr. Tucker, who was about to ring the bell. "Hey Hoshi," he says full of American enthusiasm, then, more somberly, "Malcolm." "Hello," Hoshi replies. I say the same word, only in Kurdish. "Is he bothering you, Hoshi?" Commander Tucker asks. "Nyet," Hoshi assures him, in Russian. "Huh? Mind saying that again?" "She said nein," I tell him, switching to German on the final word. "C'mon, speak English, not Vulcan." That was a figure of speech, right? Me and Hoshi each raise an eyebrow, and she asks something that probably is Vulcan. "All right," Mr. Tucker says. "But just remember, Hoshi, that I tried to help." She nods, and Mr. Tucker finally leaves us alone. So the two of us make our way to Sickbay. The corridor to Dr. Phlox's lab is empty, but I would still be by Hoshi's side, even if the hall were filled with everyone in Starfleet. "If it's a boy..." Hoshi says to me, speaking in Thai. "It could be a girl," I suggest in the same language. Undoubtedly would be a beauty, like her mother; a face more worthy of worship than Helen of Troy or Aphrodite. "Well, assuming it's a boy," she says, "we could name him..." and she trails off. "It was, after all, my mother's favorite name." And the source of Hoshi's own, since she hadn't been born a boy; so Hoshi was given a variant spelling of it. I know what name she means. "No," I say gently. "Let's save that for the second son." Hoshi raises one of those graceful eyebrows. "You presume we're having at least two children." "No, but if it happens that we have more than one, I'm okay with that; and I'm okay if this is our only one." "Okay," she says, "but I was thinking more of Malcolm the second," to which I shake my head. I would never inflict my middle names on a child! The corridor isn't shaking, but my feet do feel something...something's coming. Why do I suddenly feel like Indiana Jones? It's a large sphere rolling down the corridor, that's why. I pull Hoshi to the side, with my back hitting the corridor wall, and then we turn so that I'd be the one struck by the sphere. But the sphere stops, and starts to uncurl. Turning to look, warily, I know that I've seen that face before..."A Hssk'khr," Hoshi says, recognizing it before I did. She also drops back to English. "Yes," it says. "You moved," it said, sounding remarkably like a whine. "What the bloody--were you doing that for?" I ask, refraining from the full curse, only because Hoshi was with me. "Commanded Tucking explained of bowlings," it replies, uncurling itself. Note to self: invite the Commander to army ant territory for lunch. "But why were you doing that?" Hoshi asks. "Performance of amusement." "Why are you so curious about forms of amusement?" Hoshi asks it. "We-all Hssk'khr must perform every form we can, knowing everything of entertainment. Only then may we sight the Humorous." Well then, I'm sure the Commander would be happy to help you play rugby, or Pin The Tail... "The humorous?" Hoshi and I ask as one. The entire Hssk'khr body bobs like part of a fishing line...which makes sense, since they don't have a neck. "The Humorous is Creator of All...even the Vulcans...and the Humorous is the Enlightener of Few." "If I can ask," Hoshi asks, "what exactly do you believe will happen when you know all the entertainments?" "Two wishes granted," answers the Hssk'khr. "Anythings requested, made manifest!" I'm no xenolinguist, but I bet that that's excitement. Even so..."Just two?" I ask. Why is it that I say things to aliens that I wouldn't say to most anyone on Enterprise? Is it because they don't know me, thus affording a slight anonimity(sp) ? "What is faulty with two?" it asks, sounding baffled. "Nothing," I assure it. "I just thought that, for all that hard work, your people would get more than just two wishes," unless one of them is for a lot more wishes. The eyes widen, but none of the shocked features Hoshi told me about. Then the alien wanders off, muttering to itself in Latin about the typically humanoid oddity of 'greed'. Shaking our heads at that, Hoshi and myself continue on our way to the Sickbay. --- SICKBAY --- "I've done a genetic analysis, Ensign," Dr. Phlox says to Hoshi. "And while the majority of the fetus is from your own genetic code, and the fetus is beginning to aquire some of Lieutenant Reed's genes." "And the rapid growth?" Hoshi asks, concerned. "Well, you have Lieutenant Reed to thank for that," he says. "Excuse me?" I ask. He's hardly noticed me during this visit; which is understandable, since Hoshi's the center, the focal point. And the center of my personal universe. "Contact with your DNA activated the dormant blastocyst," Dr. Phlox says. "Though contrary to what some Earth movies may claim, it wasn't keyed to your genes. You just happened to be the next gene donor." "You're sure about this?" I ask. I probably wouldn't understand it if he showed me the technical details, but I have to ask. He nods. "I do know my own species." "But...But he didn't say he was from Denobula," Hoshi says. "He was from --" "From -?" Dr. Phlox pronounces it, all however-many sylables it has. Hoshi nods. "That is the name of my world, just not the name used by the cultural majority of Denobulans." Oh no, Hoshi...Calm down, just calm down. You know, Doctor, it's your fault she's stammering; you just had to deliver a shock to her system. She hasn't stammered for a long time. I think the last time was when I proposed, atop the Pyramid of the Magician, on that special day of the year. Just when my wife looks like she's about to pass out, the intercomm beeps, then spews out the Captain's voice: "Lieutenant Reed, please report to the Bridge." I look at Hoshi, and she nods. With great reluctance, I part from her, going over to the comm unit on the wall, and answer: "Is it an emergency?" I ask. Yes, it's my shift; but I'm not leaving Hoshi at a time like this, not come Hell, high water, or Suliban flu. "Well, no...not yet," he answers, sounding baffled by my response. "Then I'll have to say, hold on, Captain. I'm busy," and I click the comm off. Okay, now to walk back over to my dear Hoshi. "Did I miss anything?" I ask her and the doctor. "No," she says. "But you didn't have to do that." I nod. "You're right. I chose to." She gives me a smile that means 'I hope you know what you're doing', and addresses Dr. Phlox: Hoshi--changing the subject to help her steady herself--tells Dr. Phlox about what happened to the Hssk'khr yesterday--specifically the dizzy spells and fainting. Dr. Phlox just nods, as though he expected as much. "The Hssk'khr are a fairly rare case study, an oddity in the ranks of sentient life," he says. "My uncle's second wife's third husband did quite a bit of research on them. They're like cheetahs on your planet." "Cheetahs?" I ask. He nods. "Genetically speaking, they're virtually identical." "So," Hoshi picks up the concept, "they were shocked by the thought that two dissimilar-looking people could be the same species, right?" "Quite." Well, to be fair, Mr. Tucker's not anywhere near as lovely as my Hoshi. Tucker. T'Pol. Archer. The Hssk'khr probably think they're all different species. A lightbulb goes off over my head, and I'm only sorry its taken this long to brighten. Yes, I should have done this months ago. I look to Hoshi, who gives me a nervous frown, but nods anyway. I nod in reply, and head back to the comms. "Sickbay to Captain Archer," I say. When he replies, I tell him, "Could you come down here? There's something you should know," and click it off again. Yes, I'm going to tell him the truth. Even if it kills me...though I don't relish the thought of what that would do to Hoshi. --- The End