With a sigh, she shook her head. "I cannot believe that I was afraid
of you two. You are just so---pathetic."
Their pride stung, the two men exchanged glances. They weren't sure
how to deal with this. "Are you tired of playing hard to get? Is that
it, chica?" Longoria purred. "Is this your way of letting us know
you've changed your mind? That now you're interested?"
Malista's jaw dropped. "Oh, Zeus! Tom was right! You two really are
dimwits!"
"You told Paris---what did you tell Paris?" Castelle hastily rephrased
his question to avoid incriminating himself. He wasn't prepared to
bet the Security Officers couldn't hear the conversation, no matter
how far away they were.
"It doesn't matter what she told Paris or anyone else," Longoria
snapped viciously. His handsome face seemed twisted and ugly. "It
still comes down to her word against ours. Remember that and keep your
mouth shut!"
"Oh, Tom's not the only one I told," Malista informed them. "I filed a
formal report with Lieutenant Tuvok. I'm sure he's read it by
now---and passed it on to Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay."
"You can't *prove* anything!" Longoria reiterated.
Shadow gifted him with an extremely insincere smile. "Oh, I don't
think I'll be pressing formal charges," she told them earnestly. "I
just wanted my side of the story to be on the record just in case...."
She let her voice trail off.
"In case what?" Castelle blurted.
"You boys really aren't very bright, or you're very new at this. One
of the rules of victimizing others is that you should pick on someone
who won't fight back." Malista strolled closer, fighting not to flinch
away as they ogled her figure. She refused to back off any longer.
"Now as Tom and George---" She tossed a look and a smile in Natwick's
direction before returning her attention to her targets and
continuing, "As Tom and George said, my main mistake was that I
thought if I ran from you and avoided you, that you would figure out
that I wasn't interested in playing games with you. Evidently I
overestimated your intelligence."
"Now, listen you---" Longoria started to his feet, but caught a
glimpse of the snarling visage of George Natwick and dropped back onto
the bleacher.
"No, *you* listen. I am going to have my say! After that, you can go
for all I care. For the record, I am NOT interested in a relationship
with either or both of you, sexual or otherwise. I want you to pretend
I'm invisible and I'll do the same. Unless it's on a matter of ship's
business I don't want to see you, talk to you, or acknowledge your
existence. Is that clear? Or do I need to spell it out for you?"
The two exchanged sullen glances and didn't speak.
"There was one more thing you overlooked in choosing me as your
victim," Shadow added. She began pacing back and forth in front of
them, arms folded tightly across her chest in unconscious imitation of
Tom Paris. "And that is the fact that everyone has their limits. Now,
you two attended Starfleet Academy. I'm just a simple farm girl from a
small outworld colony so I don't have your level of sophistication or
education or training." She stopped to take a deep breath.
She was maintaining eye contact and speaking with conviction, no
hesitation evident as she continued. "But one thing I do have, I was
trained to fight. By my brothers. By the Maquis. And by my natural
instincts as a proud Greek. Greeks quite frequently have hot tempers
and we fight fiercely when we choose to fight. I know you might not
have noticed. I haven't given much evidence of my fighting abilities
since I've been on Voyager. You probably think I'm a coward or a
fragile doll. But you are wrong."
She stopped directly in front of them. "Castelle, when you confronted
me in the turbolift, you have no idea how much danger *you* were in.
Longoria, when you accosted me in the lab and cornered me, you don't
have the faintest idea how close you came to pushing me over the edge
of rational behavior."
"What are you talking about now, chica?" Longoria sneered
contemptuously.
"I'm talking about this," Malista said quite calmly. She was suddenly
holding a wicked looking knife with a long blade in her right hand and
she was holding it as if she knew how to wield it. "And DON'T call me
chica."
Natwick, Simms, and Hudson snapped to attention. A weapon? 'Where the
hell did she hide that thing in those tights?' all three of them
wondered. George made a mental note to ask her later. He was always
interested in possible hiding places for concealed weapons.
It was a question which also occurred to those behind the holographic
curtain. Janeway threw a look of consternation at Tuvok and Chakotay,
before turning her gaze to the others. Harry Kim looked appalled.
B'Elanna was beaming with approval.
Tom Paris was trying much too hard to look innocent as he thought,
'Oops. Forgot to talk to her about that damned knife!'. With a weak
smile, Paris shrugged helplessly at his captain and turned his
attention back towards the scene in the center of the holodeck.
"When you two started targeting me, I started carrying this. It
belonged to my great-great-grandfather." Malista caressed the blade
with her left hand, pricking her index finger with the sharp point.
She watched the drop of blood bead up, then placed the tip of her
finger in her mouth and sucked on it in an unconsciously sensuous
manner.
Longoria and Castelle abruptly felt a need for a drink. A strong
drink. "You wouldn't have used that thing---" Castelle blustered.
She thoughtfully regarded first the knife then him. With a scary
smile, she pointed the knife at him. "Oh, yes. I would have. If you'd
cornered me. If you'd touched me one more time. If I had been sure you
sent those messages. If you'd scared me a little bit more than you
did. If you'd threatened to rape me---"
"We never threatened to rape anyone!" Longoria protested, as if
outraged.
"Oh, I got very, very close to using this on you," Shadow said almost
wistfully. "When you ambushed me in the lab. When you trapped me
between the bulkhead, the table, and you. When you touched me without
my permission and wouldn't let me move away from you. I was just about
to pull this little darling out of my boot when Gerron came in." She
caressed the knife fondly and went on in the same sweet, hard voice.
"I was on the verge of gutting you. And I would have claimed it was
self defense. With that tear in my uniform and the cut on my shoulder,
I think they would have believed me. You really should thank Gerron
Tem, Lieutenant. He saved your life."
Longoria, looking into her eyes, believed every word. "We didn't mean
any harm!" he objected. He was suddenly very glad for his own sake
that the three Security Officers were present. The woman was a
barbarian! A knife?
Somehow the knife in Malista's hand disappeared back into its hiding
place. This freed her hands
to gesticulate as she drove home her
point. "You didn't care how you made me feel! You scared me and you
liked the feeling it gave you! Every time I scurried out of your path
or dodged your groping hands, you got some kind of sick thrill because
you had power over me. And I was so stupid that I thought if I made
myself less attractive, you would leave me alone. But that just fed
into your power fantasy, didn't it? You expanded your game to other
Maquis women because I never told you no and made it stick. Well, now
I'm telling you clearly so you can't possibly misunderstand me! NO!
I'm NOT interested in you or your games! No, I won't be your victim
any more! It stops NOW!!" It was a command, imperious and definite. "I
don't know if the captain will take some kind of disciplinary action
against you. All I wanted to tell you is that you will NOT treat me as
a sexual toy!" Her ferocity was supremely convincing.
"You think Kim will---"
"Shut up! You're not fit to speak Harry Kim's name!" She paused until
her glare caused them to subside back into silence. "My personal
relationships are just that---personal and none of your concern. My
friends know what you've done and how you've behaved. If this ever
happens again---to any woman on this ship---you will have ME to deal
with. And Captain Janeway, Commander Chakotay, Lieutenant Tuvok, Tom
Paris, B'Elanna Torres, Harry Kim....and others. Your lives will
become a living hell if you persist in this kind of behavior. It will
not be tolerated. I would suggest you get some counseling. If the only
way you can attract a woman's attention is by torturing her and
sending her obscene messages, then you have some psychological
problems that need to be addressed." With that final outburst, Malista
took a few steps back to allow them room to stand.
Slightly paler than when they'd arrived, the two men got to their
feet. "Can we leave now?" Castelle choked out.
"Please do." Malista calmly watched them go. As soon as the doors slid
closed behind them, she took a deep breath and shakily sank down onto
the nearest bleacher. Her whole body was trembling with reaction to
the stress.
Natwick, Simms, and Hudson were at her side in moments. "Are you
okay?" Ethan asked.
Shadow shook her head, got to her feet, and concentrated on getting
her breathing back under control. "Computer, end program," she said as
soon as she was able. She wanted to get out of there. The sudden
appearance of the hidden watchers took her breath away again.
It was almost a race to see who would reach her first, Harry Kim or
Tom Paris. It was a tie. Harry pulled her up and into his arms,
locking her into a tight embrace that she welcomed with a smile and a
sigh. "I thought you were going to be in the Security Office!"
The others present backed away slightly, forming a half circle, trying
not to crowd the shaken young woman.
"Tom lied," Kim announced, passing the blame for a mutual decision
without a twinge of conscience.
"Hey!" Paris exclaimed. "That's not fair! You agreed----"
"It doesn't matter," Torres interrupted. "You did very well! If they
don't get the message now---"
Tuvok stepped forward, catching the captain's eye. "There is a
security issue to be addressed. Carrying concealed weapons without
permission is a violation of four separate Starfleet regulations." He
ignored the impatient looks sent his way from several of those
present.
"Yes. Ms. Shadow? About that knife?" Kathryn Janeway inquired in a
dangerously ominous tone.
Shadow straightened away from Harry and came to attention. With an
impossibly innocent expression, she asked, "What knife, Captain?"
Gray eyes locked with green in silent communication.
'Damn!' Paris thought. 'She's good. If I hadn't seen it myself, I'd
doubt the knife's existence myself.'
All eyes were on the two women waiting for the next volley. A smile
twitched at Janeway's lips. "IF there was a knife, and IF it was being
carried as a concealed weapon, that would be a blatant violation of
ship's policy and Starfleet regulations. You do understand that,
Crewman Shadow?"
The taller woman nodded an acknowledgment. "IF there was a knife and
IF it was being carried as a concealed weapon because someone didn't
feel safe---well, that wouldn't be a problem any more, would it?"
Janeway conceded the logic of that statement with a tilt of her head.
"That's true."
Commander Chakotay stepped forward and took Shadow's hand.
"Congratulations, Malista. You did a very good job of standing up for
yourself today. I don't think you'll have any more trouble from those
two."
"I just have one question," Tom said angrily. "What was that about
Longoria cornering you in the Science lab? You told me they brushed up
against you. You didn't tell me they got physically threatening----"
"Tom, it's over," B'Elanna insisted, trying to distract him.
Stubbornly, Paris stared at Shadow, nonverbally demanding an answer.
With Paris before her and Kim behind her, she could have been forgiven
for feeling trapped. It didn't seem to bother her, however.
With matching obstinacy showing in the chin she raised in his
direction, she told Tom the blunt truth. "If I had told you about it,
you would have overreacted."
"Overreacted?" Tom erupted. "To some pervert assaulting my *sister* !!
You're damned right I'd react---"
"And get yourself in trouble!!" Malista shouted right back in his
face. "It was my problem and I took care of it! That's what you
wanted, that's what I did, so get out of my face about it!"
George Natwick, the troublemaker, began to clap. He was quickly joined
by Simms, Hudson, the Delaneys, and all the others present---except
for Tom Paris, who stood blushing a fiery red as a grin stole across
his face. He wrinkled his nose at Shadow. "Damn, Sis. Teach you a bit
of independence and you just take the hoverball and smash it back at
me!" He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.
Slightly embarrassed, Shadow smiled gently at him. "I'm sorry, Tom.
I'm the one who's overreacting now. I'm just---edgy, I guess."
"Oh, don't let him off the hook that easily," Torres complained. "At
least make him apologize!"
Paris turned a frown on his beloved. Before he could speak, Malista's
words drew his attention once more.
"No, really, it is my fault. I should have told him everything. But if
you had known about it and something had---" She broke off and
swallowed hard. "If the hypothetical knife had been used, you would
have been an accessory. I didn't want to be to blame for dragging you
into that kind of mess. I never should have let it go this far. George
was right. They were bullies and cowards. I would have seen that for
myself if I just wasn't so stupid---"
Tom reached forward and smacked her lightly on the shoulder to get her
attention. "I told you before: Don't call yourself stupid!"
In a heartbeat, Tom found himself nose to nose with a
furious Harry
Kim who'd placed himself between Malista and Paris. "You keep your
hands off her!"
No one could recall ever having seen Harry lose his temper before, but
lost it he had---and with his best friend.
Taken aback, Tom blinked and, though indignant at Kim's reaction,
tried to placate his friend. "Hey, Harry, she hits me like that all
the time! You know I wouldn't hurt her! I just want her to remember
that I told her not to call herself 'stupid'."
"Harry, it didn't hurt," Malista said placatingly, trying
unsuccessfully to get around Kim and between the two men.
"That's not the point!" Kim insisted tersely, still glaring up at
Paris.
The lieutenant was righteously indignant. "I'm allowed to touch her!
She doesn't mind! She's my sister!"
Not appeased in the slightest, the furious Kim yelled, "Well, she may
be your *sister* but she's going to be my WIFE and you and everybody
else better keep your hands off of her!"
A profound silence hung in the air for several seconds. B'Elanna
Torres was the first to recover her voice. "Were you planning on
asking her, Starfleet? Or are you just going to order her to show up
for the wedding?" she asked dryly.
Harry's brain abruptly caught up with Harry's mouth. His mouth opened
and closed several times as he tried to get up the courage to turn and
see Malista's reaction.
Janeway clapped a hand over her mouth and refused to look at Chakotay
Trials 04 Shadow's Trial Page 52