"Is that my pilot?" wondered Captain James T. Kirk in open-mouthed amazement. Lieutenant Sulu was surrounded by previously hostile aliens, tied up like the rest of the away team, but she wasn't fazed. She was barking at them in their own language and they were listening to her. In fact she had them cowering in fear. They untied her speedily and bowed themselves at her feet as if begging for mercy.
He glanced over at Spock and Uhura, also thoroughly bound, whispering, "Any idea why they're so scared of her?"
"They believe she is the manifestation of their chief goddess," said Uhura. "And she's playing along with it."
"Clever" admired Kirk, "I had no idea she knew the language, let along that fluently."
"There are a lot of things you don't know about her, Captain," said Uhura enigmatically.
"Those ropes are really tight around your hands, Spock" she said to her strained looking boyfriend, "That looks painful."
"It does cause some discomfort," admitted the Vulcan.
"Hopefully the goddess Sulu will get them to release us, being her faithful subjects and all," Kirk said, chuckling, attempting to wiggle in his bonds.
Sure enough, after some minutes, the aliens returned and released them-everyone but Kirk, that is.
"Hey! I'm still here!" He protested loudly as the others were being led away.
Uhura said something to one of the aliens who pointed at Kirk and made a long explanation. She turned back to him.
"Sit right there, Captain. They say you're such a perfect specimen only the priests can touch you."
She snorted with amusement. "They want to make you a gift to the goddess. The priests will come back and get you in a little while."
Kirk was flattered-and a bit worried. Those aliens had good taste. But what did being a gift to a goddess entail?
"Isn't Spock a more perfect specimen?" he called after her.
"By far," Uhura replied, "But the aliens prefer you, for some unknown reason."
She shrugged and turned to follow the others, leaving an uneasy captain still tied hand and foot.
He waited for a what seemed like ages before a procession of ceremonially garbed aliens arrived. After much chanting and bowing, they carefully approached and began untying his legs and hands. Some of them were petting his hair and cooing like he was an adorable puppy. Jim was really weirded out now, but he stayed still until he was helped to his feet and paraded down a path.
They walked for about two miles before they came to a village of stone houses. In a central clearing, the rest of Jim's landing party were being entertained by the villagers. Sulu was nowhere in sight. That made Jim nervous, but seeing as how Spock and Uhura did not act alarmed, he figured she was secluded away from the commoners.
The procession stopped before the merry group and the priests made a speech. The aliens prostrated themselves again, making Kirk uncomfortable at the groveling. He called Uhura over to ask the aliens to explain what they were going to do to him.
"Gift to the gods can be very bloody or very sexy," he thought. Hopefully they didn't plan on carving out his heart or dressing him up as a harem boy. He may not know Hikari Sulu all that well, but he couldn't imagine she was comfortable with this.
"So, what's going to happen?" he asked his communications officer.
"They're going to purify you, bathe you, clothe you and take you to the temple. It's that big building down there. Hikari's already inside. They believe you are the goddess' perfect companion." She sighed. "Just go with it. Spock made sure they're not going to do anything harmful."
"Okay, but you've got to promise not to laugh if they make me wear something weird," Kirk warned.
He was urged away before she could answer. The aliens took him to a small hut with a large stone bathing pool and indicated he should remove his clothes. They then proceeded to scrub him until his skin was pink and glowing. He hadn't had a bath that good in years. When they were satisfied with his cleanliness, the chief priest took some incense and wafted it over his dripping wet body as he emerged from the pool.
They dried him off and rubbed some sort of sweet-smelling oil all over him. Kirk began to be very uneasy. Just what kind of companion was he supposed to be? The trousers he was provided with were very comfortable, but the shimmery blue "shirt" they brought him was rather unsubstantial-almost see through, in fact. He groaned inwardly. They'd made him look like some cult prostitute.
Sure, he thought "goddess" Sulu was pretty, but there was something about her that had held him back from attempting a flirtation. They had fought Romulans together, they had nearly plunged to their deaths together, they'd faced down Marcus and Khan. No, he had too much respect for her to ever attempt to spoil things with a fling.
He resolutely refused to look to the side as he was marched past the cheering group of Zur people. He really didn't want Spock or Uhura to see him like this. Thank goodness Bones hadn't come with them this time. He would never hear the end of it.
Jim was led up to the doors of the temple and the priests knelt down and recited some prayers, laying hands on Jim as if in consecration. Then, they indicated that he should enter the temple and they threw themselves on their faces as he walked through the doors.
It was stuffy and dark inside, the air filled with incense. The only lights came from torches hanging in brackets on the wall and flickering candles by the altar.
"Why hello, Captain," came an amused voice, "what an...interesting offering. I don't know whether to accept it or throw it back."
Jim squinted through the darkness. Hikari Sulu was reclining on a cushioned platform behind the altar. She, too, was dressed in luxurious silken garb(though not see-through) and her dark bobbed hair was still damp from its washing. There was a tray of food in front of her that had not been touched. Her eyes looked dark and lustrous in the candlelight.
Kirk bowed low. "O great goddess Sulu, I beg you to accept my humble offering as your companion-whatever that means."
She leaned forward, pretending to inspect him with a haughty air.
"Come closer, human, and let me see you." He walked forward. She looked him over from head to toe, appearing to lick her lips. "Hmm, quite satisfactory," she purred, "you may remain."
She switched to her normal voice. "I have to say Captain, all those sparring sessions and workouts have paid off. You've got the muscle back you lost after Khan. That's quite an outfit."
"I know," he sighed, "I feel ridiculous. I think their idea of a companion is something...else."
She snorted.
"Ha! Poor aliens are gonna be disappointed, then. Spock said Scotty will beam us out whenever he can get the transporter to cooperate. In the meantime, why don't we eat? It's been a while since I've really talked to you."
Kirk sat down on the stone step and looked at the food dubiously.
"Is it alright for me to eat at the goddesses table?" he asked with fake trepidation.
"In MY temple it is," she grinned. "Go on, it's not too bad."
Kirk tried a few bites of the bread like substance. It was okay.
"I was really impressed with your xenolinguistics skills out there," Kirk told her as he munched. "I had no I idea you were into that."
She smiled a little sheepishly. "I started the last year at the academy. I was horrible at first, which is why I didn't tell anyone. Uhura's been helping me a lot lately, and it came in handy today."
"She also insinuated that I didn't know you very well. Which kind of bugs me, because it's a little too true."
Kirk still felt bad about that. He didn't spend nearly the time with her that he did with his other officers. Sure, they had the occasional sparring session, or officers meeting, but he'd never really tried to see beneath the surface of of her professional personality. Now, he felt like he'd like to rectify that.
"I'm really not that interesting, captain." Hikari shrugged, the silk slipping down one shoulder, before she readjusted it. "I love to fly things: the faster the better. I like to study all the weird and fascinating plants I can find. I'm kinda handy with a sword. I can kick your butt in hand to hand combat."
"Hey!" Kirk protested, "That's a gross exaggeration. I hold my own quite nicely."
"Sure, sure. You just keep telling yourself that."
She calmly put a piece of fruit in her mouth. Kirk tried not to gape at her. She looked like a queen in all that silk and her eyes seemed unconsciously alluring in that light. Why had he not noticed before? He must have been blind.
Hikari, from her perspective, was watching the Captain very...curiously at the moment.
"Why are you so shiny?" she asked at last, finishing the fruit. He seemed to actually gleam in the candlelight.
"They rubbed some kind of oil all over me," Kirk answered, holding up one bare arm. "Trying to make me more appealing to the goddess, I guess."
It worked, she thought, trying not to ogle that shiny, barely covered chest. What in the world was wrong with her? She couldn't be looking at her captain like that. Ugh. When would Scotty get his act together and fix the darn transporter?
"So, Sulu," Kirk began after a minute or two of awkward silence, "what do you like to do on your days off?"
"You mean between fighting Romulans, skydiving without a parachute and chasing down madmen?" She asked dryly, "Not much."
Kirk chuckled. "Yeah, Life on a Starship has plenty of action, that's for sure," he agreed, "but on the down times, what interests you? I've never seen you out socially much."
"When I'm not tending my plants, I'm more of a loner," she admitted. "Sometimes I'll sketch, sometimes I'll read. Lately I've been reading up on archeological discoveries. It's fascinating stuff. It would probably bore you stiff, though.
"Contrary to popular belief, I can actually appreciate scientific journals," Kirk said with a wry smile. "When I was laid up after the warp core breach, that was the only thing Bones would let me read-science or history. No current events. I've always liked to read, anyway. I guess no one took me for a reader because of my-ah-active social life."
He winced, remembering how he had partied his way through the academy, developing mostly surface friends (other than Bones, of course.
"Girls used to ask me why I hadn't gotten a piece of Kirk yet," confessed Hikari, picking at her sash. "They acted like you were the hottest commodity going. It annoyed me to no end so I made it a point to stay away from the places you hung out. That's probably why we never really got to know one another. But I'm curious to meet the REAL Kirk." She hoped he wasn't offended by the honesty.
It stung a bit, but didn't really surprise him. He knew he'd been a disaster back then. Jim determined that Sulu WOULD get to know the real Kirk, he certainly was interested in knowing the real Hikari.
"Well, I really like space and I can be a stubborn mule about following rules," he began.
"Uh-Huh, basic facts of Kirk. Keep going."
"I enjoy tinkering with Scotty and playing poker with Bones, also good whiskey in moderation. I read a lot, and play guitar occasionally, though not very well. I spend each day wondering if I'm doing enough to keep my crew safe."
He hadn't intended to say that, but it slipped out, because it was one of the realities of being a captain, especially after Khan, was the unspoken meaning hanging in the air.
Hikari sat up and looked at him searchingly, understanding in her eyes.
"Kirk, you've already shown us just how far you'll go to protect us. There's not a person on this ship who doesn't have that confidence in you," she said earnestly.
She placed a hand on his shiny bicep, fingertips sensing its warmth and firmness.
"Oh, goodness. You are a nice specimen," she said teasingly, "Those aliens were onto something."
That drew a smile from him. "When we get back to the ship, would you like to hang out sometime? In a friendly kind of way?" Kirk asked carefully. "See more of each other in our natural habitats?"
Hikari liked the way he put it. A friendship with Kirk could be interesting. It certainly wouldn't be boring.
"Sure, Captain."
"Well, since we're friends now, call me Jim." He held out his hand and she shook it firmly.
"And you can call me Hikari."
When Kirk and Sulu were beamed back aboard the ship an hour later, the looks on their crew mate's faces were priceless. They were still clad in the flimsy garments they'd worn in the temple. Only now, in the bright lights of the ship, they looked even more inappropriate.
The "goddess" and her "companion" cracked up laughing at the looks on their shipmates' faces. Spock's eyebrows were in the stratosphere. Uhura was groaning. Bones covered his face, muttering.
"That's something I really didn't want to see. Dammit, Jim!"
The new friendship prospered as Kirk and Sulu got to see the heart behind the captain and the pilot. Sulu taught Kirk what exotic plants to avoid, Kirk taught Sulu guitar. Over the course of the five year mission, it grew and changed and took on a whole new dimension. Eventually, Kirk would not allow Bones to treat the cuts and bruises she bestowed on him during their sparring or fencing sessions.
"They're marks of honor, Bones!" He'd declared firmly, smiling as he remembered how a particular bruise appeared. The doctor rolled his eyes and pretended to gag at their unorthodox courtship: they'd be knocking the crap out of each other one minute, then making out the next.
"Darn fools in love," he'd grouch, but secretly smiled at them.
As the mission drew to a close, Kirk knelt before the "goddess" holding out a small box. "Hikari, I am but a mere imperfect mortal, but I would be honored to be your special chosen companion for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?" His sincerity couldn't be mistaken.
Hikari smiled through her happy tears. "Yes, Jim. I'd love to marry you", she whispered, looking down into the hopeful blue eyes. "Just make sure you pack your "special outfit" for the honeymoon." She winked.
Kirk got the message. He still had that sheer blue top hidden away in his dresser. Rising to his feet with a grin, he placed the ring on her finger and pulled her into his arms.
"Your wish is my command, great goddess," he said in a sultry tone. They were both laughing as they leaned in for the kiss.