DISCLAIMER: Paramount owns the Star Trek universe...(blah, blah, blah)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is rated R for the subject matter and content. It is not graphic enough to be rated higher, however that could change. So, proceed with that in mind.
"ACQUIESCENCE"
Chapter 1-
Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III and Ensign Travis Mayweather worked on refitting Shuttlepod One in shuttlebay one aboard the Enterprise NX-01. Crewman Binkley worked outside, out of earshot, repairing the hull plating.
"So, I told her what I thought she wanted to hear." Tucker was telling Mayweather.
"And it all worked out. Right, sir?" Mayweather asked with certainty.
"Nope."
"It wasn't what she wanted to hear?" The ensign asked in confusion.
"Oh no, it was." The commander assured him. "Only, she saw right through me. That I was only saying it because I knew it was what she wanted to hear."
"Oh." Mayweather still wasn't sure he understood. "Then what happened?"
"We broke up right then and there." Tucker switched tools and went back to work. "I told you,
Travis, I'm not the guy to talk to about relationships. You need someone like Crewman Spinner or Ensign Brady. Now those guys have it down."
"Commander." T'Pol's voice from outside the pod sounded.
Tucker poked his head out from under the console and saw the sub-commander standing in the doorway. He crawled over, kneeling in the entryway.
"Only twenty more minutes, Sub-commander, and I'll have it up and running and purring like a kitten." Tucker smiled at her, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Your use of metaphors is unnecessary, but understood." T'Pol informed the chief engineer. "Are you sure about the time?"
"I'm workin' on it." The commander threw a glance to the snickering crewman, who quickly regained his composure.
"When I approached it appeared you had ceased working to converse with Ensign Mayweather."
"Looks can be deceivin'." Tucker retorted.
T'Pol turned. "I will inform the captain of the estimated time of completion."
"Why didn't he just buzz me on the com?" Tucker asked.
"He is, at the moment, monitoring a small vessel drifting approximately ten kilometers directly in our oncoming path."
Mayweather, who was peeking over the commander's shoulder, leaned further out. "Do we know anything about it?"
"No," The reply was direct. "Is the time of twenty minutes still valid from the time you stated, Commander? Or did our repartees cause a delay?"
"Sorry." Tucker frowned. "Twenty minutes from now."
"Archer to the senior bridge crew." The captain's voice cut across the com. "Report to your stations immediately."
T'Pol turned and moved quickly off. Tucker and Mayweather hopped out of the shuttlepod.
"I pity the poor man, Vulcan or otherwise, that hooks up with her." Tucker said to Mayweather and then turned to address the crewman. "Take over in here, Binkley."
"Yes, sir." Binkley moved to the doorway of the pod. "It'll be purring like a kitten in no time, sir."
----------
Tucker and Mayweather followed T'Pol onto the bridge and took their stations. They saw on the viewscreen a small craft, about the size of a shuttlepod.
"Slow us down a bit, Travis." The captain moved up to the ensign's side.
"It looks dead in the water." Tucker thought outloud.
"Looks can be deceiving, Commander." T'Pol recounted his words. "Captain, I believe the crafts' markings are familiar to me. I have seen a likeness of it in the past. I will check the Vulcan databases."
"The engines are working, Captain. They're just powered down." Lieutenant Malcolm Reed reported. "There's a small hull breach, like a puncture."
"Irreparable?" The captian asked.
"Shouldn't be." Tucker replied, monitoring his computer.
"Their technology is far superior to Enterprise." T'Pol began to relay her findings. "Vulcans did have contact in the past with this species. Then, males took several females as mates.
Decades ago a civil war ensued when the females became defiant."
"Who won?" Ensign Hoshi Sato piped up, intrigued.
"Unknown." T'Pol addressed the younger woman. "The Vulcans decided to await contact regarding any changes to their governing body. They were never heard from again."
"What, and where is their planet?" The captain asked.
"Alejian is directly in our path." T'Pol answered. "There is one faint life sign aboard the vessel, Captain."
"The craft has no capabilities for weaponry." Reed offered. "It would appear defenseless."
"Appearances can be deceiving, Lieutenant." T'Pol threw out once again, turning to Tucker who just gave her a cocky grin.
"Let's tow it in." Archer instructed.
----------
The alien pod sat in the docking bay. Archer, T'Pol and Phlox watched as Tucker got the door open. They all peeked in and saw an alien female, of the appearance of fifty Earth years. She was encased in a tubular stasis compartment.
Doctor Phlox moved in and ran a scanner over the case, as the others climbed in after him.
"She appears to be in good health." Phlox deduced. "Just basic humanoid physiology. Nothing too different."
"Can you revive her?" The captain asked.
"Shouldn't be a problem, Captain." Phlox said.
"Captain." Tucker called out from the back of the craft.
Archer moved toward Tucker, who stood in front of the wall staring downward. T'Pol and Phlox looked on as Tucker moved aside. There on the far wall a decayed, alien male corpse was chained by the wrists and ankles inside a stasis tube. There was a long crack in the outer casing.
----------
The monitors and equipment hummed in sickbay, while Archer and T'Pol watched Phlox press a hypospray to the alien woman's neck. The decayed remains of the male alien were in a bag on a bed off to the side. The woman looked startled as she realized she was among strangers.
"It is all right. You are among a non-hostile species." T'Pol informed the woman.
"You are Vulcan." The alien woman said in awe.
"Yes." T'Pol admitted.
"The male." The woman sat up quickly. "Where is he?"
"Your prisoner didn't make it." Archer told her. "His stasis chamber was damaged."
The captain moved aside and the woman looked over to see the remains. She rose, weakly, and moved toward the bed. Reaching out to touch him, she pulled her hand back.
"He was not my prisoner." The woman said. "He was my partner. My mate."
----------
TO BE CONTINUED
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is rated R for the subject matter and content. It is not graphic enough to be rated higher, however that could change. So, proceed with that in mind.
"ACQUIESCENCE"
Chapter 1-
Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III and Ensign Travis Mayweather worked on refitting Shuttlepod One in shuttlebay one aboard the Enterprise NX-01. Crewman Binkley worked outside, out of earshot, repairing the hull plating.
"So, I told her what I thought she wanted to hear." Tucker was telling Mayweather.
"And it all worked out. Right, sir?" Mayweather asked with certainty.
"Nope."
"It wasn't what she wanted to hear?" The ensign asked in confusion.
"Oh no, it was." The commander assured him. "Only, she saw right through me. That I was only saying it because I knew it was what she wanted to hear."
"Oh." Mayweather still wasn't sure he understood. "Then what happened?"
"We broke up right then and there." Tucker switched tools and went back to work. "I told you,
Travis, I'm not the guy to talk to about relationships. You need someone like Crewman Spinner or Ensign Brady. Now those guys have it down."
"Commander." T'Pol's voice from outside the pod sounded.
Tucker poked his head out from under the console and saw the sub-commander standing in the doorway. He crawled over, kneeling in the entryway.
"Only twenty more minutes, Sub-commander, and I'll have it up and running and purring like a kitten." Tucker smiled at her, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Your use of metaphors is unnecessary, but understood." T'Pol informed the chief engineer. "Are you sure about the time?"
"I'm workin' on it." The commander threw a glance to the snickering crewman, who quickly regained his composure.
"When I approached it appeared you had ceased working to converse with Ensign Mayweather."
"Looks can be deceivin'." Tucker retorted.
T'Pol turned. "I will inform the captain of the estimated time of completion."
"Why didn't he just buzz me on the com?" Tucker asked.
"He is, at the moment, monitoring a small vessel drifting approximately ten kilometers directly in our oncoming path."
Mayweather, who was peeking over the commander's shoulder, leaned further out. "Do we know anything about it?"
"No," The reply was direct. "Is the time of twenty minutes still valid from the time you stated, Commander? Or did our repartees cause a delay?"
"Sorry." Tucker frowned. "Twenty minutes from now."
"Archer to the senior bridge crew." The captain's voice cut across the com. "Report to your stations immediately."
T'Pol turned and moved quickly off. Tucker and Mayweather hopped out of the shuttlepod.
"I pity the poor man, Vulcan or otherwise, that hooks up with her." Tucker said to Mayweather and then turned to address the crewman. "Take over in here, Binkley."
"Yes, sir." Binkley moved to the doorway of the pod. "It'll be purring like a kitten in no time, sir."
----------
Tucker and Mayweather followed T'Pol onto the bridge and took their stations. They saw on the viewscreen a small craft, about the size of a shuttlepod.
"Slow us down a bit, Travis." The captain moved up to the ensign's side.
"It looks dead in the water." Tucker thought outloud.
"Looks can be deceiving, Commander." T'Pol recounted his words. "Captain, I believe the crafts' markings are familiar to me. I have seen a likeness of it in the past. I will check the Vulcan databases."
"The engines are working, Captain. They're just powered down." Lieutenant Malcolm Reed reported. "There's a small hull breach, like a puncture."
"Irreparable?" The captian asked.
"Shouldn't be." Tucker replied, monitoring his computer.
"Their technology is far superior to Enterprise." T'Pol began to relay her findings. "Vulcans did have contact in the past with this species. Then, males took several females as mates.
Decades ago a civil war ensued when the females became defiant."
"Who won?" Ensign Hoshi Sato piped up, intrigued.
"Unknown." T'Pol addressed the younger woman. "The Vulcans decided to await contact regarding any changes to their governing body. They were never heard from again."
"What, and where is their planet?" The captain asked.
"Alejian is directly in our path." T'Pol answered. "There is one faint life sign aboard the vessel, Captain."
"The craft has no capabilities for weaponry." Reed offered. "It would appear defenseless."
"Appearances can be deceiving, Lieutenant." T'Pol threw out once again, turning to Tucker who just gave her a cocky grin.
"Let's tow it in." Archer instructed.
----------
The alien pod sat in the docking bay. Archer, T'Pol and Phlox watched as Tucker got the door open. They all peeked in and saw an alien female, of the appearance of fifty Earth years. She was encased in a tubular stasis compartment.
Doctor Phlox moved in and ran a scanner over the case, as the others climbed in after him.
"She appears to be in good health." Phlox deduced. "Just basic humanoid physiology. Nothing too different."
"Can you revive her?" The captain asked.
"Shouldn't be a problem, Captain." Phlox said.
"Captain." Tucker called out from the back of the craft.
Archer moved toward Tucker, who stood in front of the wall staring downward. T'Pol and Phlox looked on as Tucker moved aside. There on the far wall a decayed, alien male corpse was chained by the wrists and ankles inside a stasis tube. There was a long crack in the outer casing.
----------
The monitors and equipment hummed in sickbay, while Archer and T'Pol watched Phlox press a hypospray to the alien woman's neck. The decayed remains of the male alien were in a bag on a bed off to the side. The woman looked startled as she realized she was among strangers.
"It is all right. You are among a non-hostile species." T'Pol informed the woman.
"You are Vulcan." The alien woman said in awe.
"Yes." T'Pol admitted.
"The male." The woman sat up quickly. "Where is he?"
"Your prisoner didn't make it." Archer told her. "His stasis chamber was damaged."
The captain moved aside and the woman looked over to see the remains. She rose, weakly, and moved toward the bed. Reaching out to touch him, she pulled her hand back.
"He was not my prisoner." The woman said. "He was my partner. My mate."
----------
TO BE CONTINUED