Title: Acts of Piracy
Author: Kathy Rose
Category: Adventure/Romance
Warning: AU
Rating: M
Summary: Hoshi's the captain of a rogue Klingon ship, and Starfleet sends Malcolm to deal with the pirates
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to someone else, etc., etc., etc. I'm not making any money, I'm just having fun with the characters. Wish I'd thought of them first.
Author's Notes: Thanks to PJ for graciously consenting to beta this, and to Looneyluna for her encouragement to keep writing. I wrote this quite some time ago, but never got around to posting it here.
CHAPTER 1
Blood was everywhere -- yellow blood and purple blood.
Damn her crew! She would have to control them better to prevent this from happening again.
Striding across the bridge of the freighter, avoiding the bodies, she approached the huge Klingon who was poking at the navigation controls through the sparks and smoke of the wreckage.
"Kleth! I told you not to kill them!" she yelled over the noise of the dying ship.
"It was unavoidable," he responded, baring his teeth at her. "They fought us."
Growling her frustration, she swung her arm up and struck him on the side of the head as hard as she could. Her fury lent strength to the blow, and the Klingon's head was moved by the impact. A mere fraction, but it moved all the same.
"You are getting stronger, little one," he hissed affectionately. Lowering his voice even more, he added, "I could not stop my men, and you do not want them to turn on you."
Slamming her gauntleted fist against the console in frustration, some of her anger was released with the pain, and she saw a drop of her red blood mingle with another, lighter-colored spatter on the metal.
"The ship has been too badly damaged," Kleth said over the roar of the chaos around them. "Its orbit is decaying, and there is no way to fix what is wrong before it is pulled down by the planet's gravity."
"Damn it!" Once again her rage boiled over, her plans thwarted. She needed a captured ship as a prize. Now she would have to start over.
Straightening from his useless task, the Klingon motioned for her to join him. "We must go," he said.
Stepping to his side, Hoshi took a deep breath, and waited for the transporter beam to take her.
Elsewhere in the quadrant...
The lean dark-haired man strode onto the bridge of Enterprise, glancing around at the crewmembers occupied with their tasks. A Vulcan was at the tactical console. A handsome young man was at the helm, and a striking blonde was at the communications station. She would be monitoring only, not sending any transmissions, as they had been under orders to maintain a communications blackout ever since his scout ship had been pulled into the launch bay less than ten minutes ago.
What he didn't see as he looked around was the captain.
The Vulcan, whose name was T'Pol, he recalled from the dossier he had been given, spoke when he'd completed his visual inspection of the bridge. "The captain is waiting for you in his ready room."
With the barest of nods in her direction, Reed turned and headed for the briefing he was to give Capt. Jonathan Archer. He wasn't looking forward to it.
He rang the chime at the ready room and heard a muffled "Come in." Entering, he found Archer seated at his desk.
"Commander Reed, I presume?" Archer asked.
Reed disliked obvious questions even more than obvious answers. With a curt nod, he acknowledged his identity and handed over the data chip that would give him command of the mission, and possibly more if Archer fought him. He waited in silence as Archer inserted the chip in the computer access port and read the orders that scrolled across the screen.
He saw Archer clench a fist as he neared the end of the information. When he finished and blanked the screen, barely suppressed fury was written across his face as he turned to face Reed.
Reed couldn't blame the man. He'd familiarized himself with Archer's record before setting foot on board. The Enterprise's captain was an exemplary officer who had, so far, commanded well. He and his crew had done battle on numerous occasions with the pirates plaguing the outer colonies. His bravery was well-documented, and his crew was loyal to him, having given their trust to him totally after he had saved the ship during several seemingly impossible situations.
"I'm supposed to turn command of Enterprise over to you?" Archer asked.
"Technically, no, sir," Reed said. "I am only in charge of the mission."
"But, for all intents and purposes, I will have to defer to you when it comes to this mission?"
"Yes, you must defer to me," Reed said evenly, not liking telling this man his command was being undermined, but knowing it was necessary.
"I don't understand why Starfleet is allowing this. We've been holding our own against the pirates," Archer stated as he stood and strode over toward him.
"Begging your pardon, sir, but that is exactly why. You've been holding your own, and nothing more," Reed said, not backing down. "It is Starfleet Command's opinion that this stalemate cannot be allowed to continue. Too many resources and lives are being destroyed."
"And you're here to change that?" Archer asked sarcastically.
"Yes, sir, I am."
Reed waited in the uncomfortable silence which followed. Whether he would have to assume total command of Enterprise to ensure the success of the mission would depend solely on how Archer wanted to play it.
Archer glared at him for a few moments, then turned to pace to the window. Reed knew Archer well enough from his record to know that he was weighing his options and, ultimately, what was best in the long run. The least that could be said about Archer was that he was fair, so he allowed the captain to come to a decision on his own.
Not looking at him, Archer said, "I expect a full briefing from you with the senior officers in an hour, Commander Reed. In the meantime, you'll be assigned private quarters."
Reed felt a tiny surge of relief. He hadn't wanted to start his mission with a fight with this man.