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youvebeenlivingfictional · 5 years ago

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The Captain’s Woman Part Five

Previous Part | Next Part | Masterlist Pairing: MirrorVerse!Pike x Reader Notes: Long-ish chapter? Ish? Not beta-read Klingon translations for later down the chapter: *take the little one to the brig **get the girl Warnings: Canon-typical violence Rating: T (might go up) Summary: My mind was going in circles at a mile a minute, and I was making myself dizzy.

I had still been packing when the Captain had given the scouting party their briefing but if the wary looks they were giving me was anything to go by, it had come with a hearty warning about me. I hadn't seen Pike before I'd been loaded onto the vessel; I had seen Number One. She had given me a Phaser; her expression had a warning, a wordless 'don't you dare'. As much as the Captain's first-in-command scared me, I knew that I would take any necessary actions to to protect my own life - if the need arose. I had settled myself behind the pilot's seat, my bag between my feet and the Phaser tucked into the inside pocket of my oversized coat. I'd watched the Enterprise out the window until I couldn't see it anymore. I couldn't stop my leg from bouncing, and I found my fingers itching for the Phaser, if not to take action, but to prove that I even had it.

Not that that would do any good. I wasn't going to take any action against the crew - there were five of them, and one of me. Even If I did manage to overpower them and commandeer the vessel, what would I do? Go back to my mother, explain the blood-thirsty action was taken in her honor, and that I realized I needed to do better by her? I'd be able to shield myself from the Enterprise's wrath behind Michael for a time, perhaps. But I couldn't bring myself to do that to Pike. He'd put me on the shuttle to protect me. ... Unless of course this was all a ruse, he did plan on killing me, and he'd sent me along with a scouting party to have me killed and make it look like an accident. But then, why would he have ordered Number One to give me a phaser? Unless Number One had acted of her own volition? My mind was going in circles at a mile a minute, and I was making myself dizzy. "Up ahead." The voice of the pilot broke through my thoughts, and I leaned forward to see what they were talking about. It was a warbird; it looked dark, blown to hell. "Romulan?" Another asked. "Klingon," I corrected, ignoring the sharp looks cut in my direction. "No life signs on board," Nhan reported; I'd seen her on the bridge the few times I'd visited. "Might be munitions on board," Connolly offered (the one betting illegally on the baseball team, I'd found out). "What do we do with her?" Five sets of eyes settled on me, and i fought the urge to shrink back. "You're coming with us," Nhan said flatly, nodding me toward the back of the ship. I reluctantly stood, following her and Connolly. "Stay close to us," She said, nodding to the man. He and I eyed one another warily. I only looked away to take the EV mask that Nhan held out to me. "Why do you need me to board with you?" I asked. "Because," was Connolly's flat, dead-end response. Nhan stepped into my field of vision, holding the grip of a Phaser out to me. "You know how to use this?" Another Phaser? They must not know I had one on me in the first place. I nodded, and she passed it to me. "The last thing we need is for you to try and jettison yourself into the Nebula," Nhan answered the question Connolly wouldn't. "You turn that on either one of us and you'll never make it back to the Enterprise," Connolly warned. I didn't answer, instead activating my EV mask as we boarded the warbird. The vessel was eerily silent. I hated abandoned ships - the dreaded quiet where there should've been the hum of machinery, activity, life. Our boots thudded along the hall as we crept about, Phasers in our hands and at the ready. "Which way to the bridge, do you think?" Connolly asked, looking around. I recognized the narrow corridor, could practically hear the bark of, 'IoQ wa'neh brig puHich'*. I shivered at the memory before directing them to the right. "It's that way." Connolly and Nhan frowned at one another, not even bothering to hide their skepticism. "What have I got to gain by lying to you?" I asked. They hesitated before Nhan took the lead. I followed behind, with Connolly bringing up the rear. We found the bridge in a matter of minutes. Nhan hurried ahead to the damaged control panel, tucking her phaser into its holster. "How did you know?" Connolly asked, looking around. I shrugged, lowering my own phased. "I was taken captive by Klingons as a child, passed between a few different ships. Some features vary from model to model, but the layout is basically the same." Connolly grunted. "Stay here," he ordered before disappearing down the hall. I turned to look at Nhan, who was deeply immersed in her work. "Can you read Klingon?" Nhan asked. "No," I shook my head before wandering over to the window. "...We should go soon," I warned, "If those clouds are anything to go by, a storm it on the way. It'll make it difficult to beam back to the ship." "Pike's or not, you aren't in any place to give us orders," Connolly sneered as he came back onto the bridge. I turned to face him, glaring. "No ammo?" Nhan asked. "Nothing," Connolly confirmed. "It wasn't an order, it was a suggestion," I corrected. "Then put a cap on that suggestion until you're back on the Enterprise with someone that actually wants to hear it." I didn't bother to mention that I was moderately certain the Captain couldn't give a tribble's ass what I thought, but I didn't have time. "We have incoming," Nhan warned. I hardly had time to draw my Phaser before a half dozen Klingons materialized on the bridge, nearly distinguishable in their armor, save for their forehead ridges under their helmets. I dove behind a control panel, Phaser clutched to my chest as enemy fire whizzed past my head. Connolly was by my side in seconds, crouching down, raising his head and Phaser every few seconds to return fire. "Cover me!" I looked to my left to see Nhan crouched behind a console. I nodded, steeling myself before I stood, raising my Phaser and firing at one advancing Klingon. I managed to strike one, catching them between their helmet and chest plate. I dropped back down between Nhan and Connolly. "There's a weakness in their armor, around the neck," I reported, resting my head back against the console, "What's the plan?" "Depends, how many are left?" "Four," Connolly reported, "And they've blocked the exits." "I think we found the rebel party," I grimaced. "See if you can get a lock on the Enterprise," Nhan said, shoving a Communicator into my hands and taking my phaser. Before I could argue, she stood with Connolly. I fumbled with the Communicator, bringing it to my lips. "Enterprise, come in, Enterprise!" I could hardly hear myself over the commotion of the fight; I didn't dare look. I heard crackling from the other end of the Comm and I hurried, rattling off our coordinates. I'd been so caught up on being accurate that I hadn't seen a Klingon round to my cover. I cursed, scrambling to the side, dropping my Communicator in my haste. I reached for it and missed, losing the equipment under the blade of the bat'leh. "Three," I heard Nhan yell. I sprang up, ducking under the blade's swipe at me before I went for the Klingon's legs, taking them down. Connolly was on us in seconds, striking the Klingon at the armor's weak spot. "Two," He smiled, pleased with himself before he turned, Phaser raised. Before another shot could be fired, golden light engulfed both Nhan and Connolly disappeared. I stood, stock-still for a moment, waiting for the same to happen to me. Only, it didn't. "be'Hom Suq,"**. I reached into my coat, pulling my phaser from my inside pocket. I took a couple of steps back, Phaser raised. "Lower your weapon," One growled in a thick voice, taking a step toward me. I took a step back, glancing around. I'd never make it to the door; if I tried to bust through a window, I'd be sucked into space, but maybe that wouldn't be so bad? I blinked, hands shaking on my phaser. When I opened my eyes - there was Pike, drawing the blade of a knife out of a Klingon's neck, splattered with their pink blood. The remaining Klingon let out an outraged scream, turning on Pike. I couldn't get a lock on either of them as they struggled with one another. After a moment, Pike's blade fell to the floor. He raised his hands as the Klingon pressed a bat'leh to his neck. "Lower your weapon," The Klingon growled again. My eyes darted to Pike; he was watching me closely; I swore I could see the wheels turning in his head. I had a choice. I could easily take out both Pike and the Klingon, take my chances with what was on board, and disappear into the Nebula. I need never board the Enterprise again. I hesitated, crouching as I began to lower my phaser to the ground. I tipped the weapon to the ceiling, firing once. As the Klingon looked up, distracted, I fired at the gap in his armor. He dropped to the floor, his clattering weapon falling with him. Pike looked down at his body, then turned to me. I let go of my phaser, holding my hands up in surrender as he walked toward me. His hands came up, and the fear in me expected a slap. I closed my eyes, waiting for a blow. Instead, he cupped my cheeks. "Are you alright?" he asked softly. I opened my eyes, looking up at him and nodding quickly. "Why wasn't I beamed out?" I asked. His jaw clenched. "Ryan paid off someone in my transporter room. He's been put in an agonizer, he'll be punished accordingly." I nodded. Pike pulled his Communicator out of his pocket. "This is Captain Pike. Two to beam out." -- "So, what are you going to ask for from his ship?" I asked. Christopher glanced back at me, amused by the question. I had cleaned up before I settled on our bed, legs folded. Christopher had insisted I take care of myself first, despite the fact that he was the one that had been sprayed in Klingon blood. I knew he'd gone to the transporter room and airlocked the traitor. "I haven't thought about it," He said. I eyed the scars that littered his back and shoulders as he sat on the edge of the bed, a PADD in his hands. "He's a collector a things. I'm sure he'll have something worth taking on board," I reminded him. Christopher grunted. "I already notified him and the Emperor," He told me, "We should be clear of the Pergamum in a couple of days." I hesitated before I scooched forward, plastering myself against Christopher's back, resting my forehead against his shoulder. I waited to be pushed back or nudged away. Instead, he reached back, resting one hand on my leg. "You saved my life today," He said softly. I lifted my head, resting my chin on his shoulder. "We saved each other's," I corrected, "You didn't have to come after me yourself, but you did." Christopher craned his neck to look me in the eye. "I didn't want you to think I'd abandoned you," He said quietly. I wrapped my arms around his middle, turning my head and pressing my face into his neck. I felt him set the PADD aside, resting his hand on my arm. "Why did you give me a phaser?" I asked, voice muffled against his neck. He huffed a laugh. "I wasn't going to send you out there without protection." "You trusted me not to use it." "...Maybe I'm putting a nail in my coffin by saying this, but I trust you," He said firmly, "You could've killed me today." "You could've too. Or had your crew do it." "Then we're at a pleasant impasse." I hummed in agreement. "Are you tired?" he asked. I nodded. "Alright. Bed, then," He said, wriggling a little. I let go of him, sliding back and slipping under the covers. Christopher stood, putting the PADD away before he climbed into bed beside me. The lights dimmed, and I closed my eyes. Christopher's hand found mine under the covers.

#Christopher Pike #Chris Pike #christopher pike x reader #star trek: discovery #mirror! christopher pike #mirror michael burnham #mirrorverse #mirror!number one #mirror!Pike #Mirror!Nhan #Mirror!Connolly

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mystery-star · 5 years ago

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Threshold of Space - Chapter 3 Aftermath

Pairing: Spock x OC

Warnings: swearing, violence, molesting, mentions of death

Words: 6610

All Parts:

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-Her head was throbbing when she opened her eyes. Nevertheless, she tried to get up to look around a little and find a chance to escape. However, moments later she noticed that someone - she strongly assumed it was the Romulan who knocked her out - had tied her to a pole. Cursing him in her thoughts, she tried to free herself but quickly realized that it was of no use. Then she’d have to wait until someone came to get her.

She had no idea how long she had been sitting there until she was approached by one of her captors. Her heart started beating faster, one part of her was afraid of what would happen while the other was happy about a chance to escape. However, she didn’t know what she was supposed to do if she actually managed to get rid of him. After all she had no idea how the ship was built and all she knew was that she needed to get off it. Maybe they had escape pods she could use? By now the Romulan reached her and freed her arms. Somehow she had imagined he’d pull her with him, instead she was yanked up and pressed against the pole.

“Leave me alone” she hissed as she felt his hands on her hip, having an idea what exactly he had in mind. “I bet if your master hears about this, you’re screwed”

“My only order is not to kill you and bring you to Nero so that he can beam you down to earth when it’s being destroyed. I wasn’t told what I can’t do with you” His fingers laced in her hair and pulled her head aside.

“Earth’s got a much better defense than Vulcan. This won’t be easy. At all” she growled and winced when she felt his breath on her neck. Then she decided that was enough and knocked her head against his, simultaneously kicking her knee between his legs. Hoping the pointed tips of his ears were as sensitive as the one of Vulcans, she pinched it with her finger nails. He let out a loud scream and went to his knees, trying to get away from her hand. Carissa grinned “Perks of having a Vulcan boyfriend” she chuckled as she kicked him another couple of times until she was sure that he wouldn’t be able to follow her in the next few minutes. Since the red of her uniform was eye catching, she even stole his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. Maybe she wouldn’t be spotted from afar like that. She also took his weapon. After delivering another few kicks she ran away, looking around if she could see Pike somewhere so that she could free him as well. Without an idea where she was supposed to go, she just ran along the corridors, hoping she wouldn’t run into someone. But of course the ship wasn’t empty, so after a couple of minutes she heard footsteps. She hid behind a large machine, only focusing on the sounds. Luckily, it seemed to be only one person. Taking a deep breath, she raised her weapon and as she saw that the Romulan was almost past the machine, she lunged at him, knocking the gun against his skull. Before she knew it, her opponent threw her to the ground. A shriek of surprise left her mouth and turned into a painful moan as he kicked her stomach.

“Die, Starfleet officer” he growled. Much to her luck he must have dropped his weapon when she jumped at him, so he had to find other ways to kill her. He picked her up by her neck and squeezed it with both hands. Once again she went for the ears, making him loosen the grip enough so that she could tear his hands away from her. She went to her knees, coughing and holding her neck. She tried to crawl between his legs and hit his middle with her hand when she was in an optimal position. After she was past him, she got up and continued running. That was more difficult than she thought because her lungs never seemed to get enough air. Her hair was grabbed and she almost fell over. The Romulan from earlier shoved her against the nearest post with such a force that made her black spots in front of her eyes. A fist collided with her jaw and her head hit the metal behind her again. Her hand shot to her head and she felt his hands wrapping around her neck again. When she threw a short glance at him, she could she a small smirk on his face. This time she was too far away to hurt his ears, so she tried to get rid of his arms but to no avail. Suddenly, he let go of her and she tried to stagger forward and try to fight him again when she felt her knees sagging in. Before she went to her knees, she saw that the Romulan obviously didn’t feel any better and went to the ground as well. But in contrast to her, he lay there motionless. Before she could even figure out what she was supposed to do she heard her name being called.

“Spock” she choked out upon looking up and seeing him holding out his hand towards her. When she made no move to take it, he crouched down in front of her and pulled her into a tight hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck. Feeling tears of exhaustion in her eyes she leaned her cheek against his shoulder and tried to catch her breath.

“It is very pleasant to see you” he said quietly and she made a faint sound of agreement. “Have you been severely injured?”

“Mhh” she murmured “Not that much” he lifted her head and cradled her face to look at her, then placed his lips on hers. When he leaned his forehead against hers, she couldn’t help but smile a little. He rarely showed this much affection in such a short time. “No reason to rush things” she joked.

“Oh there you are. I thought you were crazy when you turned and darted away as if stung by… What the fuck?!” she glanced past the Vulcan to see Jim standing behind them, panting and supporting himself against his thighs. Much to her dismay Spock pulled away and helped Carissa up, ignoring the other cadet’s bedazzled look.

“We ought to leave” he urged, then looked back to his girlfriend “Are you in a state to run?”

“I’ll see” she replied. He gave a nod and jogged off, still holding her hand that she had no choice but to follow him. Only seconds later everything in her body was protesting but she tried not to show it. They needed to get away from here. After what seemed like an eternity, her boyfriend slowed down and Carissa saw a ship in front of them “Are we gonna steal that?” she asked “What about Captain Pike?”

“Cadet Kirk will take care of him”

“O-okay” she turned back to Kirk as they entered the ship. “Oh wow, I have the feeling that this isn’t a Romulan ship… oh hey, look at that cool bubble” she smiled and went to the middle of the ship where she had spotted the funny looking red bubble and had to refrain herself from touching it. She felt hands on her shoulder and was carefully pulled away from where she stood

“It is better if you keep a certain distance to the red matter”

“The red matter?”

“Yeah apparently that’s the thing that caused the black hole that destroyed Vulcan” Jim explained. The ship computer seemed to have switched on and welcomed Spock.

“Okayyyy?!” she glanced at Spock who stared at the ship in disbelief.

“Well that’s weird” Jim said with a shrug and went past them, while Spock asked the computer about his details. She frowned when it explained that it was commissioned by the Vulcan Science Academy in the 24th century. Was there a mistake or did the ship really come from the future? Suddenly she found Spock gone and hurried after him.

“It appears that you have been keeping important information from me” he confronted Jim.

“And what’s that about you and Clarissa?”

“Carissa” she corrected

“Your question does not relate to the mission, therefore I have no comment on the matter”

“Fine. You’ll be able to fly this thing, won’t you?” Kirk inquired.

“Something tells me I already have” this confused Carissa even more. Until now she had just believed that Spock had already flown this ship but apparently not. So what was going on?

“Good luck” Jim walked away when Spock called his name.

“I would prefer if you took Carissa with you and kept an eye on her”

“What?” she crossed her arms “I’m staying with you, of course.”

“Carissa, the overall likelihood that our plan succeeds is less than 4.3 percent. If you go with him, your chances of survival are higher than with me”

“You do know you’re sending me back to the Romulans, don’t you? Beside, screw chances, I’m not going anywhere!”

“You being with him would also increase Cadet Kirk’s chances of survival in case he is confronted by Romulans”

“God, there are days I feel like I’m talking to a wall. Besides, when I am with them I probably have a higher chance of being harmed further so no thanks” she muttered and chuckled as she heard Kirk murmur in agreement.

“Look” he said “I don’t know why but obviously she wants to stay with you, so why don’t you let her?”

“This ship was designed to be administered by one person. Therefore, her presence here is unnecessary” she sighed.

“That’s not the moment to discuss this. I can decide for myself and I’d rather die than stepping one foot onto that Romulan ship again! And you see, I might actually die with you, so guess what?” Jim made a hand movement that said as much as ‘there you go’. Finally her boyfriend agreed and Jim left after assuring Carissa that she needn’t to worry because the plan would work.

“What exactly is the plan?” she asked after he had left the ship.

“We need to destroy the drill and draw the Narada away from Earth so that the Enterprise can beam us back on board before we launch the red matter onto the ship. Since Cadet Kirk needs to find Captain Pike, it is down to me to buy him some time”

“Oh alright” she watched as he steered the ship away from the Romulan one after blasting a hole into it. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No, as I already said, this ship was designed for one person so I am able to do everything myself”

“Okay. And should I… I don’t know maybe prepare the red matter so that we can use it afterwards?”

“That will not be necessary”

“But… how are you trying to launch it at the Narada then?” he didn’t answer and she started to figure it out “No. No, don’t tell me we’re crashing this ship onto theirs. That’s madness. They won’t be able to beam us back in time”

“That is why I wanted you to go with Cadet Kirk. Because the Narada has longer than this ship does” she shook her head

“Even if I had known that, I wouldn’t have changed my mind” he looked at her “And don’t you even dare telling me how illogical this decision was or whatever”

“I did not plan to comment on this at all” he started firing onto the metal cord that held the drill in place

“Oh” she watched how the drill finally came off and fell down. She only hoped that no one would be killed when it arrived at the surface.

“However, I cannot help but admit that a part of me feels a form of contentment due to your presence” she made an approving sound.

“I appreciate you telling me this. I know it must be hard for you to admit your feelings and talk about them” she placed a hand on his arm. He was about to reply when Nero’s face appeared on a little screen in front of them

“Spock, I should have killed you when I had the chance. But know that Carissa will be joining me at any moment and then you can watch her die” Spock looked at his girlfriend and she leant closer to him so that the Romulan could see her as well

“I don’t think so. Unfortunately for you I found out that Romulan ears are quite sensitive as well so I managed to escape”

“Fire on that ship! I want them dead. Dead. Now!” Nero shouted

“Bad kitty” she scolded him like she did with her cat when he did something he wasn’t allowed. The communication broke off and Spock moved over a little

“Sit down and hold tight” he said and Carissa followed his instruction, knowing he’d soon fly evasive maneuvers. That was the case but only a couple of seconds later he went into Warp.

“Do you think he’ll follow us?”

“He will. After all you managed to make him angry enough to forget about anything else. Which is our luck because he would never make the choice to follow us if it was not based on emotions like anger” she smiled.

“See, it’s good you took me with you so I could make him angry” she pressed a kiss to his cheek what made him look at her with something like amusement. Not much later, they went out of Warp and he flew a U-turn, directly towards the Narada that had dropped out of overlightspeed as well. “Do you reckon he’ll figure out what we’re trying to do?”

“I suppose he is not that ignorant” as it seemed also the computer seemed to have realized what they were doing and warned Spock that he was out to collide with the Narada

“Guess what, that’s exactly what we want, computer” Carissa chuckled “Ah it seems like Nero knows” again he was firing at them and again they got a warning from the computer that if the ship was hit, the red matter would be ignited. She looked at him “What now? We’re too far away from the Narada so it’ll only kill us” suddenly a ship appeared and blasted away all the Romulan missiles so that their path was cleared.

“Enterprise” Spock called the ship “Here is Spock”

“Here’s Scotty, Sir”

“I have Cadet Wiley on board with me and request you beam her back onto the ship”

“Aye”

“What are you doing?”

“Sir, I cannae beam her back alone. It’s either both of you or no one. Yer too close to each other” as the hull of the Romulan ship came closer, she dug her fingers into Spock’s arm and shortly after felt that she was being beamed somewhere. She only hoped it was the Enterprise’s doing, not Nero’s. When she realized that she was in the transporter room of the Starfleet ship with her boyfriend still beside her she breathed out in relief. Luckily, also Jim and Pike had made it. As it seemed, Spock was already on his way back to the bridge, pulling Carissa along when they almost ran into people from the Med Bay. When the Vulcan let go of her hand, she felt disappointed but knew why he did it. It wasn’t good if people saw them holding hands.

“There is no reason for you to come to the bridge with me” he told her without even looking back

“Firstly, I was assigned to the bridge for all I know. Secondly, I think I made my point obvious when I said that I want to stay with you” they arrived at the bridge only seconds before Jim, who ordered to hail Nero. Why was he giving orders and not Spock? After all he was made Captain. Then she got even more things to wonder about as Jim (whose real name apparently was James as she just learned) offered Nero to evacuate his people. She obviously wasn’t the only one who was confused as her boyfriend started talking to Jim (or James). Luckily, Nero already spat that he’d rather relive Romulus’ end over and over again than accepting their help.

“Oh that’s a bummer” Carissa said, glaring at him “I was hoping we could repay you your hospitality… then I have no choice but to say goodbye. I don’t know how you Romulans do it, so I’ve got to do it the human way” she showed him her middle fingers “Go to hell” she felt the surprised looks of most people on her and she took a step back with a sheepish smile. Where had that come from?

“I can only agree with Carissa” she smiled as he finally seemed to have realized her name was not Clarissa. “Arm phasers and fire everything we got” he walked away from the screen and sat down in the Captain’s chair as the Enterprise started firing at the Narada, which finally got swallowed by the black hole. She slightly raised her fist in triumph. But then all her enthusiasm wore off when she heard that they were too close to the singularity as well and would be swallowed by it as well. As it seemed there was nothing they could to, the ship was already on maximum Warp. Great. She was starting to get angry at Kirk for ordering to fire at the Narada instead of leaving instantly. But then Scotty from the engineering seemed to have an idea, detonation something and creating a blast that could push them away from the black hole. Only now she realized that maybe it was better if she sat down as well and quickly took a seat in the nearest empty chair, grabbing it as she had done before they left the dock on Earth. Somehow she had a feeling as if years had passed since then, but she knew that it probably was only about a day or two. She’d have to ask her boyfriend, after all he must have been able to keep track of the time. “Sulu?” Kirk said after he had made sure everyone on the bridge was alright “Let’s go home”

-oO0Oo-

For some reason, Carissa felt odd about being back. It was, as if everything had changed. At least she had heard the full story of what had happened by now: Nero was from the future, just after his home planet had been destroyed. And apparently a future version of Spock had promised them to save Romulus but came too late so Nero had sworn to get revenge. A part of her felt dumb for not realizing it, it was a plausible explanation and answered all her questions. However, shortly after she felt new questions arising. Did this mean that a new timeline was created? Was there a possibility to restore Vulcan? What would the older version of her boyfriend do, travel back to his own time or stay here? She soon realized that the easiest way to have her questions answered was talking to the time traveler. Besides, she had noticed that she still was in possession of the photograph Nero had thrown at her and she figured it was his and that he wanted it back. A doctor had given her a sick leave for the next day so she wanted to use it to talk to the older Spock. But before that she wanted to make sure her boyfriend was alright but as it seemed he could be found nowhere so she decided to do that later because she feared that his future self could leave soon. When she heard that he agreed to the meeting she nevertheless was a little surprised.

“Hi uh…” she greeted, trying her best to offer him the traditional Vulcan greeting “My name is Carissa Wiley and well… I was asking to see you.” he returned the greeting

“I know who you are, Carissa” suddenly she remembered the photograph

“Oh yeah… right” and she wasn’t even so sure if it was a good idea to come here “Sorry if I am bothering you… I actually only came because I think I got something of yours” she pulled out the photograph and saw how he raised an eyebrow as he carefully took it from her.

“I thought it gone when Nero took it from me” his index finger traced over the part of the picture that showed her. “Besides you could never bother me, I can even admit that it fills me with joy to see you again” This made her feel a twinge in her chest

“Did…did… was she... I-I mean was I, the other I with you on this mission? Did Nero… kill her?”

“No, she was not. I have lost her one hundred and two years before these incidents”

“Oh” she wasn’t sure if she felt sorry for him or if it was because it concerned herself “May-may I ask how it happened?”

“We were on a mission when another ship of the Federation appeared out of nothing. Of course we thought nothing by it, not even when our tries to contact them were not answered. By the time I discovered that the other ship had been infiltrated by the enemy, it was already too late” he looked at the photograph again “Carissa was in the engine room with a couple of cadets. They were all killed when the ship was fired at.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I mean not because it concerns me… and I know that you… I mean your younger self always said he doesn’t want compassion… but-but I can’t help it. Sorry”

“There is no need to apologize for your emotions. You are human and therefore cannot control them as we can. I am sure that my younger self is aware of this. He will need you, we both have lost so much. And I fear I am the one who owes you an apology, it was my doing you got into this perilous situation in the first place”

“If you’re trying to say that it is your fault that Romulus was destroyed or what Nero did because of that… it’s not. You wanted to help and you did everything to do so, I know that. It’s not your fault you weren’t there in time”

“That is one thing I have always loved so much about her, she always believed in the good of everyone and tried to help them. If more people were like you, the galaxy would be at peace. I am sure she would have made a splendid ambassador as well”

“Yeah, that’s something my diplomacy professor keeps telling me all the time. He believes that would have been more my thing than a member of Starfleet” Carissa shrugged.

“If I recall correctly, the reason for your visit was not just to give me back my property but to ask me some questions”

“Yes, unless you don’t want to…”

-oO0Oo-

All too soon she had to leave for dinner. She had to admit that she was glad that Spock wanted to stay in this timeline because she had grown very fond of him in the few hours she had talked to him about almost everything, from how her life had been in their timeline (though he didn’t tell her too much, it was still her own life after all). After dinner, she tried to find her boyfriend again but as it seemed he refused to see anyone and she couldn’t insist without making their relationship official. She knew that if he really needed her, he’d come to her even if he was a dickhead. But she could understand why he didn’t want to see anyone, she too felt the same way because she first needed time to cope with everything. And for him it was even worse. Spock’s future self had told her that they had lost their mother when Vulcan was destroyed. Besides, she knew that she would see him the following day in the lesson anyway.

-oO0Oo-

Her first day of school didn’t start all too well. When she arrived at the diplomacy classroom she was being pestered with questions about her ‘adventure’ in outer space and if what they heard was true. She tried to dodge the questions as good as she could.

“Look, I’ve spent about one hour aboard the bridge of Enterprise, but passed out just after we got into Warp. Then I was abducted by a criminal Romulan who came from the future and he wanted to kill me because he sought revenge. He made me watch the destruction of Vulcan, I got hit, knocked out and one of them came too close for my liking and another one tried to strangle me twice before I was saved. Then I helped saving earth from being swallowed into a black hole by being part of a suicide mission before we were saved in the last second and then were almost swallowed by the black hole we created... So I hope you can forgive me if I don’t want to talk about ‘my adventure’ right now…” that helped and her classmates left her alone. But the real shock came when the lesson started. Nine seats were empty. The seats of nine cadets who had been on the other space ships that were destroyed by Nero. Suddenly she felt more hatred towards the Romulan and felt tears in her eyes. Her thoughts drifted off quite a lot during the lesson and she got two rebukes from the professor

“Oh, hey Wiley” someone called after they left the classroom. She sighed when she recognized Oliver, one of her worst bullies. “Looks like someone was naughty and is about to get punished” he shoved her “Suddenly your lover isn’t happy with you anymore” she moved away from him

“You’re just jealous that I’m better at diplomacy. But if I see you talking to a fellow cadet like this…. I can understand why you’re failing this class. Maybe you should get some… special tutoring if you know what I mean” she grinned as she turned around

“Oh yeah? If this was about failing you should get into closer contact with Professor pointy-ear”

“That sounds like a good idea” she replied coolly. “I should ask him” then she walked away, pretty surprised that she only felt annoyance at the suggestion.

Her problems increased in exobiology. She quickly discovered that she wasn’t able to finish the essay they were given last week and got a reprimand.

“Now, I want you to write me an extra essay for next week on the biological similarities and differences between Romulans and Vulcans” she started laughing.

“I can already give you my conclusion now: To sum it all up, the situation can be seen similar to different human species. While the Romulans stayed on the primitive basis of the Neanderthals, Vulcans have developed to Homo sapiens. And for all I know you set up an essay to get a conclusion, isn’t that right? Besides, I have been captured by Romulans only two days ago, so yeah… I guess I know more about them than the rest of the class and can’t be objective towards them. That’s also the reason I couldn’t finish my essay”

“Then it should be no problem for you to write that essay and present it to your fellow cadets. And I must warn you, Cadet Wiley, next time you will watch your tone” she looked down.

“Of course, I’m sorry, Professor” luckily he left and started talking about the contents of their lesson; the Romulan anatomy. At the end of the class she was pretty pleased with herself and her contribution to the lesson; now her whole class knew of the weakness in Romulans’ ears. As it seemed not even the professor knew of this what made her even prouder. On her way to the next lesson she was asked questions again, this time her classmates seemed to be in awe and probably had realized that the mission had not really been a picnic. Much to her surprise, Spock wasn’t in the classroom when she entered. Instead there was a professor she had only seen once or twice before.

“Professor Spock is tied up with business matters from the mission at Vulcan a few days ago” they were told.

“Tied up with business my ass” Oliver muttered “I bet he’s crying in a corner because his planet’s gone. No wait, he probably doesn’t even care”

“Take that back!” Carissa growled “What would you do if Earth was destroyed, huh? Besides, it was his doing that nothing happened to you”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, I have seen it with my own eyes”

“I thought you were captured by Romulans at that time”

“No, then I was already gone and helped them destroy the drill”

“You helped? Don’t make me laugh. You can’t even finish your homework properly, let alone save a planet”

“You know what? I wish that drill had hit you. Well, maybe it has, because I doubt you can be that stupid by nature”

“Cadet Wiley” she heard the professor’s voice “Is there something you would like to share with us?”

“I uh… Oliver Moore was making mean comments and jokes about the end of Vulcan and I told him that this is no laughing matter”

“That’s not what happened, uncle. Okay, I made a comment about the end of Vulcan but it only was a fact, not a joke or what she claimed. She overreacted and was the one who was mean to me and told me she wished I was dead”

“Is that true, Cadet Wiley?”

“No, I didn’t say I wish he died”

“You said you wanted that drill to hit me”

“Yes, that it knocked you out. Not killed you, besides that was just an expression of anger when you called me a liar”

“That is enough, Cadet Wiley, I demand to speak you after the lesson” she sighed. The lesson was bad but the talk afterwards was worse and left her in tears. She had the feeling that she was treated incorrectly and that the substitute teacher was biased because Oliver was his nephew as she had to find out.

All the stress and bad things that happened during the day only faded away when she noticed a message from her boyfriend on her PADD. He wished to see her in his office after dinner. Somehow she had the feeling this didn’t mean anything good. Nevertheless, she was looking forward to it and quickly ate dinner. Before she knocked at his door, she took a deep breath.

“Come in” carefully she opened the door and saw how he got up from his desk. Quickly, she closed the door and approached him, cupping his face

“Hey” his hands took hold of her wrists. “I heard you were busy today?” although she wanted to ask him how he was doing but she knew him well enough to know that she wouldn’t get an answer she wanted to hear.

“Yes, I had much work to take care of. What about you? How are your injuries doing?”

“Better. The medicine helped but I should go to the sickbay again tomorrow so that they can make sure everything’s alright again. As for my day… well” she started telling him of all the rebukes she had gotten in the morning, more than she had in all her time at the academy before.

“What is troubling you?”

“I just started to wonder if everything that happened in the past days has changed me too much”

“I doubt that it will have a permanent negative effect on your career if that is what you are afraid of. This presumably is merely the aftermath of the incidents, it is only natural that you are feeling different now”

“Yeah. I guess if I’m getting used to this again, everything will be normal again. A-and what about you? I mean… with everything that has happened… is there anything I can do for you?”

“No, there is not. In fact, no one can do anything against it. It has happened and I have to accept that” she nodded

“If you do need me anyways… I am here, okay?” she gently stroked his cheek with her thumb.

“I doubt that I will have to accept your offer but I do appreciate your willingness to help”

“It’s self-evidently” she replied as she stood on her tiptoes to peck his lips. To her dismay he quickly pulled away but a part of her understood. He obviously needed time “You mentioned that you had something to tell me?” she said, deciding to chance the topic. He nodded and offered her a seat

“After careful consideration I have made the decision to leave the Academy and join the crew of the Enterprise instead.”

“Oh. When… when will you be leaving?”

“They have not set a date yet, but it will take at least two months to repair the ship”

“So you will continue teaching in this time?”

“Affirmative” she nodded

“Well you being gone will take the only pleasant part of the class away…” she chuckled “Just-just promise that you will come back as often as you can. I-I mean don’t feel obliged to actually see me but just… I don’t know… let me know how you’re doing”

“Carissa, there is something else I need to tell you” she absolutely did not like his tone. She knew that she wouldn’t like what he was about to say.

“What is wrong?”

“There is nothing wrong. But I believe it is better if we ended our relationship”

“What?” she shrieked. “Why? Did… did I do something wrong? What?”

“No, it has nothing to do with your behavior at all. This is about me”

“Bu-but why? If you need time, that’s okay. I mean… I can stay away from you a little until you are feeling better if that is what you want”

“This is not what I meant either”

“Then what?” she only hoped he wouldn’t tell her that he didn’t love her anymore.

“I am not good for you”

“Nonsense!” he shook his head

“I have told you many times that I cannot give you what a fellow member of your species can give you”

“And every time I told you that I don’t care. I told you that I was glad you’re that unobtrusive because my ex was too pushy. You know I don’t mind that you have your own way to show affection”

“You may not care now. But as time passes you will want more and I am not sure to what extent I can comply with your wishes”

“We’ll find a solution. And if not, we can talk about breaking up then. But what is wrong now? Do-don’t you want me anymore?”

“Of course I do, Carissa, but…”

“Then tell me why! Because I don’t see a reason which means you’re being illogical, Spock” she crossed her arms

“I am not and once I have told you the facts that made me come to the conclusion you will be able to understand”

“I doubt that but go on” she murmured.

“When I was giving Admiral Marcus my mission report, I have made the observation that I was the reason for your capture.”

“If you’re trying to say that it is your fault that Nero was angry with you I can tell you that it wasn’t. It isn’t even your future self’s fault. He did everything he could and no one could have known Nero would want revenge”

“That is a conclusion I have made as well. However, it was my doing that you were on the bridge of the Enterprise, which made it possible for Nero to recognize and entrap you”

“Yeah but let’s not forget that you initially planned to leave me behind because you didn’t want me to get hurt. You only complied because I insisted and was supported by Pike”

“Yet, assigning you to the bridge was not the most logical thing to do, as seen by Starfleet standards. It made more sense from my point of view since I was hoping to be able to have an eye on you during the mission. Now I realized that I should not have done this because I have come to the realization that my decision was not solely based on logic”

“So that’s why? Because I make you show emotions and think illogically? Do you fear anyone could notice you’re… I don’t know affected by something primitive like emotions?”

“No, after all you have made the discovery that I can act as if there is nothing between us”

“Fine, then you’re fed up with pretending to not be with me…”

“Carissa, I would appreciate it if you stopped jumping to such conclusions and would listen to me instead”

“Then tell me” she got up and glared at him.

“The chance of you getting into difficulties because of me is higher than I have thought. Of course, I have never calculated the possibility before but its result was not pleasant”

“In other words, you fear I could get hurt because of you?”

“Not only getting hurt as both of us will have to expect severe consequences if our relationship is discovered”

“Wow, you used the first conditional… you think the chances someone finds out the truth is that high?”

“Yes, after all I had to tell Admiral Marcus about our relationship when he inquired the reason for Nero’s interest in you. Besides, Cadet Kirk knows about us as well and one day, he will let something slip”

“Oh come on, the Admiral won’t do anything about it, I mean... he didn’t tell you to end things, did he?”

“He did not. However, he did remind me to not forget that you are still my cadet in class”

“See. He’s fine with it. And what concerns James Kirk, we can still claim he’s jealous and spreading rumors because of it”

“Carissa, you know of my natural aversion to lying”

“Fine, then I tell them the thing with rumors and you can say that you have not realized he could be jealous but that you could understand a human doing this out of jealousy… That isn’t a lie. And you can claim that nothing inappropriate has happened between the two of us which is the truth as well”

“You are distracting attention from the fact that there are more reasons speaking against our relationship”

“Hate to break it to you but relationships rarely got anything to do with logic. They’re purely emotional. But fine, if that’s what’s bothering you, have it your way” she turned away from him “I don’t understand your decision and I don’t like it. But in contrast to you I accept your decisions” she walked towards the door and cut him off when he tried to speak again “Save your breath. I’ve heard enough. I’m your weak point, I’m what makes you show emotion and you don’t want that” she turned back to him with tears in her eyes “I hope you’re happy now. No, wait, I hope you’re not happy, because you don’t want to feel at all. I hope you’re not feeling anything. That’s what you wanted, right?” without another word she stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut.

Next Chapter

#star trek #Star Trek Fanfiction #fanfiction #spock #spock x oc #spock fanfiction

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dreamthinkimagine · 5 years ago

Text

That’s An Order!

Here’s that Chekov fic that I promised 59,000 years ago. This is a sequel to “It Was Good and Bad” which was prompted by @amazingmsme.

WARNING: a lot of sad people, bully, mention of being drugged, mention of possible death, alcohol

Chekov had had a good few weeks. Kirk was still tickling people. “Because why not,” the Captain would say. But that was alright since Kirk stopped getting him - well, almost - but Chekov was OK with that because it wasn’t constant and not nearly as much. Just an occasional poke, squeeze, or prod; nothing more. No full on attacks. He didn’t feel anxiety or anger whenever he saw Kirk nearing him or when he was attacking people anymore and since they enjoyed it, he enjoyed watching them “suffer” the “wrath” of Captain Kirk. The crew as a whole became happier - even the grumpy MD could be seen smiling more often; sometimes it even seemed for no particular reason.

It was always amazing that Kirk’s mood had the ability to change the atmosphere of whatever room he was in. As soon as he’d enter a room, the air felt lighter; like there was no weight pulling anyone down. It was even light when the crew would tease Chekov for standing up to him. Turns out that lovable dork went and blabbed to any crewmen who would listen about how the brave navigator had stood up to his tickling “tyranny” as an example that he wanted his crew to feel comfortable. Even young cadets would shuffle their way up to the Russian and shyly ask him if it was true - he didn’t even know any of these cadets either, but he was happy to play along just the same.

To be honest, it made him feel sort of like a hero. It was like when the quiet kid in high school stood up to the big bad bully and word had spread before the end of the day. Did he realize that he looked silly? Yes; but that didn’t deter the pride he had for himself. At the time, his heart was in the right place and that was all that mattered. He truly felt that he was doing the right thing - that his friends needed saving and here came brave Chekov to the rescue. That’s why he joined Starfleet in the first place: to help people.

But he couldn’t do that when he was confined to Sickbay with a stomach bug, which was where he was when it started.

***

“Captain, I’m getting a signal.”

“Bring it up, Lt,” Kirk said. What appeared on the screen was a man with grey hair and a face gracefully patched with wrinkles (especially around his grey eyes), in a red, shiny, Starfleet uniform decorated with an insignia and three medals - Admiral Clark. They all recognized him - he was in charge of all the ships in their particular class. Now, the Enterprise had just rescued an innocent planet from destruction by the Romulans - a little slower than usual, but they still did it in a few hours - and Kirk was sure they were all about to be congratulated on their success.

“Enterprise, I need to have a word with all of you.” He said in a cold tone, and his eyes, showing no compassion, aimed at the man in the Captain’s chair. Kirk stood, Spock’s eyebrow rose - and so did McCoy’s. Scotty’s smile dropped, Uhura stared at the screen, and Sulu sat up in his chair, muscles becoming tight. “It has been brought to my attention that there has been more play than work on this ship.”

“Admiral, I can assure you that that’s not tru -“

“Silence, Kirk! You are the Captain and should have put an end to this sooner. Since you have neglected your duties and have thus risked the safety of everyone on board, it is the order of Starfleet that I must attend to this vessel for you.” Kirk shut his mouth, but didn’t break eye contact.

“Do you mean to say that Captain Kirk is no longer Captain?” Spock asked, a hint of sternness in his voice, only detected by Kirk and Bones. He stepped next to Kirk, literally standing as his Captain’s right-hand-man.

“That is exactly correct. Until further notice, I will be in charge of the Enterprise. Kirk, you’ll be serving as a Cadet.” His stared at the Admiral, gaping. “Communications Officer, open the frequencies so you will receive my orders. Put them on audio so you can all hear me until tomorrow.”

“And what exactly is tomorrow?” McCoy interrupted as he took a step forward, putting himself at his Captain’s left side.

“Tomorrow is when your Chief Engineer will personally beam me aboard to take my place at command.” Everyone turned to Scotty, who looked back at them, his mouth falling open. He raised his head back to the screen and brought up his arms, as if to speak, but Kirk beat him to it.

“But, Admiral -”

“No ‘Buts’, Kirk. You had your chance. Until told otherwise, by me, you will be a Cadet. Just a Cadet. Then maybe you can learn something about being a Captain. That’s an order.”

“...Yes, Admiral.” The screen went back to the stars of space and silence filled the Bridge. Hesitantly, Bones turned to his Captain who was wearing a blank face.

“Things’ll get better, Jim. We won’t let ‘im replace ya.” Bones said giving Kirk’s side a squeeze as an attempt to wake his Captain from his daze. Nothing. No reaction. Kirk, one of the most ticklish people on the Enterprise, wasn’t reacting to a squeeze against his side. He stayed there. Frozen. His eyes still laid on the screen.

“Aye, he’s right.” Scotty said. “If he thinks I’m gonna be thrilled about beaming a scoundrel like ‘im on this ship, he’s got another thing comin’.”

“Frequency,” Uhura said, prompting everyone to look over and breaking Kirk from his trance.

“Rule number one,” Clark’s voice said. “As long as I’m in charge, there will be no more nonsense. That includes: No playing, No banter, No lollygagging, and No tickling.” No one except Clark spoke as Kirk still stared ahead. “Any disobedience will result in immediate punishment.” Jim sat in the no-longer-his Captain’s chair and sighed, rubbing his face. “And Cadet Kirk...get out of that chair!”

***

Spock and Bones decided to stop by Jim’s Quarters and check on the...Cadet. This whole thing had come as such a shock that they weren’t entirely sure if it was real or if they’d somehow been drugged. Their own confusion acted as the only thing keeping them from arguing with each other as they both agreed that the entire situation was, and God help Bones for saying this: “Illogical.”

“Agreed, Doctor.”

“It just doesn’t make any sense. Jim’s a great Captain! Look at all he’s done!...it just doesn’t make any sense, Spock.” They approached the door, which opened, and went inside to see Jim sitting on his bed.

“Jim?”

“I’m fine, Bones.”

“In a pig’s eye.”

“Captain -”

“I’m not Captain anymore, Mr. Spock. If this is what Starfleet thinks is best for the crew, then I’ll step down.”

“Jim, you can’t just -“

“But he’s -”

“Wrong! He’s wrong!”

“I was just -”

“Keeping up, morale. Humans tend to need play to function mentally,“ the Vulcan finished.

“Look, I appreciate you guys trying to help, but I think I just wanna be alone right now,” Kirk said, with a slight hint of anger.

***

The next morning, Scotty reported to the transporter room and started putting the coordinates in the machine. While his face seemed blank, the muscles were tightened just barely enough that someone who didn’t know him might not notice it. His eyes shown fire. The only reason he was gentle with the equipment was because it was part of the Enterprise, his prized possession, and nothing could make him hurt her. But each movement was harder than the last. With each push of a button he clenched his jaw harder; every lever pull, his muscles tightened more.

He sighed and tried to relax his muscles once he saw the yellow, broken up atoms of Clark. Don’t make him angry, he thought, it’ll just make it worse for all of us.

“Lt. Commander Smith.” Clark said as he stepped off the transporter pad.

“Scott. Admiral. Montgomery Scott.”

“Show me to the Bridge, Smith.” He said as he motioned to the door with his head.

“Scott,” he said under his breath and followed Clark into the hall. Throughout the journey, and it was a journey, Clark kept commenting on the ship. Scotty’s ship. He’d complain that the hallways were too tight, that the wall intercom was too “out in the open where people like Kirk can play with it.” Apparently, the quiet rumble from the engines was too loud and Scotty needed to silence them immediately after they got to the Bridge.

Soon he’d started making utterances on every crew member he saw. He’d say things like that they needed to speed up their walking or slow down, that they needed to work harder at their jobs without observing them first. He even told one person that they needed to change their hairstyle.

With each opinion Scotty’s muscles tightened again. He could almost feel himself getting warmer as if steam was about to shoot out his ears like in old cartoons. In fact, he was sure his face was red; but Admiral Clark seemed too absorbed in insulting everything and everyone he saw to notice.

***

“- and Kirk better not be in my chair!” Clark finished as the turbolift’s doors opened and he stepped onto the Bridge. His rant caught the focus of everyone there, even Spock’s. With Scotty mouthing, “Good luck,” the turbolift closed. As Clark began to walk around the Bridge, the crew turned back to their stations.

“You must be Mr. Spock,” he said as he approached the half-Vulcan. Spock rose from his position, eye-to-eye with the man.

“That is correct.”

“Well? Aren’t you going to welcome me?”

“...Welcome.”

“Welcome who?”

“...Welcome...Admiral.”

“Remember it, Eyebrows.” He said and went to sit in the Captain’s chair. “You! Helmsman!”

“Lt. Sulu, Sir.”

“Did I ask your name?! Steer course for Rigel II.”

From that moment on, Clark was as hard as he could be on every and anyone; even harder than he was before. Anyone who disobeyed or didn’t live up to his expectations was punished. His demeaning remarks were starting to affect everyone. His outrageous rules and comments caused people to move slower - Bones could practically see the clouds over their heads pouring rain onto their spirits from Sickbay. Lost in the big and deep woods of depression, they were almost like zombies; except if they had one of his rigorous practice missions. The thought of giving any less than 200% made their stomachs drop, made them turn cold, made them sweat. And those were just fake missions. The thought of getting a real one, made some people freeze, others felt light headed and dizzy, and some actually did faint.

Even “Eyebrows” was affected by him. Spock never showed it on the Bridge or in front of anyone, but the name-calling was upsetting. McCoy would comment on his ears and blood, but he never attacked his face. A person’s face is the first thing someone else sees; the Admiral was judging him just by sight alone - McCoy at least got to know him first.

But Cadet Kirk received the worst of it. Clark had him restricted to his Quarters until further notice. He’d already been in there for days, and still no word.

***

Clark burst into Sickbay to see an unconscious young man on a biobed surrounded by medical equipment, a CMO, and a nurse.

“We’re about to begin surgery! You can’t be in here!”

“There’s someone sick.”

“Ensign Pavel Chekov. Thought it was the stomach flu, but it’s appendicitis - that’s why we’re about to perform surgery. Now get out, this boy’s appendix is about to burst!”

“Perhaps, Dr., if you were practicing procedures properly, he wouldn’t need surgery.”

“Are you suggesting that he is in this state because of me?!”

“Watch your tone, Doctor; remember who you’re talking to. I will stand here and personally oversee you operate to make sure you are up to procedure regulations.” So, McCoy took out the Ensign’s appendix with that overcritical, fussy, dogmatic oaf of a man watching his every move like a hawk. Peering over the doctor’s shoulder with such condescendence that McCoy could almost taste it. He made more comments about how it should be done, but the doctor didn’t listen - he even yelled at Clark to be quiet so he could concentrate - which, as he knew it would, led to punishment. As a result, Clark became much harder toward everyone in Sickbay but McCoy; and if the CMO stood up for anyone, it would only get worse.

He was forced to sit there and watch the dismay and downfall of his medical staff.

When Chekov woke, they were all at his side taking tests, gathering information, and some just caring for him as he just woke up from surgery and was probably in pain. They rushed - their brains and bodies quickly becoming exhausted after a few hours - but too afraid of the immediate repercussions to rest or make a mistake; so they pressed forward with McCoy approving or disapproving their findings.

Chekov looked at the new behavior in the Sickbay and wondered if the rest of the ship was like this. He’d never seen anything like it - to be so fast, efficient, accurate. He was a little jealous that he couldn’t navigate like that. Everything was happening so fast, that he wasn’t totally sure what was going on, but it seemed effective.

This. This was everything he aspired to be since his decision to join the fleet, even before he decided. He didn’t know what Kirk was doing differently, but he liked it. It was like he was in a new world with how things were being run. Maybe he’d get a chance to learn more and learn it faster. Maybe he’d even get a higher rank. And maybe, he’d be able to help people better than before.

***

A few hours later, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Uhura, and Sulu all gathered in the Break Room after their shifts to discuss their situation in whispers. None of them would be surprised if Clark had super-hearing; he seemed to know everything anyway, so why not what they were talking about?

“I can’t take this anymore.”

“We’ve got to do something.” Bones said as he held his aching head.

“And what do you suggest, Doctor?”

“I’m open to any ideas at this point,” Sulu said.

“Aye. I haven’t been able to fix the engine rumble - I’ve got other things to do - so he forced me to reprogram the food synthesizer to reject me. I’m not allowed to eat tomorrow.”

“Might I suggest waiting until Cadet Kirk and Ensign Chekov are released,” asked Spock. “There is safety in numbers. Two additional individuals will be beneficial to our party - especially when they will be a passionate Chekov, and the other, a very angry James Kirk.” A moment of silence followed Spock’s suggestion as they all nodded and agreed that he was right.

“But we will do something?” Uhura asked.

“We have to,” Scotty said putting his hand atop hers.

But none of them knew that Chekov was currently passionate about the wrong thing and that Jim wasn’t angry anymore.

***

After being set free from Sickbay, Chekov took to the Bridge ready to work until he couldn’t anymore - especially in front of the Admiral. He was told what had happened, but not to the full extent as Clark was in the room. All he knew was that Kirk was taking a break, that Clark would be in charge for a while, and that he ran things differently. It didn’t matter though, he hungered to do good and was more than willing to make some changes under Clark to do so.

Upon entering the Bridge, he introduced himself to the Admiral, who immediately howled an order. Chekov got to his station and carried it out as fast as he could. Properly fed, not exhausted, and his spirit allowed him to finish his task not only first, but correctly and in record time too. This Ensign’s capabilities caught the Admiral’s eye.

For the next several days, he tested the Ensign in anyway he could - physically, mentally, emotionally. He’d have him run laps, give him problems to solve, and yell at him when it seemed he didn’t do well enough. He just kept thinking to himself that, in the end, it would all help him on missions. This just pressed the young man to persevere. Instead of getting put down, he pulled himself up to be the best he could be. It seemed the Russian never grew tired or weary; he was always ready for action. He even performed the best of everyone during the practice missions; and Clark was certainly impressed - there was promise of a great leader in him.

However, it came at a cost: Chekov was so distracted by his work, goals, and dream, that he didn’t even notice his friends’ sufferings. He had no idea what Clark was really doing to them. He had no idea that they were so tired and miserable. He never noticed how slow everyone was moving. He never noticed the punishments. He never noticed the grumbling stomachs.

It was made clear to the Vulcan, doctor, communications officer, engineer, and helmsman that they would just have to wait for an angry Cadet because the navigator was not going to help. .

***

Soon, things started happening again. Starfleet assigned them a mission to help an entire race on a different planet - to transport cargo necessary for their survival across the galaxy. They’d even gotten into a couple space battles. Not that that last one was good, but it what could you do? Chekov did even better during this mission than he had during their practices. Clark had even taken him under his wing to train him. The Ensign was even close to going up a rank.

And he was happy. Chekov was finally happy. Missions made him happy. The kind of happy that made him want to sing. The kind of happy that lit up any darkness within him no matter what the source. The kind of happy that made you unaware of anything else going on around you. Then Clark told him that Cadet Kirk would train under him.

“Cadet?”

“Yes, Cadet. Stripped him of his position before I even beamed aboard!” He said with a laugh.

“But why? He’s -”

“Are you questioning me, Ensign?!”

“No, Admiral.”

“...Go get Kirk.”

***

Kirk’s door opened and Chekov stepped inside. It was dark; and trays - some empty, some still had untouched food - sat on the floor and furniture. There was Kirk, laying on his bed.

“...Cadet Kirk?” His eyes fell on the Ensign.

“Chekov?” He nodded and Jim sat up. His uniform was covered in sweat and wrinkled. It looked like he hadn’t changed it in days. He had a beard and his hair was spewed.

“What’s wrong with you? What happened?” He looked at him, such a different man than before. Chekov remembered a bold, brave Kirk - this one seemed frail and broken.

“Clark. He’s kept me here.”

“What?!” Jim nodded.

“I haven’t been allowed to leave. He said that I can’t be a Captain because there wasn’t enough work going on. He said that I endangered everyone’s lives.”

“He said that?”

“And he’s right.”

“No he’s not.” Chekov didn’t know what was happening. How could someone who had made his life so much better, be making this man’s life so much worse? “You’ve done so much good. You’ve never let any of us down. You protect us and aliens and -”

“Then why did Starfleet send him? Why is he torturing my crew?”

“Torturing?”

“He’s too hard on them. They’re exhausted, depressed, hungry.” Chekov stayed quiet, listening to the man. “If they don’t do exactly what he wants when he wants it, or if it’s not good enough, he punishes them.”

“...Are you sure?”

“I can hear the complaints through the wall.”

“Well, why don’t you do something about it?”

“Believe me, I want to. Badly. But I’m powerless. He’s an Admiral...and I’m just a Cadet.”

***

Chekov walked the corridors, pondering what Jim had said. Could it all be true? It couldn’t be, could it? He’d only seen an effective leader who pushed him to give more than he thought he could. He’d seen someone who could help him get to where he wanted to be. Someone who could help him help others. No, this couldn’t be Admiral Clark. It had to be someone else. Something else. And yet...

As he walked, he paid special attention to the people he passed. They were drooped over, dragging their feet, covered in sweat, mouths hanging in frowns. Some tried to massage their own muscles and grimaced at the feeling. Some had tears slowly falling down their faces. He heard growling stomachs. He saw darkness under, and in, their hopeless, bloodshot eyes. Anyone not too depleted to notice him immediately straightened up and moved faster. Despite the pain, the tears, the fatigue, the hunger, they fought to move quicker.

After watching this for an hour, he couldn’t deny it anymore. This had to be Clark - none of this would ever happen under Kirk’s command. But, he wasn’t sure he wanted to stand up to him. He offered him so much, but look what was happening to his friends. But he’d never been happier, but they had never been so miserable. And he was with Clark most of the time - he could do something; they couldn’t. But he was so close to being promoted. And even if he did do something, if he failed, his hopes would be destroyed and he’d end up just like them. Had it really come to this? Would he really have to choose between his dream and his friends? That’s when he heard faint voices coming from the Break Room. He placed his ear against the wall to get a better listen.

“Mr. Chekov has grown rather close to Admiral Clark,” Spock started. Yes, he thought on the other side of the wall. “If we can convince him to assist us in our endeavors, it could prove most useful.” Endeavors?

“Yeah he’s close. Too close to notice the rest of us commoners,” McCoy added.

“He hasn’t had a drink for me since before he got sick,” commented Scotty. “Hasn’t spoken to me since then either.”

“He hasn’t even looked at me,” said Uhura. “It’s like I don’t exist.”

“Face it; he’s either forgotten about us or he doesn’t care anymore.” It was Sulu who said it. “Pavel’s not gonna help us.” Chekov turned against the wall and slid down it, mouth agape. That conversation revealed a lot to him. He thought back to the state of those crewmen, to them running from him, then back to their talk again. They thought he chose Clark over them, and in a way he had. That tore it.

Ten minutes later the doors to the Break Room opened revealing Chekov and a sad Jim.

“We want to help,” the Russian said. The rest of them stared as McCoy pulled up a chair for Jim, who sat, and immediately began scanning him.

“He needs to eat. Now.” Scotty gave up his plate, but Jim wasn’t touching it.

“We want to help take down Clark.”

“Eat,” McCoy said to Jim. Still, no one even looked at Chekov.

“Please, I want to help! I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” Uhura, still not making eye contact, was the first to speak.

“How do we know you haven’t been sent by Clark?”

“Aye; he could be a spy.”

“I wouldn’t have brought him then.” He said and pointed to Jim.

“That’s not good enough,” Uhura said, looking at the ex-Captain.

“Eat, Jim!” Jim stayed put, listening to the conversation as he stared at the floor. He hadn’t looked at the food since it was put in front of him.

“I was supposed to bring Kirk out of his Quarters earlier, but I left him.”

“You let him rot?!”

“No! I just -”

“If you don’t eat, I’m gonna have to force it down your throat!” Chekov paused and turned. He walked to Jim and knelt down to his height.

“Please eat.” The five watched as Chekov picked up a fork and held it out to Jim with such tenderness that he actually looked at it. “I’m sorry, Captain.” The Cadet looked up at Chekov.

“You want to help take him down?” He nodded.

"Yes, Sir.” Slowly, Kirk took the fork, and placed the piece of food into his mouth. The room was quiet when Sulu stood and made his way to the navigator. He looked at his face, down to his boots, and then up again. “I...think he’s telling the truth.” The Russian smiled as Sulu held out his hand toward him. “Will you help us, Pavel?”

“I will.” Sulu pulled him up as he smiled at him. “Do you have a plan?”

“Nothing yet, lad.”

“Unless Mr. Chekov has logically calculated a starting point for one.” They all looked at the young man, waiting for his answer.

“I think I have one, but we’ll all need to help.”

***

The next day, McCoy told the medical crew what was happening and Scotty told the engineers as Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov secretly told the rest of them. Jim stayed in his room to keep things from looking suspicious.

Clark knew something was up. Something had to be. Why all the whispers behind his back? When he yelled at anyone, they wouldn’t tell. When he took away food, they still wouldn’t tell. When he approached Chekov, he was assured that the Ensign was on it, trying to figure it out for himself too. He ran off before the superior officer could suspect him of anything. Clark practically interrogated Jim in his Quarters demanding answers, but the Cadet claimed he had no idea what he was talking about. He insisted he’d only left his room when Chekov took him out for training. This just brought with it a stream of insults: “You shouldn’t be here!” “You were the worst Captain the Federation has ever seen and you’re the worst Cadet too!” “All you’ll ever be is a Cadet! And you deserve even less than that!”

When he caught “Smith” fiddling with some wires behind a small door in the wall in the hall, he wouldn’t confess. He didn’t even show any fear toward the tyrant, but Clark pushed him away before he could finish his work and tried to figure it out himself; not letting the engineer back in. That was bad. Very bad. Scotty tried to run to Chekov and tell him to postpone the signal until he could finish with the wires to the Bridge screen, but it was too late. From over the intercom, he, and Clark, heard it.

“Freedom was invented in Russia.” On “freedom,” people exploded into the halls screaming, running, jumping. Some, including Bones, Sulu, and Uhura, surrounded Clark, slapping him on the back, prodding his sides, yelling playful things at him - the entire crew was doing everything he had banned. He turned in confusion, not knowing how to react. He tried to yell, remove the hands from his being (what were they trying to do?), but nothing produced the results he was looking for. In the confusion, Sulu slipped Clark’s phaser from his belt for safe keeping; and McCoy slammed the door shut, sealing off the wires and almost crushing the Admiral’s hand. He was completely helpless against them. He didn’t know what to do. As they forced him through the halls, he saw Spock, standing calmly, staring at him with one eyebrow up.

“Eyebrows! Pinch them!” He shouted as he gestured at the small crowd surrounding him.

“My name is Mr. Spock. I insist that you refer to me as such.” Already frustrated, Clark submitted to the Vulcan’s request.

“Fine, Mr. Spock! Pinch them!”

“No, Admiral. It is not logical to do so as they are not causing you direct, physical harm.” After answering to the Admiral, Spock walked away an another direction.

***

On the other side of the ship, Scotty ran trying to find Chekov to tell him what had happened, but he couldn’t find him through the chaos. There was so much screaming, jumping, tickling, running, playing that he couldn’t even identify where he was. He was lost in his own ship. It would be impossible to find Chekov like this, and too dangerous to try to fix the wires in the uproar. The best he could do was try to find a turbolift and get to the Bridge.

If he had succeeded with the wires, it would have created a simulation battle on the screen - Phase III. It would’ve shown a Romulan ship attacking the Enterprise and each person would play their parts as they would any other battle; but this battle would have been Kirk’s. No one was to listen to the old Admiral’s commands to prove once and for all that Kirk was a better Captain, and would be a better Admiral, than Clark ever would or could. And their victory would have been glorious.

After a performance like that, even if it was just a simulation, there was no way the Federation could refuse to give him his position back; especially after they all filed a detailed complaint about Clark which happened last night as Phase I.

But without the third phase, the entire plan would fall apart.

***

Jim emerged from his cave as the old Kirk. He’d changed his clothes, shaved, and was ready to fight. He let out a loud laugh as he ran down the halls. The people cheered the appearance of their soon-to-be-again Captain. As he ran, he heard a yell.

“Kirk! Call them off!” There was still a crowd surrounding him and leading him to different places on the ship. They were still jumping in the Admiral’s face, poking him, screaming, dancing - you name it, they were doing it.

“Sorry, Admiral,” he called back, “but I can’t control of them!...I’m just a Cadet!” He pointed at the doctor before he flew down the passageway, leaving Clark with the crowd.

“Phase Three!” Shouted McCoy and he and Uhura kept eyes open for a turbolift along the walls.

As Jim ran, he couldn’t believe the feeling of everything. Of being set free, of the defeat of Admiral Clark in a few minutes, of becoming Captain again, of getting the Enterprise back, of getting his crew back. Pure happiness shown through him like light through a bulb as people continued to cheer him over the screams.

“Spock!” The First Officer turned and saw someone running toward him.

“Captain!” Spock could not deny the gleam of happiness that radiated within him when he saw Kirk like that. Though his face didn’t show his true emotion, he did grab Kirk’s arm. Kirk looked around at the crew, unable to believe their plan was working. Unable to believe his own comeback. Unable to believe his eyes as he looked upon the beauty of their own controlled chaos.

“Isn’t this great,” he yelled over the other screams.

“A most logical means of defeat, Captain.” Kirk just smiled at his comment, the best comment he’d heard about himself since Clark got on their screen. Speaking of which...

“I’ll see you on the Bridge!” Kirk said and ran the other direction.

***

“Sir, look!” Ever since they were defeated, the Romulans searched for the Enterprise. Day and night they looked; never once was the screen unwatched. Never once was there an empty place at the scanner. Never once were their weapons left unguarded. The resentment they had for the Enterprise, and Kirk, only grew. “I think we found them.”

On their scanners lay a small dot. When they closed in on it, they could tell that, from its shape, it was a Starfleet vessel. When they zoomed in, the ship read “U.S.S. ENTERPRISE.” The Commander smiled to himself.

“Warp twelve,” he said. “Prepare the attack.” His First Officer stood immediately and went to their wall intercom, announcing that they had located the enemy.

“Battle stations. Wait for the Commander’s signal.” Throughout their ship, the aliens rushed to their positions, waiting for their leader’s word.

“How do you want to go in, Sir?”

“Cloak on. They will regret ever interfering with Romulan intentions.”

“Engine room,” said the First Officer.

“Engine room here.”

“Cloak on.”

“Cloaking on.” The next second, the ship suddenly blended in with the stars as it became invisible. The Commander chuckled with malice. “Ready or not, Kirk...here. I. Come.”

***

Chekov was on cloud nine as he pranced through the crowd and high-fived everyone who passed. Such a change had taken place. Not even twelve hours ago, these people feared him. They practically cowered before him as they stood up straight and pushed themselves even more beyond the human breaking point. He looked at them as they let loose in pride and thankfulness that they had accepted him as their friend again. Once it set in that they were going to finally be free, he felt so light that he thought he might start to float above the horde of wild people. Suddenly, he saw a yellow shirt in the midst of the party darting toward him.

“Captain! Can you believe it?”

“No I can’t, Mr. Chekov.” He put his hand on his shoulder. “Thank you,” he said and pinched his side. Chekov jerked.”Sorry.” He said as he grinned at the Ensign. But that Ensign had a growing grin himself as he tackled Jim and rapidly poked his rib cage. He wriggled at the feeling but also from trying to avoid getting stepped on. His laughter was high and one of the loudest sounds on board.

The last time he tickled Jim was right after he yelled at him for tickling the crew. While Chekov still had mixed feelings about being tickled himself, he could tell Jim liked it and that he was probably secretly hoping that someone would get him back. So, why not get him back again after everything he’d been through? That being in mind, he dug into his belly and Jim immediately tried to make himself into a ball.

He backed off after a minute, not wanting to overwhelm him too much in their positions, and offered Jim a hand; but he got up on his own. That was when they saw Clark and McCoy, Sulu, and Uhura heading to a turbolift as the rest of their tiny crowd faded into the party. They both took off for the group and squeezed in the lift with them just before the doors shut.

As soon as the doors closed, that was when Clark struck. He swung his arms and kicked his legs to push his captors out. They tried to grab him, but he would send his fist swinging. And he had a perfect aim. Loyal to their true Captain - or in Kirk’s case, his crew - as soon as they hit the ground, they’d force themselves back up, only to dodge punches and eventually take another blow. Kirk went to kick him, but Clark grabbed his leg and threw him to the floor. He grabbed his phaser from Sulu and pointed it at all of them, forcing the officers to step down. Then he aimed it at Jim.

“You did this, Kirk! Call it off or I shoot.”

“He didn’t do it.” Chekov said and stepped in front of his Captain, shielding him from the weapon. “I did.”

“You?” The Ensign stayed silent as he stood his ground and refused to get out of the way of fire.

“Chekov,” Kirk said.

“After all I’ve done for you. How close you were to getting promoted...You could have made a great leader,” he said not breaking eye contact with the young man. “Too bad I’m a better one.” He pulled the trigger and Chekov fell in a heap onto his Captain, unconscious. Jim watched his eyes close. When he looked up, he was met with the phaser a few inches from his face. The turbolift doors opened, revealing Spock at his post.

“Sir -”

“Quiet, Eyebrows!” He turned back to the others and waved his weapon toward the Bridge. “Go on.” One by one they left the lift as Clark followed. McCoy carried Chekov out, placed him on the floor, and bent over him to try to shield him as the doors closed again. He hadn’t brought any of his equipment, this was the best the doctor could do. The Admiral pointed the phaser at all of them, including Spock. “I am an Admiral! I will not lose command! You will obey m-”

Suddenly, the ship was blown back, sending all personnel flying through the air and crashing into everything and each other. Cheering in the halls at the launch of Phase III, the crewmen started getting to their stations to make this as real as possible. On the Bridge, the blast threw the phaser from Clark’s hand, and Kirk quickly scooped it up and held it at him.

“Stay right where you are. That’s an order.” As the doors opened, Scotty ran from the lift and onto the Bridge.

“I couldn’t fix the wires in time before this baboon got to ‘em!” Everyone on the Bridge scrambled to their stations, except McCoy who held the Russian in place and used his hand to cradle the back of his head as he shielded him further. Kirk immediately got to his chair and pushed the button, still aiming the phaser at Clark who didn’t dare move.

“Red Alert. Condition Red Alert. Battle stations. This is not a drill. This is not a simulation. I repeat: this is not a simulation.” The fun in the halls stopped right then and there at that last part. The siren sounded as they all ran the rest of the way to their stations, preparing themselves for a real fight. Another blast sent them flying, but they kept going because now they had two things on the line: Kirk and their lives.

“Uhura, screen up.”

“Yes, Sir.” The Romulan Commander appeared on the screen. He stared at the Bridge crew and noticed Clark staring back as he was held in place by Kirk and his phaser.

“Have a hostage, Kirk?”

“What are you doing to my ship? We haven’t attacked.”

“You’re ship?!” Clark cried.

“But you have, Captain,” the alien started. “You interfered with Romulan intentions.”

“You were going to destroy those people.”

“Not people, Captain. Enemies. And now you fit that category.”

“You saw what our weapons are capable of. We don’t want to have to use them again. If you know what’s good for you, you will cease fire and leave this part of the galaxy. Now.”

“There will be a different outcome this time. You are Romulan enemies; you must die. Goodbye...Captain Kirk.” It was then that the Enterprise took another hit, sending the ship back as the lights flickered.

“Kirk!” Admiral Clark yelled.

“Scotty, damage report.”

“We’ve got some damage to the shields.”

“Bones, how’s Chekov?”

“Alright so far. As good as he can be for someone who just got stunned.” He said glaring at the older man.

“Anything on the scanner, Spock?”

“Nothing yet, Sir.” Another hit.

“What do you mean ‘nothing yet’?! Where are they?! I want them found now!”

“Admiral, if you would be so kind as to shut up.” Kirk said looking at him, phaser still pointed.

“More damage to the shields.”

“Re-calibrate the scanner, Mr. Spock,” Kirk said

“What?!” Kirk nodded at Spock who turned back to his scanner and readjusted its settings.

“Sir, I am picking up on Romulan lifeforms.”

“Mr. Sulu, aim and ready phasers.”

“Aye, Sir.”

“On my word,” Kirk said.

“Now! Fire now!”

“Hold your position, Sulu.”

“Kirk, if you want to stay in Starfleet-”

“Fire!” Their lasers jetted out into the stars and made contact. The Romulans held onto whatever they could grab for dear life as their vessel shook.

“Hit,” Sulu cheered.

“Lucky shot.”

“Scotty, warp eight.”

“Aye, Sir.”

“Sulu, port.”

“Helmsman! Go starboard!” The ship started moving left as the Romulans fired again, missing the beams.

“Fire!”

As the Romulans underwent another blow, pieces of their ship began to fall off the walls and ceiling. Engines and equipment damaged, their lights flashed on and off, and they endured injuries. A fatal hit broke their cloaking device, leaving them exposed, completely out in the open.

“Commander,” said a Romulan, “we can’t take much more.”

“Fire,” their Commander yelled. They blasted their rays at full power, completely taking out the Enterprise’s shields.

“Shields out,” Scotty yelled. “One engine out. Damage to the matter-antimatter unit. Lads in engineering are trying to fix it, but that unit’s sensitive -”

“The point, Mr. Scott!”

“One more hit from them and we’ll blow up.”

“Drop the phaser, Kirk! If I don’t take command now we’ll all die!” Kirk adjusted his aim, bringing the phaser even closer to Clark.

“Don’t you move. Mr. Sulu, on my count. Scotty, prepare warp twelve.”

“I don’t know if she can -”

“She has to!” Kirk said, watching the other ship as it approached. “Ready...now!” He shouted as Clark yelled “No!” At the exact same moment, both ships fired. The beams parallel to each other and so close that it almost seemed that their colors mixed into one. “Go, Sulu!” The helmsman pulled up, just barely out of the laser’s range. The other suffered a full blast.

The inside of the Romulan ship began to burn, the walls and ceiling continued to fall apart from irreversible damage, and the Romulans had no way of fighting back. One more attack from Kirk would surely destroy them..if their ship could hold out that long.

“Scotty. Go down to the Transporter Room with a full security team. I want the Romulans beamed aboard.”

“Yes, Sir,” he said getting up and into the turbolift. As soon as the doors closed, Kirk looked back at the screen and the collapsing ship. Clark took the opportunity and tackled Kirk. The others stood to attack the Admiral, but Kirk called them off, ordering that they stay at their posts. On the floor the two wrestled, rolling on top of each other, each one struggling to get the upper hand.

***

In the Transporter Room, Scotty beamed the Romulan crew aboard as fast as they could be. He had his censors locked on the ship, but they were all moving inside, trying to avoid the fires and falling metal. And boy it was hard to hit a moving target. A few at a time they were beamed up, until only the Commander was left.

“Sir,” a Red Shirt at the scanner said. “We have ten seconds before that ship falls apart completely.”

“Then we better get ‘im up in nine.”

“Eight.” Scotty tried to get his coordinates locked on their target, but he kept moving. “Seven.”

“Hold still!”

“Six.” He made a sharp turn. “Five.” He sped up. “Four.” He turned around. “Three.” He slowed down again. “Two.”

“C’mon!”

“One.” The ship broke down and was now just bits and pieces floating through space.

***

Kirk received a punch in the head, sending him down. Clark took his phaser back, once again, and aimed it at the young Cadet’s head.

“You’re a fool, Kirk,” he said. “A fool to bring Romulans aboard, and a fool to think that you could outdo me. That win was lucky, but...your luck has run out.”

“Sir, screen -”

“Bring it up,” Clark yelled. Uhura looked at Kirk who nodded. She smiled, for she knew something Clark didn’t.

“Yes, Admiral.”

“Clark!” A man with white hair in a red, shiny uniform, decorated with his insignia and six medals, yelled on the screen. Clark looked up and his jaw dropped. It was the highest man in the Federation, Fleet Admiral Jones.

“I think you’ll see, Admiral,” Kirk said with a smirk, “that my luck hasn’t run out.”

“Care to explain why when I send you to take command and retrain Kirk, I get over four hundred detailed complaints calling you a dictator and tyrant at three o’clock in the morning?! And how about why you have a phaser at Kirk’s head!” He retracted the weapon and continued to stare, speechless, at the screen.

“He also intentionally stunned one of my men when not under any direct threat or attack,” Kirk added and pointed to Chekov. That got Clark to speak up.

“That’s a lie!”

“Well,” said Jones. “Let’s ask the Vulcan. Vulcans can’t lie, is that correct?”

“That is correct,” said Spock. “As is Kirk’s claim.”

“Dr. McCoy, take Chekov down to Sickbay and let me know of any injuries sustained during the fight.” McCoy nodded and took Chekov, still unconscious, out.

“What fight?” Jones asked.

“Moments after Clark attacked Ensign Pavel Chekov, Fleet Admiral, we had a little issue with some Romulans. I took over Command and he tried to deflect the orders I gave to my crew.”

“That’s a lie too! I led us to victory!” The doors to the turbo lift opened to reveal Scotty, three Security Officers, and the Romulan Commander.

“He insisted that he see you, Sir,” said Scotty.

“You may have won today, Kirk. You may have destroyed my ship,” he began. “But this is not the end. We will be back to take our vengeance -”

“Gentleman, would you please escort our guest to the Brig along with the rest of the Romulans?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Sir?” Scotty asked.

“You can stay, Scotty.”

“Thank you. I don’t want to miss this.”

“Actually, Mr. Scott,” the man on the screen said. “I will have to ask you to bring Admiral Clark to the Transporter Room and beam him into my office.” He said eyeing the older man. Scotty wore the biggest grin he could muster.

“It would be my pleasure, Fleet Admiral.”

“And of course if he tries anything, you will be sure to notify me.”

“Aye, Sir.” He turned to Clark. “After you...Admiral.” They both disappeared behind the turbolift’s doors.

“I’m sorry you all had to put up with him; believe me, there will be punishment.” Kirk only just managed to not smile at the beautiful irony. “And Kirk, I believe you’ve earned the privilege of command again.”

“Thank you, Fleet Admiral.”

“Jones out.” The screen went black and there was a silence on the Bridge. Kirk pushed the button on his chair.

“Attention Enterprise, this is your Captain speaking...mission accomplished.” There was a collective cheering throughout the ship at the official return of their Captain. Many of them had never felt this kind of happiness before - the happiness of freedom after a long imprisonment. Scotty chuckled at the excited screaming.

“‘Tis a beautiful sound, is it not?” He asked and waved as he personally beamed Admiral Clark off his ship.

***

The Sickbay was quiet as Chekov woke, his friends waiting at his bed. Upon seeing them, he sat up.

“How’re you feeling?” Kirk asked.

“Fine, Captain.”

“You took quite a tumble there, Mr. Chekov,” said Bones.

“What happened?”

“When we all got in the turbolift, Clark starting attacking us,” started Uhura.

“We tried to fight back, but Clark took the phaser off me.”

“He held it at the Captain and said that he did it,” Bones said. “Threatened to shoot ‘im if the whole thing wasn’t called off.”

“Then you stepped between Clark and myself and confessed that it was you. After that, he stunned you.”

“That two-faced, egoistic, rat! When I see him I’ll -”

“Then it is most fortunate, Mr. Chekov, that none of us will be forced to endure his presence any longer.”

“Aye.” Chekov jerked his head toward Kirk.

“We won?” Kirk grinned.

“Freedom really was invented in Russia.” Chekov planted his fist in the air as he let out a breathy laugh and fell back onto the bed. “It didn’t go exactly as we planned, but we won. Thank you, Chekov...for everything.”

“Aye, lad. You were a real hero and if it wasn’t for you, he’d still be here!”

“Hear, hear.” Bones said as he poured seven glasses of brandy and started passing them out. “A toast.”

“To Chekov,” Kirk said.

“To Chekov, I’m sorry I doubted you ” Sulu agreed.

“And to having that Clark out of our hair,” Uhura said relieved.

“I’ll drink to that one too,” said Scotty.

“And to our Captain,” Chekov said.

“Vulcans do not partake in the consumption of alcohol. However, I will honor these accomplishments.“ They clinked their glasses and each took a drink as they sat there talking, laughing, and relishing their freedom.

After an hour of celebrating in Sickbay, Chekov, Uhura, Sulu, and Scotty decided to turn in for the night and walk back to their individual Quarters together. Chekov’s was last but as soon as the doors opened, he felt complete bliss. He sighed to himself and jumped into bed; he was more than ready to rest and get back to work tomorrow to make even more positive differences. And as Chekov heard laughter coming from the hall, he smiled to himself because he knew everything was good.

#http://www.differencebetween.net/miscellaneous/politics/difference-between-admiral-and-general/#https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/11404/how-do-starfleet-sensors-actually-work #https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Romulan_Commander_(Balance_of_Terror)#https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat_positions #some dialogue is directly from Star Trek TOS #I love making references like those #googled ranks #a little bit of ticklish!chekov #ticklish!jim #in The Enterprise Incident Chekov uses the scanner to find Spock aboard a Romulan ship #now in this story Spock uses the scanner to find Romulans aboard a Romulan ship #The Enterprise Incident #Star Trek: The Motion Picture #Balance of Terror #Balance of Terror references #Possible The Enterprise Incident references - I can't remember

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tsaomengde · 5 years ago

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Tiny Viewing Guide to Star Trek: The Next Generation

Just found out one of my oldest friends, a huge sci fi guy, has never actually seen TNG, or indeed any Trek. He asked if I wouldn't mind writing a viewing guide. Not all that tiny, but the blurb for each episode is tiny. YMMV.

Encounter at Farpoint - Goofy but iconic, series premiere

The Naked Now - Bad but hilarious and a little important

Code of Honor - terrible racist horseshit

The Last Outpost - first time we meet the Ferengi, they're not impressive

Where No One Has Gone Before - interesting enough

Lonely Among Us - I have no memory of this place

Justice - terrible outfits, Wesley episode

The Battle - Picard episode, not terrible

Hide and Q - Riker-centric Q episode, not the best Q episode, not the worst

Haven - first time we meet Lwaxana, don't remember anything else

The Big Goodbye - first of many holodeck episodes, pretty good

Datalore - important!!!

Angel One - totally forgettable

11001001 - meh

Too Short a Season - weird, generally meh

When the Bough Breaks - Wesley episode, don't remember it much

Home Soil - no clue

Coming of Age - more Wesley (can you tell Gene Roddenberry liked the character?), but not bad

Heart of Glory - first time the Klingons get real character, important

The Arsenal of Freedom - automated weaponry is bad, mmkay

Symbiosis - nope, no idea

Skin of Evil - dark, nasty, generally unpleasant episode, important for character reasons

We'll Always Have Paris - genuinely do not remember this one but wiki says there's time travel and that's always fun

Conspiracy - real mixed feelings about this one, it's tense and interesting TV but not really good Trek and it has huge implications that are never revisited

The Neutral Zone - Romulans are reintroduced, pretty cool

The Child - pretty decent Troi episode

Where Silence Has Lease - interesting space puzzle episode sprinkled with Picard philosophizing

Elementary, Dear Data - first Sherlock!Data holodeck episode, excellent stuff

The Outrageous Okona - weeeaaaak, but kind of funny

Loud As A Whisper - cool deaf character, cringey late-80s implementation

The Schizoid Man - Data episode, good acting, cringey dialogue

Unnatural Selection - Pulaski-centric, and I dislike Pulaski so this is a pass for me

A Matter Of Honor - Riker serves on a Klingon warship, some good stuff

The Measure of A Man - Easily a top 10 Trek episode of all time

The Dauphin - Wesley has a crush, receives terrible romantic advice from entire crew

Contagion - interesting lethal archaeology

The Royale - love this episode, it's terrible and bad science but I love it

Time Squared - weird time-travel stuff, not one of the best

The Icarus Factor - lot of good character stuff, terrible future martial arts

Pen Pals - excellent Data episode, thoughts about the Prime Directive

Q Who - WATCH THIS ONE

Samaritan Snare - bad episode, funny moments

Up The Long Ladder - holy shit the Irish racism

Manhunt - Lwaxana Troi at her best, love it

The Emissary - Amazing Klingon stuff

Peak Performance - good episode, lots of fun character bits

Shades of Gray - TERRIBLE CLIP SHOW AVOID AVOID AVOID

Evolution - Wesley episode, not bad but not great

The Ensigns of Command - Mediocre Data episode

The Survivors - space puzzle episode, OK

Who Watches the Watchers - more prime directive stuff, mildly interesting

The Bonding - interesting stuff about grief

Booby Trap - another space puzzle, high stakes, cool payoff

The Enemy - Pretty good, Romulans

The Price - fun episode

The Vengeance Factor - ehhhhhhhh

The Defector - More Romulan stuff, is good

The Hunted - will 100% make you scream at how terrible security is in the future, not a bad ep though

The High Ground - ugh, just not great

Deja Q - good Q episode

A Matter of Perspective - let's use the holodeck to prove Riker couldn't have committed this crime!

The Offspring - WATCH THIS BUT BRING TISSUES

Sins of the Father - first of many Klingon Politics episodes, I love these with a fiery passion and my wife is bored to tears by them so YMMV

Allegiance - space puzzle, not a great one but not bad

Captain's Holiday - WATCH THIS, IS AMAZING

Tin Man - literally put me to sleep once

Hollow Pursuits - First of many Barclay episodes, my beautiful autistic space boi

The Most Toys - alright, worth one watch

Sarek - SO IMPORTANT WAAAAAAAAAATCH

Menage a Troi - bad episode, worth it for the payoff

Transfigurations - Jason Ironheart called, he knows he came after this episode chronologically but he was better

The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1 - YAAAS

The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2- YAAAAAAAAAAAAAS

Family - So important

Brothers - Very Important

Suddenly Human - meh

Remember Me - very interesting space puzzle, one of the Crusher episodes where she gets to be awesome

Legacy - not the most jaw-dropping ep but important

Reunion - KLINGON POLITICS YEEES

Future Imperfect - interesting enough

Final Mission - Wesley episode, not bad

The Loss - v. good Troi episode

Data's Day - fun, wholesome Data times

The Wounded - SO GOOD AND SO IMPORTANT

Devil's Due - I love this episode even if it's not that important or good

Clues - Awesome space puzzle

First Contact - eh? okay? sure?

Galaxy's Child - fine, whatever

Night Terrors - uuuuugh, no

Identity Crisis - this one scared the fuck out of me as a kid and may be responsible for my deep-seated body-transformation-horror triggers, now it's just kind of weird

The nth Degree - BARCLAY, LOVE HIM AND THIS EP

Qpid - YES SO GOOD

The Drumhead - This is Michael Dorn's favorite episode and it is worthy of the title

Half a Life - Lwaxana is great, the episode not as much

The Host - introduction of the Trill, kind of cringey almost 30 years later

The Mind's Eye - brainwashing stuff, meh

In Theory - Data tries to date, hilarities ensue

Redemption Part 1 - GIVE ME THE KLINGON POLITICS

Redemption Part 2 - MOOOOOOOOOORE

Darmok - One of my top 5 episodes in the series

Ensign Ro - so important, introduces the Bajorans and Ensign Ro

Silicon Avatar - important for Data, not a terribly interesting episode otherwise

Disaster - Troi gets to shine! cool episode

The Game - by far the worst Wesley episode. everyone is seduced into acting like a brainwashed idiot by a terrible space future video game. fuck this episode and everyone who wrote it but especially Brannon Braga.

Unification 1 - WATCH

Unification 2- THESE

A Matter of Time - So good, waaatch

New Ground - I am not a fan of Alexander but he is so important to Worf's growth, so... yeah

Hero Worship - more stuff about grief, eh

Violations - I don't remember this one that much but I do not think I enjoyed it

The Masterpiece Society - read the above description

Conundrum - amazing space puzzle episode. easily one of my favorites in the series

Power Play - meh

Ethics - very important, good Trek

The Outcast - THIS EPISODE COULD HAVE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER IF THE LOVE INTEREST WAS MALE. JONATHAN FRAKES PUSHED FOR A MALE ACTOR. watch it anyway

Cause and Effect - fun space puzzle, a little repetitive but totally solid

The First Duty - one of the best Picard Speeches ever, watch

Cost of Living - fun Lwaxana episode

The Perfect Mate - pretty meh but Famke Janssen is fun as Kamala

Imaginary Friend - so bored

I, Borg - INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT

The Next Phase - interesting episode about the afterlife

The Inner Light - THIS IS MY FAVORITE EPISODE OF THE ENTIRE SERIES AND I CRY EVERY TIME

Time's Arrow 1 - Such good time travel

Time's Arrow 2 - Such great Mark Twain

Realm of Fear - Yay more Barclay!

Man of the People - bad Troi episode

Relics - WAAAAAAAAAATCH

Schisms - space puzzle, kind of lame payoff due to effects limitations but the journey is worth it

True Q - By far the worst fucking Q episode ever written

Rascals - uuuuuuuugh. half the crew is regressed into children. Ferengi are involved. you are missing nothing.

A Fistful of Datas - amazing dumb holodeck episode, watch

The Quality of Life - boring episode, good message

Chain of Command 1 - So dark, so difficult, so totally riveting and important

Chain of Command 2 - See above

Ship in a Bottle - Sequel to Sherlock!Data, amazing

Aquiel - could have been written much better

Face of the Enemy - by far the best Troi episode, Marina Sirtis was incredibly happy when I told her it was one of my favorites

Tapestry - fantastic Q/Picard episode

Birthright 1 - Basically exists to set up DS9 but is pretty good and has important bits

Birthright 2 - See above

Starship Mine - DIE HARD ON THE ENTERPRISE

Lessons - Very important Picard episode

The Chase - amazing space puzzle episode, has one of my favorite one-off Klingon characters

Frame of Mind - is Riker's entire life a delusion he has created to mentally escape his imprisonment in a mental asylum? spoilers: no

Suspicions - Good mystery episode, Crusher gets to do stuff

Rightful Heir - Very important Worf episode, good Klingon stuff

Second Chances - uh, kind of bad, but it gets referenced later in DS9

Timescape - super interesting space puzzle, amazing character bits

Descent 1 - WAAATCH

Descent 2 - as above

Liaisons - okay. not great. not bad.

Interface - OK Geordi episode

Gambit 1 - Amazing stuff

Gambit 2 - More amazing stuff

Phantasms - Psychological horror? in my Data? it's more likely than you think. watch

Dark Page - one of the few Lwaxana episodes I don't love

Attached - great Picard/Crusher episode

Force of Nature - environmentalism! is! good!

Inheritance - important Data episode

Parallels - SUCH A GOOD WORF EPISODE

The Pegasus - very important Riker episode

Homeward - Interesting Worf and Prime Directive episode

Sub Rosa - so cringey and terrible, oh my God

Lower Decks - a fun change of pace from the main cast

Thine Own Self - I don't love it, but it is good character stuff

Masks - weird space puzzle episode, I love it but I wouldn't call it Great

Eye of the Beholder - space mystery, it's not fantastic

Genesis - look. this episode is not good. but it has amazing costumework by Michael Westmore. and has some great Picard/Data stuff. watch it.

Journey's End - super important stuff. sets up a lot of stuff for DS9 and VOY

Firstborn - Good Worf/Alexander episode

Bloodlines - More Ferengi stuff, kind of lame

Emergence - space puzzle, weird but interesting

Preemptive Strike - So so so so important

All Good Things... - it's the series finale. and some of the best Trek ever. obviously you're going to watch.

#star trek #the next generation #star trek the next generation #st:tng #tng #viewing guide #blurbs #ymmv

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edosianorchids901 · 7 years ago

Note

“i know i shouldn’t be here.”

“I know I shouldn’t be here.”

_____________________

Eventhough I’d expected it, the fury on Julian’s face when he spotted me still mademe ache. “Garak,” he said flatly, stepping the rest of the way inside.

“Iapologize for the intrusion. I know I shouldn’t be here.” I’d debated for theentire day about whether or not to go to see him. Eventually, my longing anddesire for connection had won out, and I’d come to his quarters, waiting forhim to come home.

Hedrew a long breath, looking at me without any of his usual fondness. “What doyou want?”

Mouthsuddenly so dry that it was difficult to talk, I gave an aimless wave of myhand. “I wanted to speak with you, to apologize.”

Julian’sjaw clenched. “There’s not really anything you can say.”

“Iknow, I just…” Unable to remain seated any longer, I pushed upright and pacedto the viewport. “I wanted to explain why I did it.”

“Garak,I know why you did it.” He slammedhis padd down on the table. “You told me already. Sisko wanted your help to getthe Romulans into the war.”

Hemay know, but did he truly understand? Did he know how desperate I was to turnthe war around? Did he understand the Cardassian drive to accomplish the goalby any means necessary?

“Whenyou give a Cardassian a task,” I began carefully, still hoping to salvage ourrelationship, “they’ll do anything to–”

“Youturned over eighty-five liters of bio-mimetic gel to someone intending to useit for god knows what!” Julian exploded, taking a few long strides and gettingright in my face. “You involved me in this, Garak! You involved your partner inthis!”

“Youwere ordered to provide the gel, it’s not as if you’re liable for–”

“Thatdoesn’t matter!” He didn’t generally yell at me, and I found myself unable todo much more than stare at him, my spirits sinking lower and lower. “Do youknow what they could do with that much gel? Do you even care? And do you carethat you forced me to hand it over? I almost died because of bio-mimetic gelonce! Do you remember that?”

Of course,I remembered – I’d agonized over bringing the request to Sisko for preciselythose reasons. “Yes,” I whispered. The pain of nearly losing Julian to theLethean’s attack still felt fresh, even though it had been over three yearssince that day.

“Thenhow could you do this?” Anger was no longer the predominant emotion in hiseyes. Now it was accompanied by hurt and betrayal, things I found much moredistressing. I’d never, ever wanted to hurt him. “Garak, how could you do thisto me? I would have died to keep it out of the hands of criminals. I nearlydid. But you forced me to provide it. So, whatever horrid things they do withit are my fault too.”

“Hardly,Doctor. I believe the responsibility rests with myself and Captain Sisko.”

“Itdoesn’t matter! You pulled me into your damn scheme, not even caring that I’dbe party to genetic experiments, biogenic weapons. And you expect me to listento you trying to justify it?”

Myheart wilted. That was it, then. Of all the sacrifices I’d made for Cardassia,this was the worst. I’d hurt a good man and driven away perhaps the only personwho had ever truly loved me for who I was.

Icouldn’t bring myself to reply, all my fight gone. It was like a gaping woundhad opened up in my chest, draining away all my life and passion.

“Garak!”he snapped, enraged again. “What the hell do you have to say for yourself?”

Therewas no point. What I’d done was indefensible, and he would never forgive me.Not this time.

Atmy continued failure to respond, absolute fury flooded him. He grabbed me bythe arms and gave me a hard shake. “Garak, you owe me an answer!”

Washe going to strike me? It’s not as though I wouldn’t deserve it. And perhaps itwould make him feel better. “It’s all right if you hit me,” I heard myself say.“I’d deserve it.”

Julianreleased me immediately, jerking back and staring at me with bewilderedconfusion. “What?”

Beinghit seemed like the logical conclusion to this conversation, especially afterhow Sisko had reacted. “You’re right. I did drag you into this. I neverintended to hurt you, but I have. I’ve utterly failed you. It’s all right ifyou need to strike me. I understand.”

Heblinked several times and licked his lips, looking dazed. Carefully, he touchedmy cheek, and I flinched. “Elim, I’m not gonna hurt you,” he murmured. “I’m notSisko. And I’m not Tain either, for that matter.”

“That’smost gratifying.” I didn’t know what to say or do now.

Hedrew a shaky breath, swaying slightly. “I’m not really feeling well.”

“Iapologize. I’ve subjected you to considerable stress.” I took his hands,leading him to the couch and sitting both of us down. “My dear?”

Hewiped at his eyes, and I realized he was in tears. “Elim, I’m sorry.”

“Oh,Julian, no!” I laid my hand on the side of his head, panicked. Had Imanipulated him, even unintentionally? “You needn’t apologize. Your anger iswell justified and directed at the correct party. I knew what I was doing. Iknew it would upset you, and I went ahead with it anyway.”

Withanother long, shaky breath, he looked at me. “The worst part is that Iunderstand exactly why you did it. I understand why you did all of it. But itstill hurts.”

“Iknow.” I swallowed hard, trying not to notice that I was trembling. “Iapologize again, Julian. I won’t ask you to forgive me, and I won’t trouble youany further.”

“Elim?”He caught my arm as I tried to stand. “Where are you going?”

Toattempt to drink myself into a stupor. “Away. I know you’re furious with me. Iwon’t bother you, I promise. And…” I hesitated, unsure how to express mycomplicated web of emotions. “Thank you for all the kindness you showed mewhile we were together. I’m sorry that I did such a poor job of repaying you.”

Iattempted to step away, and he held on tighter. “I don’t want you to go,” hewhispered, distressed.

“Youdon’t?” I didn’t understand.

“No,I don’t.” He tugged on my arm and I sank back to the couch, confused. “I’mangry with you, yeah. But I don’t wanna lose you, Elim.”

Mybreath rushed out and I dropped my head, so relieved that I could barelycomprehend what was happening. “I… thank you. I don’t want to lose you either,but I fear I’ve damaged our relationship beyond repair.”

“No.”He lifted my chin, gazing at me. “It’s not beyond repair. Things might be roughfor a while – there’s a lot to process. But you’re too important to me to justlet you go, even over something like this.”

“Ido care,” I said softly, forcing myself to maintain eye contact. “I care that Ihurt you. I knew this would be deeply upsetting for you. I agonized over it. Butin the end, there was no other way. I tried everything else.”

Hegave a slow nod, and then rested his forehead against mine. “I believe you,Elim. It’s just gonna take me some time, that’s all.”

“Morethan understandable, and much appreciated.” I didn’t deserve another chance,didn’t deserve his forgiveness. But, as always, he gave it nonetheless.

#garashir #garak x bashir #elim garak #julian bashir #star trek #deep space nine #prompted writing #gayvarden #plain simple writing

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startrekexistence-blog · 7 years ago

Text

This is my first published fanfic, I'm continuing @cyrelia-j 's round robin challenge.

Rules: You can tag anyone you might like to see pick the story up but anyone can continue. So copy the story so far, be sure to credit past contributors [unless they request otherwise] and add your continuation. Also use the tag “TBLWIC round robin” so it’s easier for everyone to see the different threads they want to work off of. If it gets long, be sure to use a cut and have fun!

The Best Little Whorehouse in Cardassia

The war with the Dominion wasn’t so much a war as it was a business acquisition. The capitulation of the Cardassian Union was surprising but when one considered the terms, it wasn’t really. The planet was terraformed to once more be a world of lush greenery and gardens, infrastructure enhanced, citizens fed and the existing colonized worlds bolstered with additional security forces. Given the choice between destruction and prosperity for a “small cost”, the Council after a 70/30 percentage split vote surrendered. There was a fear that more worlds were to follow but that never came to pass, the Federation/Klingon/Romulan Alliance signing a treaty soon after.

After all, the Dominion wasn’t the Borg. They needed to maintain a careful balance of “acquisitions” and allies. The Ferengi were especially eager to form an alliance as business partners and as it went, the efficacy of their operations increased steadily. Patronage to the newly christened “Pleasure Capital” of the Alpha Quadrant that was Cardassia Prime was immediately robust in spite of the Federation’s initial protests. Federation citizens were at first forbidden from visiting the repurposed world; the Federation didn’t condone or endorse sexual slavery. But little by little curiosity seekers, visitors with lesser scruples and ethical concerns found their way there.

“Cum visit The Esteemed Founder’s Newest Acquisition Cardassia Prime! A rare gem in the Alpha Quadrant! Lovely Lizards are waiting for you!”

was how the planet was advertised and in a few years time it was a thriving [if profligate] world of cabarets, massage parlors, brothels and other types of pleasure houses.

And at the center of our sordid tale is one such establishment in Cardassia City known only to outsiders as “Weyoun’s”, a bright and profitable establishment featuring some of Cardassia’s most expensive talents: Elim “Black Cat” Garak, Kelas “Bad Nurse” Parmak, and Corat “Big Daddy” Damar…

A Nurse’s Itch

The Klingon’s hands were large on Kelas’ round ass, barely covered by the Cardassian’s short costume skirts.

“It’s true, right?” the Klingon asks. “You used to be a doctor?”

Kelas nods. “It’s true.”

“I think I like you better like this.”

“You flatter me,” Kelas teases, grinding their hips against the Klingon’s thigh, the Cardassian’s tail swaying just slightly with anticipation.

“You’ve got the prettiest ridges,” the Klingon says, “even if you are a Cardassian whore.”

Kelas raises a brow ridge. “Now you’re being mean.”

The Klingon chuckles. “Are you going to bite me?”

Kelas tilts their head, considering it. “Maybe. But you’re better off with the Cat if you like being bit.”

The Klingon’s hand slides up, under Kelas’ short skirt unceremoniously, rubbing at the Cardassian’s slit. They’re wet, slit swollen with the need to evert. The Klingon forces two thick fingers into the Cardassian, forcing Kelas’ eversion, the Cardassian digging their nails into the fabric of the Klingon’s shirt.

Kelas unfastened the Klingon’s trousers, pulling out both cocks. For a long moment, Kelas ground against the Klingon, smearing slick over both cocks.

“Such a little tease,” the Klingon grumbles.

“I can’t have you breaking me,” Kelas says, keeping their voice sweet. “I’m delicate.”

“True,” the Klingon says, biting at Kelas’ neck ridges. “You’re such a dainty little thing, nurse.”

Kelas lowers themself onto both cocks, one in their genital slit and one in their ass. That’s the one advantage to Klingons: They can scratch every itch at once.

The Klingon’s hands grip Kelas’ wide hips, fingers digging into the scaled flesh there. Growling, they pull Kelas down, stretching the Cardassian wide. Kelas’ eyes water, jaw dropping in a silent scream of pleasure.

“You like that, lizard slut?” the Klingon growls.

Kelas nods furiously, as though their neck is broken.

“I bet you’d like more cocks, hmm?”

Kelas nods, tail swaying harder just imagining being forced to suck on both of this Klingon’s cocks at once. It sends a shiver up their spine and more fluid dripping from their slit.

“Horny little slut,” the Klingon teases. “I’m going to fill you up really good.”

Kelas groans, riding the Klingon as though their life depends on it. The Klingon cums hard into Kelas, the Cardassian overflowing. It takes a moment before the Klingon comes down from his high.

He pats Kelas’ thigh. “Go clean yourself off, nurse.”

Kelas blinks. “Shower with me?”

Kelas smiles, handing over the latinum to Weyoun. The Vorta raises a sharp brow, scratching at the nap of Kelas’ neck.

“You’ve been exceptional in bringing in profits,” Weyoun notes.

“Not all of us appreciate shock collars and painsticks,” Kelas hisses.

The Vorta blinks, unfazed with Kelas’ tone. “I wish we could do something about your mouth, Parmak. It is unfortunate the Founders frown upon mutilation.”

“Well, you can put in a request to have them modify me,” Kelas says.

Weyoun’s eyes are hard to read, but cold, Kelas suppressing a shudder. “Perhaps, Parmak, I will."

Garak's Nausiccan

Garak grimaced as yet another Nausiccan walked into Weyoun's . "I'm Black Cat", he said, trying to keep his voice chipper. The Nausiccan put a bar of latinum on the table, his gaze level. "Ah, the silent type, I see." Garak nodded , chin arched upward.

The Nausiccan ripped off Garak's flimsy shift. Despite the poor material, Garak winced. *That's a tailor's instinct, Elim* Garak chided himself.

The Nausiccan removed his clothes, then began to stroke Garak's genital slit. Garak guided his own hand to the ridged, pointy thing that was the Nausiccan's cock.

As he stroked, Garak everted. The Nausiccan stopped touching him, instead spinning him around so his cock was resting on Garak's ass.

Knowing that Nausiccan were self-lubricating, Garak pushed himself backward on to his cock.

Garak bobbed up and down, feeling the spines ripple through his anus. God, he hated the Naussicans. The Nausiccan bit Garak, sharp teeth gliding into Garak's shoulder, and he wondered if in another reality, it was Bashir biting him.

But there was no room for idle thoughts here.

Clawed fingers holding Garak's arms felt much like those teeth, and Garak bobbed faster, hoping this encounter would end soon. Indeed, the Nausiccan grunted, then thrusted one final time.Garak felt cold milky liquid flow into his ass, the cold being another reason Garak hated fucking Naussiccans. Odd, the man hadn't spoken throughout the exchange.

The Nausiccan recollected his clothes, then swept out of the room, placing another bar of latinum on the table. Garak shivered slightly, pulling out a dermal regenerator, and the glistening cresents on his neck and arms faded.

Time for another customer.

Garak walked towards Weyoun's door, noting Kelas' aloof departure. He has made around above average today, a Nausiccan holiday causing an influx of less vanilla customers, but sadly, more Naussicans.

As Garak turned in his money, he again noted that Weyoun was stony-faced. So they'd had a disagreement. Garak worried for his friend, Weyoun could be a cruel man when prompted. He could remember being punished for not making the necessary amount once. Suffice to say, he had been careful since, and Kelas was more sensitive than he.

"Garak, did you have a Nausiccan customer who didn't speak today? " Weyoun asked. Garak nodded briefly, "Yes, I must admit he was very peculi -" Weyoun cut him off, " He's wanted by The Dominion. He doesn't speak because The Dominion made an exception and chopped out his tongue. "

Weyoun's eyes glinted as he said, "I mentioned to Parmak that I might be able to make a similar exception for him. If he comes back, talk to me."

Tagging: @borg-apologist because you got me into this, and anyone who wants in on this

#tblwic round robin #sorry not sorry #to my followers #who weren't prepared for this

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deepspacedukat · 2 years ago

Note

Romulans and Vulcans finding out about the Chocolate Guy/the Star Trek universe having its own Chocolate Guy

Oh my god!!! That would be amazing!! I can totally imagine Romulans scoffing at first. "What could a Human possibly do with chocolate that's so baffling?" Cut to the ST Chocolate Guy making a hyper-realistic Romulan Warbird out of chocolate and their jaws absolutely dropping open. The Romulan is now baffled and in awe of the Chocolate Guy's skills of deception.

For the Vulcans, I can imagine them thinking "Why would one make chocolate resemble other things? That is a highly illogical practice." But as soon as they see videos of his process and the end result of his work, they'd be pretending to study it - for 'research purposes,' not enjoyment. Definitely not AT ALL for enjoyment...and they're totally not taking notes on how to make a Surak statue out of the highly-intoxicating substance that is chocolate...not at all.

Thank you so much for putting this in my brain!!!! I love the that! 💜

#deepspacedukat asks #stag-of-romulus

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janeykath318 · 7 years ago

Text

Meet Your Daughter: A Pirk Fic

@mrseclipse9856

“I see congratulations are in order, Kirk,” Admiral Richard Barnett told the young woman in civies with a baby strapped to her chest. After resigning from the fleet seven months ago, Jen Kirk had come back to San Francisco to see her mother get her captain’s stripes, undeterred by having a two week old newborn in tow. Her abrupt departure from Starfleet just after the Nero tragedy and graduation had been the topic of much speculation, but Jen had hidden away from the world in her old hometown of Riverside, Iowa until her daughter’s birth. She had braced herself for a barrage of questions and eyebrow raising silent judgment from the brass, knowing most of them already had a pretty low opinion of her. The worst part, however, was facing baby Emma’s father, who just so happened to be one of said Admirals now and had no idea he had offspring.

“Thank You, Admiral,” she said graciously. “I thought this might help explain why I chose to leave the Fleet.”

“Very good reason,” he smiled back at her. “You doing okay?”

“We have our ups and downs,” she admitted, looking down at Emma’s little head, “but we’re getting along okay. She’s a pretty content baby. Adjusting to the weird sleep schedule has been the challenge for me.”

“Ah, yes, I remember those days,” he replied fondly. “She’s a real cutie, though.”

“I think so too,” Jen agreed.

Nearby, she could see Admiral Pike engaged in tense conversation with her mother. The man had barely acknowledged her presence and when he’d seen what she was wearing, well, he hadn’t so much as looked at her. It was deeply Disappointing, but not surprising, given how things had ended between them. Nevertheless, she’d have to find a way to talk to him.

Politely taking her leave from Barnett, she approached Winona and Chris, steeling her courage to face the man who’d broken her heart.

“Excuse me, Admiral,” she announced in her most polite, formal tone, cringing at how stiff she sounded. Pike looked like he wanted to flee, but Winona’s stern gaze held him firmly in place and he finally nodded, not really looking her in the eyes.

“Of course. Here, or in private?” he asked.

“Private.” Jen admitted.

“Very well. We’ll go to my office. Captain?” he asked Winona, indicating she could come too if she wished.

“Nope. This is between the two of you,” Winona declined. “I’ll wait out here. Try to act like adults,” she implored them and they both flushed. Chris still looked spooked at being near her, but slowly made for the door.

“After you,” he said, waving her to go first. He’d always been the gentleman like that, Jen recalled with a pang of nostalgia for the good old times before he’d let the fear of what the brass would do ruin everything. He’d used to treat her like a queen when they were alone.

Now, they were just two awkward exes and she was about to unleash the proverbial elephant in the room.

Once in his office, they faced each other with a silence so thick, Jen felt like the gravity had been turned up. Unable to stand it long, she took a deep breath and spilled her secret.

“Chris-- I mean, Admiral,” she began, bouncing on her heels a bit to settle down Emma, who stirred restlessly.

“I hate to spring this on you like this, but I tried repeatedly for months to contact you and was ignored so I decided now was as good a time to spring this on you as any: Meet your daughter, Emma Renee Pike.”

She let these words sink in as the Admiral turned a sickly shade of whitish green and gripped the edge of his desk for balance.

“You’re kidding me.” he said faintly. Jen shook her head. There was no other possible man it could have been.

“How?.......” He looked like he was going to pass out. Jen felt slightly sorry, but it was his own fault he’d ignored her calls and changed his number.

“Oh, you know how, Christopher,” she said with an evil grin. “I could give you the exact details of the exact night she was conceived if you wish. I figured it out when I was trying to keep myself from puking my guts up early in the pregnancy.”

The greenish white shade swiftly changed to a dark red as he flushed at the suggestive tone and use of his full name. She knew how it riled him up being called Christopher and she’d once taken full advantage of said knowledge. Even now, it was still useful.

Chris sat down hard, swallowing and staring at the baby as if he was just now seeing her.

“Daughter.” he said faintly. “So this is why you disappeared after you resigned.”

“Yes,” Jen admitted. “I decided I couldn’t end it--end HER, but with all the publicity and still hurting from the breakup, I went home to Iowa.”

“Makes sense. When was she born?”

“Two and a half weeks ago. Bones was there and helped me through it, best friend that he is.”

“So that’s where he went all in a hurry,” Chris mused. “About bit my head off when I asked where he was going. Now I know why.”

“Yep. Bones doesn’t like you very much at the moment,” Jen informed him.

“That’s putting it mildly,” her ex admitted with a rueful expression. “Glares daggers at me whenever I run into him. If looks could kill, I would be murdered many times over. Did the labor go okay?”

“I was told It was typical for a first time birth,” she sighed. “But for a few hours, it was indescribably awful. I probably cursed you in twenty different languages. When they mention a ring of fire, they aren’t kidding!! But she was more than worth it, the sweet little darling.”

She dropped a kiss on the baby’s head. Emma had fallen back asleep and was the epitome of newborn angelicness.

Chris cleared his throat and looked awkward again.

“You were pregnant when we were fighting Nero then.” he stated. “When did you find out? Before or after I ended our…...thing.”

That irked her. How dare he call it a thing?

“A relationship. We had a relationship, Chris,” she corrected him coolly. “As for when I knew, I found out after I collapsed on the bridge on the return to earth while you were still in surgery. When I woke up in sickbay, Bones yelled at me, fixed me up, and then told me I was pregnant. He offered to murder you in cold blood. Be glad he takes his oath as seriously as he does.”

“I am,” the repentant looking admiral admitted.

“I should have just told you once you were awake and cognizant, but I couldn’t deal with facing you then. If you thought us being together was too risky, what would you have said about me carrying your unborn baby? By that time, I decided I was going to go through with it and didn’t want you to talk me out of it.”

“Jen, I’m very, very sorry you had to go through that alone,” he apologized.

“Don’t be,” she said firmly before he could continue. “She’s a precious baby and the light of my life. All I need from you is to know whether you want to be involved in her life or if you’d rather treat her like a dirty little secret, in which case we’ll get out of your hair and never trouble you again. I’m not here to blackmail you or beg for money. Much as I hate the way you dumped me, you do deserve to get the chance to know your kid.”

She could see him wince as her pointed words hit home. The ball was in his court now. Gently adjusting the sling so Emma’s head was visible, she turned so Chris could get a better look. The look on his face went from weary regretfulness, to interest, to fascination, to awe in a matter of seconds as he looked his fill of the adorable infant.

“Wow!” he breathed, getting back up and moving around his desk. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen one that small. She’s beautiful, Jen. Takes after you.”

“I think she has your stubborn chin and scowl, though,” Jen commented, trying to ignore the pang of bittersweet joy at his subtle compliment. She was relieved to see he was beginning to relax a little.

Cautiously, Chris took a few steps closer and Jamie’s heart lurched again as the smell of his cologne brought back more memories. She’d loved his scent and used to nuzzle against his jaw on purpose to smell it. Chris would usually kiss her head and pull her close with a light chuckle.

“I, uh, hope you don’t mind I gave her your last name,” She said, scrambling to think of something to break the awkwardness.

“Of course not,” he said softly, still gazing at Emma. “It’s amazing she survived all the stuff you went through during the Nero crisis. That’s one tough little girl.”

“Her dad survived Romulan torture and her mother survived ice monsters, and Vulcan beat downs, so I’d say she comes of strong stock,” Jen agreed proudly. “Speaking of which, I’m glad to see you walking so well,” she continued, genuinely glad to see the progress he’d made. When she’d left, Bones hadn’t been able to say whether he’d ever walk again. Now, he was getting around pretty well, with only the occasional use of his cane for support.

“That’s the result of six months of pain, sweat, and a general desire to spite the entire universe,” Chris admitted ruefully, glancing down at his legs. “My therapists were saints to put up with me for so long.”

“Now that sounds more like the Pike I know,” Jen grinned. “Bones said you’d surpassed his wildest expectations.”

“He hasn’t said a thing like that to my face,” Chris snorted. “Just gives me a hard time. He may have saved my life, but he definitely wasn’t happy about it.”

“What can I say? Bones is loyal to a fault. The one person I can always count on,” Jen added, perhaps a tad passive-aggressively. “It might be awhile before he forgives you.”

Chris wiped his hand over his forehead in a troubled manner and sighed.

“Jen, I admit I made a terrible mistake by underestimating how much you’d be hurt by ending our relationship, but I don’t know what I could have done that wouldn’t have threatened everything you worked so hard for.”

“You didn’t KNOW that, you just assumed it,” Jen retorted. “You didn’t even give me an option of riding it out with you. Whatever it was, we could have faced it together. You know they would never have had any evidence that our relationship influenced my grades or was coerced and technically, Bones got my on that ship against your knowledge when I was supposed to be grounded. Sure, we would have probably taken some crap, but they wouldn’t have enough to kick either of us out. It’s all a moot point now, since I ended up leaving anyway. Your doing the “right thing” had the exact result you were trying to avoid. We thought we were careful. I still don’t know how my birth control failed, but it did and here we are.”

“If I’d had had the self-control to wait until after graduation, to act on my feelings, we wouldn’t have ended up in this mess.”

“Maybe, Maybe not,”Jen shrugged. “But the question remains, will you accept Emma as your daughter or try to pretend she doesn’t exist?”

Chris paced back to his chair and sat down, leg starting to stiffen up from standing too long. He was very taken with Emma, but clueless about fatherhood. And how could he be involved without embroiling all of them in a scandal? Jen didn’t need that stress on top of caring for a newborn.

It came down to a simple choice: take responsibility and be a good father, risking censure and scandal, or protect his career by turning away and permanently breaking all ties with both Jen and Emma?

The stifled part of him that was still very much in love with Jen violently objected to this as well as the newly awakened part that had a definite interest in helping parent this tiny little one, who was now blinking awake and revealing big, beautiful blue eyes.

“Oh, my.” he whispered, eyes suddenly welling up. “Jen, I have no idea how this will work, and I have no clue how to be a…..dad, but I would like to be in her life, and maybe in yours again, if you’ll let me.”

Jen wasn’t sure about that last part, but for Emma’s sake she was glad he’d offered. She allowed a relieved smile to curve up her lips.

“Thats…..wonderful, Chris, and way more than I expected when I came out here.” That stung him, but he knew he deserved it and bowed his head in acknowledgement. He used to be the one she confided in, looked up to. He’d been both dazzled by her and very proud of her as she’d headed for the career he knew she was capable of. Now, he’d only just met their child two weeks after her birth.

“Tell me what I can do, Jen.” He implored, meeting her eyes full on and getting lost in their blueness for a moment.

“You can start by communicating. Maybe give me your new number? Come to Iowa for occasional visit. Tell the Brass the truth when they ask why you’re always going to Iowa. Maybe ask Phil for tips: he’s got experience in the parenting department.”

Chris smiled. That he did. Phil had a grown son from his late wife Alicia and very lively twin red-headed daughters from Cait. He’d heard plenty of crazy tales of mischief, cuteness and woe from his best friend. Phil had stuck by him after Nero and made him get the right help as he worked through the trauma and difficult physical therapy. He’d also disapproved of Chris’s treatment of Jen, but didn’t say much about it, preferring to let McCoy do that part.

“Certainly. Is yours still the same?” he asked, pulling out his device and looking at the contact list.

“Yeah,” Jen confirmed, getting out her own and carefully punching in the code he gave her. “There we go! The first step.” She slipped it back into her belt just as Emma started to fuss.

“Uh-oh, sounds like someone’s ready to eat again,” Jen crooned. “You’ve been such a good girl for mama! Time for a well-deserved meal.” Reaching around her back, she untied the ends of the long piece of fabric that held the baby to her chest, then sat down in the chair across from the desk and eased Emma out of it onto her lap, pulling her out of the wrap and grinning down at her.

“Hi, honey, you getting hungry?”

Emma confirmed this with a little wailing sound that melted Chris’s heart. Heaven help him, he was falling for her already. He got up from his chair and engaged the privacy glass.

“You go right ahead and feed her here, if you want to. I’ll clear out and try to pacify her grandma by informing her of our agreement. I forgot how intimidating that woman was until I caused you grief.”

Jen smirked. “Maybe don’t do it in the future, huh? Just a thought. The whole “mama bear” saying exists for a good reason. We protect our offspring fiercely.”

He smiled at her and Jen’s own heart melted a little. She’d never been able to totally resist his smile, even now when she wasn’t sure if she would be able to forgive him for a while.

At least, he’d accepted Emma and not forced a paternity test. That would have been the ultimate sign of distrust and made her even more wary of him.

“Thanks, Chris,” she told him. “We’ll plan on talking more before I go back, right?”

“For sure.” he confirmed, and slipped out the door, leaving Jen alone to feed the baby.

Wide-eyed, he leaned against the wall to catch his breath as he slowly processed what had just happened. Jen had popped back into his life. He was a dad. She didn’t punch him in the face. She was going to let him co-parent their daughter. Their daughter was beautiful and tiny and precious. He was suddenly terrified.

“Hey, breathe Chris,” a voice said beside him. Winona and Phil stood there, looking both worried and amused at the same time.

“I was an absolute IDIOT.” He declared, once he’d calmed himself down. “Utter, utter fool. She’s gorgeous, Winona. I think I already love her.”

Winona’s expression softened. “I’m glad you’ve seen the error of your ways and yes, Miss Emma Renee Pike is the most beautiful baby in the galaxy. Did you and Jen reach a truce?”

“I think so,” he said, still a little dazed. “I’m gonna need help, though. Phil, I have no clue. How do you be a dad?”

“Trial and Error and a lot of love and patience,” Phil answered. “I think you’ll do fine. Congratulations, by the way. What a way to find out, huh?”

“Like I said, I was an idiot. Thought she’d be better off without me in the long run.”

“And maybe she will,” Winona put in. “But that’s a later discussion. I’m thankful you two are talking again. She missed you terribly.”

“And I missed her,” Chris said honestly. “I’m going to start by working on winning her trust back so we can be civil and cooperative parents at least. Anything else…….well, it’s much too soon to say.”

He tactfully left out the part where he was still hopelessly in love with her and wanted to win back her heart as well as her trust. No more cowardice for him. Chris Pike was on a mission.

#my fics #pirk #the longest one shot I've ever written #pike x kirk #Female Kirk #baby Emma #angst #cuteness

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aceholmes · 7 years ago

Text

The Uncharted (7/?)

summary: emotions are running high as both yar and troi have to think fast to get out of their respective situations.

here it is on ao3!

“Commander Rak Jamin.” Yar states, standing. “We have come to a conclusion.”

“Which is?” Rak remains stoic, unmoving. Kaz watches, almost completely emotionless as well.

“Unless there is evidence that Kaz has any information you are willing to believe that she has taken from you, she would be innocent for the time being.” Yar states.

“Who are you to say that she will be tried by the Federation’s Justice system?” Rak sneers. “This is a Romulan offence, after all.”

Yar shifts her weight from one foot to the other. “You claim she has information. And when was this?”

“Yes, information that is strictly classified. The transmission that was sent to Kaz Jamin was sent to her two months ago.” Rak returns.

“If Kaz Jamin were to receive this supposed information, where would she able to do it from?” Yar asks.

“Are you playing games with me, Captain? Hurry up or I shall fire on you again, and I will be less kind this time.”

Yar continues. “She would only be able to do it from this starship. Our ship’s logs will indicate that Kaz Jamin has not left this ship for three months and fifteen days.”

“And your point, Captain?” Rak huffs, impatiently.

“Whatever information she may have received would result in traces in our computer databanks. In fact, we would be alerted immediately if a file from a Romulan source entered our databanks.” Yar explains. “If you run a scan of Kaz Jamin’s, computer and PADD databank, you will find that all her files originate from Federation sources.”

“Captain.” Commander Hurley, the head of Operations, speaks out. “It would not be wise to let the Romulans have access to our files during the scanning.”

“I’ve taken that into consideration, Commander.” Yar takes a deep breath. She nods. “You may proceed.”

“Scanning files of Personnel 5153-RJ. Commander Hurley announces. Scan complete.”

“Nothing but Federation files, Commander.” A bridge officer on the Romulan vessel shouts. Rak Jamin’s expression is unchanging, but even Yar can tell that he’s clenching his jaw.

“Thank you for your time, Commander.” Yar raises a hand, and urges Hurley to cut the connections. “Stand down, and get ready to retreat.”

“Aye, sir.” The helmsman replies. “Retreating.”

Yar sits down in her chair, shaking.

“What have I done.” She mutters, under her breath.

“Captain.” Hurley speaks up. “I would want to question why you did let the Romulans scan our files, given that it could pose a potential security risk.”

“For Commander Jamin’s case, it shouldn’t have.” Yar explains. “She came to me a few weeks ago and inquired about having new encryption software installed. The engineering team has come up with a solution, and we have implemented it.”

“Since when?” Hurley crosses his arms. “We weren’t informed.”

“This morning, when I got back on board.” Yar grits her teeth. “Sorry.”

“Captain, could I request to converse with you privately?” Hurley informs.

Yar nods. “In my ready room, Commander.”

Hurley opens his mouth even before the doors to the ready room close. “Captain, could I speak frankly?”

Yar nods. “Proceed.”

“I personally disagree, to a strong extent, with your actions regarding the Romulan encounter.” Hurley spits out, brutally honest. “It was not in the best interest of Starfleet to allow them access to our files. It wasn’t in our best interest either for you to activate the new encryption software without informing us beforehand.”

Yar gives an audible sigh, and buries her face in her hands. “I thought so too. I wasn’t thinking.” She pauses. “Commander, do you think I’m a bad Captain? Be honest.”

“You’re normally capable of handling your usual duties.” He hesitates.

“And because my wife goes missing, I have become slave to my emotions and I’m unable to think objectively.” She continues. Rising from her seat, she faces the window, looking as the stars streak by.

“Captain, you must understand, you should be given time to grieve, yes, but there is work to be done.” Hurley urges.

“What are you going to do about that? Relieve me of duty? Report me to Starfleet?” Yar’s voice rises.

“I’m sure that you’re well aware of the responsibilities that come along with being a Captain.”

Yar snaps. “Commander Hurley, I’m well aware of your upbringing as an Admiral’s son, but you do not have the right to address me as if you were an Admiral.”

Hurley shrugs, mockingly. “Wait and see, Captain.” He turns and leaves in a huff, without waiting for Yar’s dismissal.

Enraged, Yar almost slams the drawer shut again, but stops herself. Shaking her head, she heads to the holodeck, determined to let off some steam.

“There’s a body in here.” Swift gestures to the Jefferies tube, breathing hard.

“A body?” Ke’lth looks up from his station. He blinks, hard. “Let me get to it.”

“No,” Troi insists. “The EMH recommends that you complete your therapy sessions with him before you engage in any physically vigourous activity.”

“Thank you for your concern, but I think I’ll manage.” Ke’lth insists. Troi gives a sigh. Ke’lth’s the most stubborn person she knows, but stubborn in a good way.

“It could help us find out what happened to the ship,” suggests Swift. “There seemed to be a clear blue precipitate on the body.”

“Precipitate?” Ke’lth turns back from the Jefferies Tube. “Solid or liquid?”

“Seemed like a fluid to me.” Swift shrugs.

“Did you come into contact with the body or the precipitate?” Troi asks.

Swift shakes her head. “Thank God, no.”

“I’ll have to return to sick bay to get a biohazard suit, and some apparatus to store the precipitate in.” Ke’lth reports, and leaves the bridge.

Troi glances over at Swift, her empathic senses on full alert. Something’s hammering at her, and she doesn’t know whether it’s Swift’s fear or her own.

“You’re greatly alarmed,” Troi notes, placing a hand on Swift’s upper arm. Swift shivers, grimacing.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” grumbles Swift. “I’m not supposed to be scared of these things. I’m supposed to be the head of Security who deals with threats firsthand, and not the poor cadet who heads in the opposite direction at the speed of light.”

“Once in a while, people do get scared. We’re in an unfamiliar environment, and an unusual one. Situations like these tend to keep us all on edge.”

“I just can’t wait to go home.” Swift groans, throwing her head back and yawning. “Don’t you miss home?”

An emptiness strikes at Troi’s heart, but she doesn’t push it away. She’s spent all week repressing that feeling, trying to keep focused on the immediate tasks at hand.

“Tasha’s out there. Maybe she’s looking for us.” Troi wants to shrink into a small ball. Counselling people is different from feeling the emotions firsthand, and she knows that.

“And what if they think we’re dead?” Swift drops the question nobody wants to ask. She brushes her hair out of her eyes, and Troi can see that she’s on the verge of crying. “I’m just so tired.”

“You should rest.” Troi replies. She turns back to the big viewscreen, the stars still dancing across the sky as they normally do. She brings her attention to the ring on her left hand, and sighs deeply as she twists it.

“Knowing Tasha, I don’t think she’ll give up that easily. I have faith in her.” Troi suggests, optimistically. Deep down, there’s that small twinge of doubt. She fights against it, pushing it away.

Oh, Tasha, if only I could find you. Her mind searches, thoughts winding. Maybe she could attempt to send a telepathic dream link tonight, but it would only reach Tasha if she was lucky.

Another vase smashes as Tasha brings the bat around, clenching her teeth at the sound of the shatters. She picks one of the bigger shards up and throws it upon the ground again, letting loose a cry. Blinking the tears out of her eyes, she finds that her hands have been stained with fresh blood, the source being numerous shallow cuts on her palms. It’s almost satisfying to see the broken shards of porcelain, but not quite.

She’s so busy she doesn’t even notice Kaz standing behind her, and almost swings the bat into her. She stops in the nick of time, her cheeks flushed and tear-stained.

“What are you doing here?” Tasha demands. “I thought I overrode the privacy controls.”

“You didn’t.” Kaz explains. “You forgot.” She reaches out for Tasha’s hands. “Let me see.”

Tasha stubbornly turns her back to Kaz, crossing her arms. “You don’t need to help me. There’s nothing wrong with me. I just wanted to let off some steam, after all.”

“Anger is a stage of grief. Recovery is, in most cases, not instant, nor is it linear. I, for one, think you need to be given more time to grieve.”

“She’s not gone forever.” Tasha bites back on her words. “There’s a possibility that she’s out there, maybe in another timeline. We can still get them back.”

“A traumatic experience such as this could take years to recover from.” Kaz reaches out.

Tasha snaps, voice rising in a crescendo. “Would you stop accepting that they’re gone?”

“They aren’t. But there’s still work to be done, and people need to understand that you’re having a tough time juggling your work and your emotions.”

“I wish I could talk to Deanna about this. With her around, we didn’t need a counsellor.” Tasha recalls the times Deanna helped her through with her trauma. She remembers the countless nights where memories of her childhood came back to her and she could do almost nothing but cry, but Deanna was never away from her side. Deanna, Deanna, Deanna. The main source of stability in her chaotic life.

“I wonder how she must be feeling right now.” Tasha says, out loud.

“She wouldn’t want to see your hands in this state.” Kaz points out. “She wouldn’t want you to be hurting yourself. She’d want you to carry on, with your fierce strength.”

Tasha looks down at her blood-stained hands, and chokes back tears. “She’d want me to continue doing my work to the best of my ability. That’s what she loved in me. I tried my best at everything I put my hand to.”

“Come on.” Kaz urges, turning to leave the holodeck. “Those hands aren’t going to patch themselves.”

Tasha reluctantly accepts treatment, and as Doctor Ogawa goes over her hands with a dermal regenerator, Tasha warns Ogawa to swear the incident to secrecy, to which Ogawa sheepishly nods.

After returning to her quarters, Tasha stays in the shower for a long time, so long that Kaz has to check that she’s okay. Snapping out of her own thoughts, Tasha dresses, carefully avoiding Deanna’s nightdresses. Kaz offers to tuck her into bed. As the sheets are drawn over her weary, tired body, Tasha regrets this decision. It makes her feel weak and vulnerable, like a young sapling who can’t take care of themselves.

Pity, it seemed, could possibly be the worst thing a person could feel towards you.

Rolling over, Tasha drifts into sleep, with her conjured-up version of Deanna’s voice.

Tasha. Tasha.

Suddenly, it all feels very real, and Tasha doesn’t know how exactly to deal with it.

#star trek: the next generation #tasha yar #deanna troi #troi/yar #troisha #fic #mine #uncharted tag

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