~For those who know my other fandom works, you also know my love of intrigue, espionage and adventure. The action picks up right where "Hard Knocks" ends and will continue on through various twists, turns and romps. Some serious topics will be touched on, but only in passing. Rated T to be safe.
Background Notes: Even though Gaila, the Orion cadet, figures (ha!) in the new film, we still know very little about the Orion people or even their planet, just that they come from the Orion constellation. So...I improvised.
For the purposes of this story and in THIS universe, I give the name Orion Prime to the main planet in the system (and presume it is like Rigel, with many habitable planets). The Orion Confederacy (a loose government representing all worlds there) has begun the formal process of application to the United Federation of Planets, but that takes time. In the meantime, not all the inhabitants are pleased with this decision. The nefarious Orion Syndicate, and the legendary slave women we've seen in other Trek series, still are a part of the culture (though the government is working to eradicate that. Good luck!). And since Orion is not yet a full member of the UFP, I also presume the cadets (there have been others) that attended Starfleet were recommended by the appropriate command level Starfleet officer to take the entrance exam and thus gained entrance, the same as what transpired with Nog (a Ferengi) and Captain Benjamin Sisko in DS9.
The title comes from both a book and a song; I use the song's premise for the story. My favorite version is the original, sung by Lynne Anderson.
Legal stuff: Copyright Mistress V 2009. Paramount owns everything Trek except for my imagination, which I put to good use every time I write. Although I only borrow their concepts and don't make anything off my work except satisfaction :-) And what's mine is mine.
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden 1/? (ATOS-T)
by Mistress V
Christine stared back at Gary Mitchell, not certain she'd heard correctly.
"Risa?" she finally repeated, from a throat that felt like it was full of razor blades.
"Intelligence puts him there---for the past few years, if it's the same person. But let's get your input," he continued. "Computer?"
"What's up, babycakes?"
The machine's overly friendly response drew a wince from Kirk and a small 'hrrmph' from Spock, but the new second officer took it with aplomb.
"Display image Rick Kirby."
"At your service, doll!"
A picture filled the viewscreen. Of a suntanned, middle-aged man in a beachfront bar. His hair was long and he sported equally long sideburns. Tinted sunglasses hid his eyes. He was savoring a fine cigar and was in the company of two stunning women, one Andorian and one that appeared to be...Vulcan? Both were dressed and coiffed extremely fashionably. Dazzling, expensive jewelry dripped from all the right places.
This prospect elicited a strangled "Fascinating? " from Spock, though he looked puzzled.
"Meet Rick Kirby," Mitchell began. "Debonair man about Risa, arrived there approximately 4.5 years ago. He and his business associate recently opened a casino club that's proving to be quite popular, both for its good odds as well as its lovely staff."
"That can't be Roger," Christine interrupted adamantly. "He disapproved of any kind of gambling and never smoked in his life. And Risa was on his no-flyover zone. I can't tell you how many times he bemoaned how tacky it was. I couldn't get him even to consider it for our wedding. He chose Pacifica."
"Computer, display image Dr. Roger Korby," Mitchell now directed.
"Sure thing, sweetie."
A formal portrait of the esteemed scientist joined its companion onscreen. He looked quite academic, almost stoic. The smile he was giving seemed even a trifle forced.
"Overlay images and do facial structure comparison."
The computer did as it was told and after a few moments, offered its analysis.
"98% match on bone and skull structure. There's been obvious plastic surgery done to augment the nose, and there is evidence of a facelift and hair transplant. But it's the same guy. Pending DNA match to be absolutely certain, snookums."
"We've GOT to get that darn thing defragged," Kirk muttered. "I can't take much more of this."
Spock glanced over at the nurse. She was gripping the edges of the table, her knuckles devoid of color. Her face sported a similar pallor, but her expression was emotionless.
"Lieutenant? Are you quite all right?" he asked.
"I'm fine. Can we get on with this, please?" The woman grabbed a nearby pitcher, poured herself a glass of water and gulped it down. "What does this---person have to do with Roger?"
Mitchell addressed the table in a serious tone. "What goes on in this room must stay here. It's confidential information, on a need to know basis only and for now, you three are the only ones that need to know on this ship. Let's say the ramifications could stretch as far as the safety of the Federation. For now, do I have your word as officers that you will discuss this with no one other than ourselves and only as needed?"
The group nodded, though Christine's assent was just the barest of jerks.
"This Kirby arrived, as I said, about 4.5 years ago. He was in the company of this man, Harcourt Fenton Mudd, who goes by the name Harvey, and another associate they call Rocco." Mitchell called up the images as he spoke further.
"Mudd's a soldier of fortune and a suspected smuggler in everything from illegal drugs to fake patents but for the past few years, he's been keeping his hands clean. We have no real idea about this Rocco character. I sure wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley. He appears to be their go-to man, that's all we know for now.
"Mudd and Kirby worked their way around the Risan system, making contacts and learning about the resort. The whole time, they were engaged in legitimate import-export, usually of tourist-oriented commercial goods. Souvenirs, resort wear, that kind of thing. But they had other plans afoot. Eventually, they opened a casino-cum-nightclub, The Light Year, about nine months ago."
Photos of the establishment were now shown. It looked opulent, to say the least.
"But there's nothing unusual about that, Gary," Kirk said. "Heck, you and I talked about opening a bar somewhere, too. In our retirement."
Mitchell laughed at the memory, then became serious once more. "And there wasn't anything unusual to begin with. It was always filled with the beautiful people---and with equally beautiful woman. At first, they were all Risan. But in the past few months, they began bringing in other staff---squeezing the Risan workers out, you might say. Females from species living all over the quadrant started working as hostesses, croupiers, barmaids, you name it."
More pictures, depicting a bevy of interquadrant beauties.
"That is not necessarily unusual," Spock offered, his curiosity piqued by the appearance of the Vulcan woman once more. "Unethical, perhaps, but not unusual. Perhaps they were trying to appeal to a wide variety of patrons."
"That's initially what the authorities thought. Then the laid-off staff complained about favoritism. So an informal investigation was launched and funnily enough, there were no records of these guest workers anywhere in the system. The Risans run a pretty tight ship, you know, despite the general openness there. Nothing illegal is allowed."
A pair of knockout Orion women now showed up onscreen. Both sported dark tresses and the scanty costume of the legendary slave girls known throughout the quadrant---one legend the Confederacy government was trying to stamp out.
Kirk let out an appreciative whistle. "Man alive," he said.
"These two started working about a week ago. And there starts the real mystery. Not only are they not registered as guest workers, they're not registered to anyone."
"What do you mean, registered?" Christine asked, struck by the sensual energy of the pair---who flanked the mysterious Kirby in the shot.
"We'll be getting briefed in more detail later, but for now I can say that even though the Orions are trying to play by the regs, slave girls do exist and they are 99% owned by the syndicate. There's a sophisticated way of tracking them. And these two have no record of having been bought, sold, lent, leased, set free or stolen. It's like they just appeared from nowhere. Which led the Risan government to conclude the only possible explanation," Mitchell finished, looking over at his friend.
"Not trafficking?" Kirk asked, knowing very well that might be the case.
"The politically correct term for slaving, I believe," Spock added.
Christine now gulped. She'd heard many stories of the females' almost animal-like pull over men. Her heart sank. This could not the Roger she knew.
"So where do we come in?" Spock continued. "And how?"
"The syndicate got wind of this about the same time we did. So they'll be sending out operatives to get back their perceived stolen property. They play quick and dirty. That group's been itching to get a foothold on Risa since it was terraformed, but the Risans have not yielded. This could be the excuse they need to start a fight and it could get ugly very fast. De-stabilize the Orion system, just in time for its formal application to the UFP." Mitchell shook his head. "Bad stuff."
"Not only that, I am sure the Risans do not wish any violence to occur on the planet, which hosts millions of visitors from across the quadrant each year," Spock observed.
"Yeah, they have a saying. We don't care who you are or what you do, but once you're here, you follow our rules," Kirk added. " A Klingon general can drink at the same bar as a fleet admiral, as long as it's on Risa, it's acceptable."
Mitchell now turned to Christine. "I need your help, Lieutenant Chapel," he said evenly. "Someone needs to get close to this man, find out if he is Korby and, more importantly, what the heck he's gotten into. You're the only one able to do that."
"I promise, if it turns out this isn't Korby, we'll head straight to Exo III and stay there until we know for certain what happened to him," Kirk told the nurse.
"It's Roger." Christine bowed her head for a second and took a deep breath. "That signet ring he's wearing?"
"Computer, enlarge image," Mitchell ordered.
They looked at a simple platinum piece engraved with the initial K.
"What about the ring?" Kirk prodded gently.
Christine now closed her eyes. "I gave it to him, just before he left for Exo III."
FIN of Chapter 1.
Yes, I know it's HARRY Mudd in TOS, but it's AU and besides, I could not resist giving him the name of one of the prestigious Claremont Colleges (Harvey Mudd).
Don't worry, the computer gets fixed. Eventually ;-)