Disclaimer: See Chapter One

Rating: R for sex and violence.

A/N: An NC-17 version of the sexual encounter described here exists and will be posted at TriS eventually. But know this, Tucker completely dominates T'Pol and makes it clear just how pissed off he still is at her for the whole mind rape and torture thing.

Chapter Seven

After a long while, their breathing seemed to be in synch as he pulled her gently into the spoon position. He lightly caressed her pointed ear with his tongue.

"You can't lie anymore, T'Pol. Thanks to this freak Vulcan bond, I know that you're mine. You belong to me. I think that's fair payment for what you did to me."

She lay very still in his arms, ashamed by how easily she had submitted to everything he had done to her. He had certainly learned quickly how to use the bond to his advantage, making it clear how furious he still was about all that she had done to him while simultaneously overwhelming her with desire. She had always taken pride in the fact that she was not a slave to the Terran Empire, but she had inadvertently become a slave to one single Terran.

But she also sensed he did not fully understand what the consequences of their intense encounter would be.

"You are correct, Mr. Tucker. I belong to you. But remember, the bond flows two ways. You also belong to me."

He didn't answer, but when she moved to get up, he held her firmly.

"Within twenty-four hours, this ship will likely engage Klingons in combat," she said, "I must consult with the senior officers."

She paused for a moment, and she felt his arms loosen. She sat up.

"May I get dressed?" she asked.

He nodded and sat up with her. They gathered up their clothes and redressed in silence. Finally, she spoke.

"Klingons have shuttles designed to puncture hulls so they can board a ship. It is unlikely they would choose to board a warbird, but I will see you are given a phase pistol if we engage them."

He looked at her.

"You trust me with a sidearm?"

"You are not a prisoner," she said, "and I do not wish you to be defenseless should the Klingons board."

He nodded.

"It's late," she said, "You need more sleep than me. You should rest. I would like you to assist in engineering as we prepare for battle."

"All right."

"I will tell Kov to cede to your superior experience, but you must respect that he is more familiar with these systems than you."

Tucker nodded and headed for the lift. He smacked her lightly on the behind as he passed her.

"I'll see you later," he said.

***

Talas strode confidently into the quarters where the human Reed was being held. She found him sitting at a table reading a PADD that he had been given. The cabin was immaculate, not a spare item visible or a wrinkle in the bed. Reed wore his MACO uniform, which Talas knew he had sent to be cleaned several times.

"Good Afternoon, Major Reed. I'm Talas. I'm in charge of of tactical and security on this ship."

"Am I being released?"

"Not yet. The ship has entered orbit around an Andorian colony and remains cloaked. Klingon marauders are expected to attack within hours, and we have agreed to render aid to the colony."

Reed didn't reply.

"Captain T'Pol says you've had experience engaging Klingons," said Talas.

"I have."

Talas thought she saw a hint of a smile at the corner of Reed's mouth. Captain T'Pol had told her that Reed had fought in several ground battles against Klingons, including one where he had personally killed the Klingon commanding officer with the man's own bat'leth despite the Klingon being a far larger man than Reed. The story had caused Talas's antennae to vibrate just slightly.

"Then you know that the Klingons will care little that you are here against your will, should they manage to board."

Reed nodded.

"Captain T'Pol has asked me to ask you if you would be willing to help engage them. I can authorize your guard to see that you are armed should the Klingons board us."

Reed smiled, but he didn't respond.

Talas strode close to Reed and knelt down next to him in a way that she knew would give him a good look at her blue cleavage.

"I know that you were a prisoner when we . . .took you. You don't owe the new Empress anything."

Reed was still quiet but took her invitation to look down her shirt.

"We're going to release you. You're not a prisoner. Enemies of the Empress are generally friends of ours. Unless they're Klingons, of course."

For a moment, Talas thought that Reed might make a move toward her sidearm, and weirdly she found herself hoping that he would. She relished the thought of physically engaging him - in any way.

"I need civilian clothes," said Reed, "I don't want the Klingons to recognize who I am. The element of surprise should be helpful."

"You'll have them," whispered Talas, "Anything else?"

Reed shook his head no.

"You can communicate with me through the comm. Again, I"m Talas."

She stood up and backed towards the door. She knew better than to turn her back on this man, but she did wink at him as she exited. His face remained unreadable.

***

T'Pol summoned her first officer to her ready room. She needed to go over several tactical scenarios with him. The man entered her ready room through the bridge. He was called Tolaris, and he had been a professor of literature before joining up with the rebels. T'Les had assured her that he had become a highly competent rebel operative and his organizational skills had been a great boon to her.

He was tall and well-formed, and his features were agreeable. Before learning that T'Pol had bonded with Tucker, T'Les had several times praised this man and mentioned once that his wife had been killed in an attack on an outpost.

Looking at the man, T'Pol found herself strangely grateful that she was bonded with the human. She wasn't sure why, but she was disquieted by the idea of becoming personally involved with him. Nevertheless, he had been very helpful to her during her short tenure as captain. Her mother was correct. He was an adept at managing the various aliens aboard and knew the ship's organization well.

"I'll want you to listen in on the conference with the Andorian Captain," she said, "In case you are required to take command during the battle."

"Yes, Captain."

"Dismissed," she said.

Tolaris raised his eyebrow at her, and then turned on his heel and left.

***

It hadn't taken long for the Klingon warbird to destroy the Andorian vessel, which had been in disrepair with primitive weapons systems. T'Pol had done her best to defend the ship, but the Andorian Captain had told her that the priority was the safety of the colonists.

T'Pol had been aggressive in attacking the warbird with her superior Romulan weapons. Already damaged from the Andorian vessel's suicidal fight, T'Pol had targeted the Klingon warp drive and destroyed the warbird.

Unfortunately, the warbird had launched three invasion shuttles before its destruction. T'Pol was able to target and destroy two of them in rapid succession, but the third one had situated itself in a weapons "blind spot" that must have been well-known to the Klingons given their ship was of similar design.

"They're going to try and board," said Talas, "No doubt they intend to take as many of us with them to Sto-vo-kor as they can."

"Understood," said T'Pol, "Send tactical teams to decks A, B and C on the starboard side. Alert the team that's already in engineering to stand their ground. The warp drive must be protected. All weapons should be set to kill."

T'Pol knew well the folly of leaving any Klingons alive to tell tales. They would make it their mission to avenge her crew's victory and wouldn't relent until they had done so.

"Yes, Captain," said Talas, "Permission to join my team."

"Granted," said T'Pol.

Talas ran from the bridge.

"Tolaris," she said, "Keep monitoring the sensors. Alert Talas to the position of any intruders."

"Understood," he replied smoothly.

T'Pol then proceeded to announce to the ship of the Klingon's imminent arrival. The unlikely had suddenly become inevitable.

***

Reed's guard had strode into his quarters and without a word tossed him a weapon. Reed took a moment and admired the elegant pistol, which he recognized as a disruptor of Romulan design. He had never fired such a weapon, but he was confident he could figure out the weapon's quirks once the action began.

Reed had been bored out of his mind over the last few days, and he had suddenly given an opportunity to kill some Klingons. He wasn't going to let the opportunity pass.

He followed the guard, who shouted to him that the breach was 400 meters down the hall.

"Wait," said Reed.

The young Vulcan guard stopped in his tracks, near the lift that had brought him to his confinement.

"Doesn't this lift lead to Engineering?"

The guard nodded.

"At least some of the Klingons will be coming this way. If we take a position behind the bulkhead, we'll be able to pick them off as they wait for the lift."

The young Vulcan nodded and took a position with Reed. After about four minutes, Reed could hear hulking footsteps coming down the corridor.

As two Klingons stopped at the lift, Reed aimed and fired. It wasn't a direct hit, as he wasn't trained on his weapon, but the Klingon disintegrated just the same. The young Vulcan targeted the other Klingon, and he soon joined his comrade.

"Those shuttles can carry no more than eight Klingons," said Reed, "There's no more than six of them left."

The young Vulcan nodded.

"Well," sneered Reed, "Are you going to help me kill them or stand there useless?"

The Vulcan followed Reed down the hall.

***

Talas was standing at the doorway that had been cut into the warbird by the Klingon shuttle. It was brilliant technology, but this section of the ship needed to be sealed off in case the hull had been destabilized. Her communicator chirped.

"Talas here."

"Sensors show no more Klingons," said Tolaris.

Talas sighed with relief. The C deck team had killed three Klingons as they boarded. She and her team had engaged and killed three more. She did not know who had killed the other two. She set her communicator to access all members of her tactical team."

"Ma'am," said the young Vulcan who had been guarding Reed, "I killed one and the human Reed killed the other. But there's a problem. He's disappeared."

Talas smiled and proceeded to contact Tolaris. His sensors would be able to locate Reed. There were only two human males on the ship, so it wouldn't be hard.

***

Liz Cutler was treating a young Tellarite man's broken arm, when Reed strode into sickbay. To her shock, he held a weapon.

"Major Reed?" she said.

"Seen any Klingons?" asked Reed.

"They're all dead. Commander Tucker is helping repair the hull breach," said Liz, who was terrified at the sight of Reed with a weapon, no matter if he had no reason to use it on her.

Phlox stepped out of his lab area.

"Can I help you, Major Reed?"

Reed looked around, and he put his pistol in its holster. He said nothing, but Liz knew he was thinking hard about his situation.

"I understand we owe you thanks," said Phlox, "There was a ship's announcement saying that you killed one of the Klingons. The guards looking for you were told to thank you as they returned you to your quarters."

Liz had been looking at Phlox, and when she turned she saw Reed collapse on the floor. Lady T'Les stood behind him, having delivered a nerve pinch. She took the disruptor and tucked it in her robe.

"Dr. Phlox," said T'Les, "Please examine our guest for any injuries. I understand we owe him our gratitude."

***

It was no longer late but early morning when T'Pol returned to her quarters. She hadn't slept in 36 hours, and despite her Vulcan stamina, exhaustion had overtaken her. The battle had been over for about ten hours, and the hull breach, thanks to Mr. Tucker's expertise, had been patched in excellent time. Tucker didn't yet feel comfortable certifying that they could go to warp, as he had more tests that he wanted to perform, but he expected they could be on their way within a day.

She immediately went into the bathroom and drew herself a bath. She had been too busy to take a break in the run up to the engagement with the Klingons, so the scents of battle had layered on top of the scents of her sexual encounter with Tucker, and she was eager to rid her body of both. She returned to the main room and began to strip off her clothes. She threw them into the laundry bin and turned around.

She had set the lights in her bedroom to dim, but she was startled to see a figure lying in her bed. She recognized Tucker.

"Glad you're home, Honey"

T'Pol mouth dropped open.

"You seem surprised," he said, "but don't worry. I took my boots off before walking on the silk rugs. That's customary right?"

T'Pol nodded.

"How did you. . ."

"Oh. . .Mama T'Les gave me full access to this room. She came down to engineering to check on our progress. She found time to ask me what I planned to do about this bond business, and I said I had no intention of ridding myself of it. She seemed rather tickled, if you ask me, and she showed me right here. Thankfully, I don't have much stuff. . .the steward brought everything up from the lower decks in one trip."

T'Pol was silent.

"Don't mind me, darlin'" he said, "I know you want to get to that bath. I already showered earlier."

T'Pol felt a strong desire to argue with him, to throw him out of her quarters. But doing so would create great controversy with her Vulcan crew. Some of them might be offended by her bonding with a human, but all of them would object to her barring her bondmate from her quarters, an act which would be a outright violation of sacred Vulcan tradition. It was certainly clear to T'Pol that her mother viewed the bond as more important than Tucker's unfortunate species. And T'Les had found a rather irritating way of articulating that opinion.

She resolved to meditate on the situation further after she had gotten some sleep. She headed into the bathroom and lowered herself into the tub. The water was warm, inviting and soothed her body.

Tucker soon appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, wearing the t-shirt and boxers in which he slept.

"Can I wash your back, darlin'?"

She nodded. He took a washcloth and began to tend to her. T'Pol steeled herself for another sexual encounter, but he didn't touch her that way.

"Thank you for assisting us with the hull breach," she said after awhile.

"Thanks for getting us through the battle in one piece," he replied.

When the water was tepid, he lifted her from the tub and dried her off.

"What do you sleep in?

"There's a nightshirt in the top right drawer."

The garment was simple and white. Tucker dressed her in it and led her to the bed.

"Do you have a favorite side of the bed?"

"I prefer to be near the door as opposed to the window."

"Perfect," he replied, "I like being near the window."

He led her to the bed and helped her slip under the covers.

"Can I bring you anything, Captain?" he asked.

She shook her head.

Tucker walked around the bed and climbed in next to her. He pressed a button on the nightstand and the lights went out.

"Get some sleep, T'Pol," he said.

She closed her eyes, grateful that she was too exhausted to care who shared her bed.