Title: Chantilly, Five Lashes
Author: Stephen Ratliff
Series: OCC, Starship Oklahoma
An story of how another girl became a teenage officer.
Characters:
Chantilly Bourbon
Age 13, human, daughter of the Chief Engineer of the Oklahoma. Only child. Mother died two years ago. She's been whipped and forced to bear her father's child.
Audon Bourbon
Age 51, human, Chief Engineer of the Oklahoma. Has been in that post for all Chantilly's life, and intends to retire in it.
Shawneela Osanna
Age 43, Betazoid, newly posted Captain of the Oklahoma, companionate and caring for her crew. She's willing to go the extra mile to help any of those under her command, yet she also has a stern side, and a thirst for justice.
T'Hana ch' Surak
Age 55, Vulcan, Chief Medical Officer, has a real passion for preventive health care. Married to the Ship's Counselor.
Tivan ch' Surak
Age 55, Vulcan, Ship's Counselor, deeply bonded to his wife, Tivan unfortunely has a passing resemblance to Commander Bourbon.
Yoakim Plecnic
Age 35, human, First Officer of the Oklahoma, inherited from the Previous Captain, but hasn't been first officer much longer than Osanna has been Captain. A go-get-them type personality.
Grieg Gostillna
Age 30, human, hulking Chief of Security of the Oklahoma. A well-built teddy-bear.
Prologue
Captain Shawneela Osanna laid back against the high-backed chair in her first officer's quarters. She was enjoying a quiet meal, cooked by her number one. It had been a regular post mission ritual since she had been promoted and assigned to command the Ambassador Class Starship Oklahoma. The Betazoid found them to be a very useful way to unwind, not that the current missions where that challenging.
"Well, Yoakim, another successful mission completed," Captain Shawneela Osanna said. The meal had been really good, as he had promised. No one in their right mind ever passed up a meal, especially when Commander Plecnic told you that his poteca would be served. The Captain pushed back her golden brown hair and took another bite of the nut bread.
"We could hope that they'd all be this easy, Captain," Yoakim Plecnic said. He was just tall enough so that if he stood behind the short captain, she'd fit right under his chin. His brown hair was tousled in flat curls, rarely neat. "To be honest, I'm a little bored with the diplomatic ferry routine."
"So am I, Yoakim," Osanna said. She could tell that the Slavic Officer was eager for a mission that would challenge us. "Admiral Necheyev has promised us something different, so I'm eager as you are to hear what she has to say tomorrow."
"Doctor T'Hana to Captain Osanna." The voice of the Vulcan doctor was cool as usual, but there was something slightly different about its cadence when she'd interupted. From her First Officer, Osanna felt a sudden surge of worry.
"Osanna," she replied, tapping her communicator unnecessarily.
"Are you with Commander Plecnic?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes," she replied. Osanna didn't think that was a good sign.
"I need you both down here. I've already summoned Tivan and Lieutenant Gostillna."
"On my way, Doctor," Osanna said, standing. "I'll bring you some of the poteca. Osanna out." She picked up the platter with the nut bread, and headed out the door, Commander Plecnic following in her wake.
Chapter One
Chantilly Bourbon lay on her belly in Sickbay. The thirteen-year-old was only covered with a sheet over her behind. Her back was crossed with red lines, some bleeding. Her belly was not flat, making it hard for her to stay like she was, but it would be worse if she had lain on her back. Her breasts were also tender, but not from whipping. She tried turning on her side, carefully, and discovered a position she could hold.
From behind her, she heard the door to the ward open. Doctor T'Hana had promised her that her father wouldn't come in. For a moment she was scared again, scared that he'd returned. Then she heard the soft voice of the Captain. "Doctor, what has happened to Chantilly?"
The door opened again, and she heard several heavy footfalls. "Captain, Commander, Doctor," another familiar voice said, the one that always announced all the security drills. Chantilly wiped the tears from her eyes, and sat up with difficulty, turning to face the Captain. Her long black hair cascaded down her back, causing her to wince, and tears to form at the corners of her eyes again.
"I want to tell them," Chantilly said, determined. She'd barely got the story out to the Doctor when she'd emerged from the Jefferies tube behind the Doctor's Office. She was surprised at the determined tone of her voice. She didn't feel it. She felt her courage had been all used up in her escape from her father's quarters.
Doctor T'Hana was quickly at her side, adjusting the sheet so it covered her privates, obscuring the signs of what her father had done following the whipping. Chantilly hadn't noticed that it had slipped. "You don't have to, Chantilly, but if you can, it will help." The voice was even, almost toneless. In its very lack of emotion it conveyed strong support.
One by one, Chantilly met the eyes of the gathered command staff, Captain, First Officer, Chief Medical Officer, and Chief of Security. "Shouldn't the Counselor be here?" Lieutenant Gostillna asked. She glanced down at her swollen belly.
"Counselor Tivan is here," Doctor T'Hana said. She tapped the side of her head. "He is able to monitor the situation through our bond, and advise. Chantilly, is there anything I can do for you? I can start on your wounds at any time, now that we've recorded them."
"Could you?" Chantilly said, trembling. The Doctor got out a dermal regenerator and started to go to work on Chantilly's back, sealing up the wounds and healing the skin. "And can I have a glass of grapefruit juice?"
"Yoakim, get her a big glass," Captain Osanna said. "And would you like some of the Commander's poteca? He made it fresh this morning."
"Yes please," Chantilly said. Once she'd had a bite of the poteca and a swallow of the juice, she took a deep breath, drawing up her courage. The Captain had taken a seat on the bed beside her, and Lieutenant Gostillna stood behind her like a knight guarding his queen. Chantilly could almost imagine him in full plate armor, his hands crossed over the pommel of his sword. Commander Plecnic had placed one of the rolling tables in front of her, and filled it with a pitcher of grapefruit juice, some of his sliced fresh poteca, and her favorite mint cookies. She had no idea how he knew that. Plecnic stood on the other side of the table, ready to refill her glass at a moments notice.
With another deep breath she began, "It all started about a year and a half ago, about four months after my mother died. I was only eleven years old. I'd always been home schooled, but since mother died, I hadn't really gone out. I decided that I wanted to visit my friend, Habiba, but as soon as I exited the quarters, my father discovered me. He dragged me back in, and punished me."
"I'd always wondered what the five strands of knotted rope that father kept up on the wall were for. I found out when he stripped me and had me lean over the end table. He gave me five lashes for going out without asking for permission. It was the first time I'd been punished physically. He wouldn't let me dress afterwards. I didn't wear anything from that day until your welcome aboard dinner two months ago, Captain."
"In the morning, I got two more lashes for bleeding over my sheets. The morning punishments were always easier. He had to get to work, and didn't have time to do anything afterwards. It seemed that everything I did that wasn't up to his standards merited either lashes or strokes of the rod on my bottom."
"Once, I thought someone was going to rescue me. My best friend Habiba managed to get into see me and saw my back and sore bottom. She said she was going to tell her father, Captain Fahim. She found a dermal regenerator and started to heal me so I could leave the quarters. That's when Captain Fahim came in."
Chantilly broke down in tears, with remembered guilt. "He stripped off her pants and raped her right in front of me," she sobbed. "He said that she shouldn't interfere with the punishment of others and it was time that she learnt her place as a girl. He just kept doing it to her." Her sobs overwhelmed her and she couldn't continue through her sobs and sniffles.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and for once it didn't bring a feeling of pain. It had been so long since that was the case. Chantilly looked up to discover the Captain was beside her, offering a handkerchief. She took it, and blew her nose.
"Continue when you're ready, Chantilly," the Captain said softly. "I know this is hard for you." The hand gave Chantilly the courage to continue, after a cookie and a swallow of juice.
"Father saw the Captain, and it was like they'd suddenly become old friends. We were forced to show each other what happened when were punished. Father decided to try Habiba's punishment on me, and raped me so hard that I couldn't sit down, even if my bottom hadn't been covered with welts from the rod. Habiba didn't get any lashes, that night, but Captain Fahim kept on raping her."
"Having a period now became another offense, one worth five lashes. I prayed that mine would stop like Habiba's did. Four months ago, it did. For the first time, father stopped using the rod. A couple months later, Captain Fahim and Habiba left, and for a while everything improved. I got to attend your welcoming dinner, and even got to go on an picnic off ship with the other kids on board. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone what had happened but things were getting better. I wasn't getting whipped, and all I had to do to father was let him rape me."
"Then I piloted that damaged shuttle back from the picnic, and father got yelled at for not assigning anyone to take care of the shuttles. I was lashed for him being yelled out anytime he was off duty unless he was raping me. I had to get out, so I opened the Jefferies tube that was in father's room and crawled to the Doctor's Office. I had to do something."
"Lieutenant, arrest Commander Bourbon immediately, confining him to the brig," Captain Osanna said to her Chief of Security. "We'll figure out the full list of charges later, but rape will do for now. Chantilly, you did a very brave thing. We'll see to it that your father never harms you again."
"Thank you, Captain," the girl said, her tears still flowing down her face. The Doctor had finished with her back, and for the first time in a long time was no pain in her body.
"Now, I'm going to have a word with the Doctor, Chantilly, and then we'll be right back," the Captain said.
"Promise?" Chantilly said, her eyes meeting the Betazoid Captain's.
"I promise." The Captain and the Doctor exited the ward, along with the Chief of Security. Chantilly looked at the one remaining person in the room with her. Commander Plecnic smiled, and handed her another mint cookie, when she ate quickly, downing the remainder of her grapefruit juice afterward.
Doctor T'Hana was used to her close bond with her husband Tivan. They'd been bonded at seven, and had the exceedingly rare pon'farr at fourteen, brought on by their close bond, having been companions since first memory, and a childhood illness at just the right time. Still, it was rare that they had to function this closely bonded. They often worked together on patients. She would handle the body, and he the mind. Most of the time, their roles were separate, though.
Chantilly's reaction on seeing Tivan had been one of hysterics. She'd suddenly backed up in the corner of T'Hana's office and screamed for him to leave. Tivan had retreated, and then advised T'Hana from around the corner. It seemed that her beloved bore some resemblance to Commander Bourbon. In her mind she reviewed her last look at the Commander. He had the same brown hair and was the same height and build. She wasn't sure, but she thought the eyes were the same.
'Beloved, I'd prefer it if you didn't compare me to that devil.' The thought from her husband was expected. They knew each other's minds better than their own. She felt his fingers touching hers, middle and index, in the Vulcan gesture of commitment. It was as close as Vulcans every openly displayed of their love. In her youth, after the unexpected heat of pon'farr, she had received some human romance novels from a friend. They had been much more direct in their profession of love. Drawing on her memory of them, she sent a picture her husband's way.
'Beloved, pon'farr is next year.' T'Hana turned her attention to the Captain, as she sensed her husband's amusement at the particular image she'd chosen. She could see the betazoid taking a couple deep breaths.
"T'Hana, Tivan, I have no idea what I'm going to do with this save arresting Commander Bourbon," Captain Osanna said. T'Hana could see the tension in her body, as she stood just out side the door to the isolation ward.
"Your options are limited, Captain," Tivan said. It was clear that her husband liked the situation even less. "Crimes on board a starship are governed by Star Fleet Regulations, and despite families being on starships for the last two decades, there are no regulations regarding assault on minors specifically. We are limited in our actions to the charges of rape, assault, and conduct unbecoming. Civil authorities may be able to make additional charges, but not until we make port."
"It's worse than that." Captain Osanna said. "I don't have the authority to revoke custody, even when her sole remaining parent is in the brig. I can appoint someone to watch over her, if there aren't any arrangements made and on file..."
"The only arrangements I have on file state that she's to remain in her quarters when her father isn't available," Tivan said. "If her quarters should become unavailable she is to move into the Captain's Quarters with Habiba Fahim, the former Captain's daughter. It seems the last part is a bit out of date."
"Not for our purposes," Captain Osanna said. Some of the tension had left her body. "Her quarters are now to be considered a crime scene. I will be finding her some suitable clothing, and then when she's ready, we'll take her to my quarters."
"Captain, may I suggest that you look for clothes particularly flattering on her," Tivan said, sending image back to me from the cover of one of those old novels. "Young human girls, particularly those in Chantilly's condition like to be told they are pretty. She is eighteen weeks along with child." He'd taken that little bit from his watching of T'Hana's examination, but T'Hana didn't mind.
"That isn't good," Osanna said. T'Hana detected just a little bit of a squint as the Captain frowned. Perhaps an eye examination would be wise. She wondered if the Captain liked carrots. They'd be good for her. "I'll talk with Chantilly for a bit. Counselor, if you'd put together some appropriate information on what we can expect with her." T'Hana felt her husband nod through their bond. "Doctor, I want a full report of all injuries she's suffered in the last two years that you can find. I suspect they aren't in her medical record. Do you think you can have it by 1300 hours?"
"That should be sufficient time," T'Hana said, as the Captain reentered the room. Before her husband departed, T'Hana sent him another image of one of those romance novel covers.
'Beloved, if you keep this up, pon'farr will be early.' T'Hana's eyes sparkled with hidden amusement as she returned to her office.
Lieutenant Grieg Gostillna strode through the halls towards Main Engineering. He'd brought two of his security officers with him for the task, Friedman and Dvorkin. They were a pair of female officers who had trained together since their Academy days, the red head and the blond. He came around the corner, practically stomping, and entered Engineering.
Commander Bourbon sat as if astride a horse on a stool at the head of Main Engineering, a riding crop in his hand. His dark hair was peppered around the edges with silver. As was his custom, he was pointing out something that needed to be done with it. His engineers were responding to his orders crisply, like the well-trained machine they were. A couple stood by the main situation table, correcting problems as they occurred. An Andorian was climbing a ladder behind the warp core, a complex device hanging from one hand as he climbed.
Commander Bourbon's rather new Senior Assistant Chief Engineer was approaching with one of the unnumberable reports that the job entailed. The Selay Lieutenant's hood was tight, and his mouth in a big grin of satisfaction. Behind him, two engineers were carrying what Lieutenant Gostillna recognized as a ship's phaser wave length guide relay, the dorsal model. Lieutenant Sasscrath had obviously found something wrong with the relay.
"Commander Audon Bourbon," Gostillna said, in a deep booming voice. All eyes in Engineering turned towards him. "You are under arrest by the order of the Captain for the charges of rape, assault, and conduct unbecoming an officer."
Every person in Engineering turned towards Gostillna's voice. The two engineers at the situation monitor were gaping. Behind the warp core, there was a crash, as a device dropped from the Andorian's hand and broke on impact on the port plasma transfer conduit. It scattered all over the floor on either side. Lieutenant Sasscrath's hood flared with what Gostillna recognized as sudden anger.
"And just who did I assault?" Commander Bourbon sneered. Gostillna barely resisted the urge to wipe it off his face.
"Your daughter," Gostillna said. "We have physical evidence. Friedman, Dvorkin, take Mr. Bourbon to the brig. He's to be confined there until further notice. All clearances have been revoked."
There was muttering throughout Engineering. Commander Bourbon was considered among the best of his trade, and had managed to maintain his post as Chief Engineer since the Oklahoma had been commissioned nearly twenty years before. While not really well liked on a personal level, he had the professional respect of his Engineers.
Gostillna knew that many engineers had been on the Oklahoma for more than a couple years. Those remembered Chantilly Bourbon, from when she used to come down to Engineering with her father. Gostillna remembered how she'd been then, a lovely little girl, a happy sprite with her big brown eyes and raven hair. Gostillna could see some of those Engineers developing a sick expression. They were likely putting the charge and the image of the young girl together. Gostillna remembered how he'd first seen that image. It had nearly been worse than seeing the actual wounds on Chantilly's body. "Lieutenant Sasscrath, the Captain has placed you in charge of Engineering for now."
"Aye, sir," Lieutenant Sasscrath said. Gostillna saw the narrowing of the Seley's eyes. He wondered if Sasscrath would like Bourbon rare or well done. Probably rare, as he did raise his own small animals for an occasional treat.
"You'll never get that to stick," Bourbon said, as Gostillna pushed him into Friedman and Dvorkin's custody. Gostillna thought that was very unlikely. He'd already stopped in Bourbon's quarters and seen the blood soaked knotted rope.
"Oh really?" Gostillna said. He could tell that his disgust was infecting his voice, as he pulled Bourbon's hands behind him. Friedman handed him the manacles. They were not usually used when arresting an officer, but Gostillna wasn't willing to take a chance with Bourbon. "Tell that to the court martial."
"I have friends in high places," Bourbon boasted as Friedman and Dvorkin led him away. Gostillna followed, his phaser drawn and pointed at Bourbon all the way to the brig. Gostillna doubted that those friends could or would save Commander Bourbon from this.