Chapter 10

The next morning, Tynen woke up before his wife and after he finished using his lavatory, he threw on his robe and padded into his living room suite to read various reports concerning the ship's status.

A half an hour later, he heard V'Lar get out of bed to use his bathroom. Shortly thereafter, she appeared in the doorway that led into their bedroom, wearing his Academy sweat shirt and her underwear. She stretched and watched him silently for several moments before she entered the suite and crossed the floor to stand over him. "Is this seat taken?" she asked, her look indicating she was focused on his lap.

He smiled thinly at her. "It's always free for you, love."

He placed his PADD on the sofa cushion and she plopped herself down on top of him. They sat there, watching each other and as she gently stroked his temple, she whispered so quietly, he strained to hear her words.

"Is something troubling you, adun?"

He shot a confused look at her. "Adun? What does that mean?"

He saw the hidden smile in her eyes. "It means 'husband.'"

"I see. And how would I say 'wife' in Vulcan?"

"Aduna."

His smile turned into a grin. "Of course, that would be...logical."

"Indubitably," she agreed then softly planted a kiss on his cheek. "My question, however, remains unanswered."

He sighed. "I need to tell you some things about what had happened to Tevik and why. You may become distressed from what you'll hear."

She studied his face for a few seconds before she said, "I detect through our bond that you are apprehensive about telling me..."

"Yes," he whispered.

"Why, Jason?"

"Because..." he said, throwing all caution to the wind, "I'm afraid when I tell you, you will regret marrying me. Hell, you'll probably regret even knowing me."

She cupped his cheek in the palm of her hand, leaned forward and softly pressed her forehead against his. "You are my Lancelot, my champion, my adun. Whatever you tell me, no matter how distressing it may be, nothing you could ever say would cause me to cherish you any less than I do at this moment." Then she gently kissed his lips and breathed, "Tell me."

He spoke lowly to her. "Everything I'm about to tell you must stay between us. You can never discuss it with anyone."

She nodded. "I understand."

"Okay," he breathed. "Tevik's Pon Farr was not the result of his natural cycle. He was infected by a bioengineered microbe that simulated the effects of the blood fever."

Her control slipped for a brief moment to show her horror at the news. "Who would commit such an egregious act?"

"Section 31."

She blinked several times at that. "Section 31?"

"Yes."

"Why would your former associates infect Captain Tevik?"

He sighed deeply. "Tevik was compromised by the Romulans. The Section had him under surveillance for quite some time. The Tal Shiar assigned Tevik to ram the Edmund Fitzgerald into Kang's battle cruiser when she arrived here yesterday. Think of it, V'Lar! If Tevik had succeeded, we'd have had to fight the rest of Kang's task force with our in-system fleet. Both sides would have suffered substantial casualties and the budding alliance with the Klingons to take on the Minbari may have been irretrievably shattered."

She glared at him, distressed by the very notion that anyone would ever conceive of such a plot. "But if the Section believed this to be the case, why did they not assassinate him?"

"Assassinating a Starfleet captain or arranging an 'accident' might raise suspicions and have too many people asking questions. Besides, his family is very prominent and they have the resources to look closely into his death. However, if the Section made it appear as if he died as the result of a mating challenge, no one would be the wiser. And, even better, you have the microbes push him so far over the edge that he acts dishonorably during the challenge and brings shame to both his memory and his family."

She listened attentively to all of what he'd said and shuddered. "When he chose not to recognize our bond, his act would have been reprehensible to my people." She had a somber look on her face. "Can the microbe be eradicated by medical treatment?"

He nodded. "Once Shron knew what to look for, he developed a pathogen to treat it."

She closed her eyes then. "So I was responsible for the death of a sentient being."

"Hey!" he snapped, causing her to regard him with sorrowful brown eyes. "I'll have none of that, V'Lar! Even though he wasn't in control of himself, he assaulted you! He wasn't only seeking to mate with you; he sought to punish you. You had no way of knowing any of this when you called out to me. And if anyone was responsible for his death, it was me, not you."

"No," she said, drawing him into a fierce hug. "You were under the thrall of the Kun-ut Kali Fi. You fought to save my honor." Now, her voice was strong and certain. "You are blameless in this."

He shuddered in her arms. "I can't be certain of that, aisha!" he confessed.

"What do you mean by that?" she whispered.

"The Section targeted him knowing he'd be drawn to you. They knew that with the artificial blood fever driving him, I would protect you."

"How could they know that, Jason? Tevik is…was a Vulcan. He was much stronger than you. He could have killed you and in my desperation to protect our bond, to my everlasting shame, I called out to you, sending you to face certain death."

"Think back, V'Lar. Did he overpower me? Have you ever been able to overpower me with your strength?"

She blinked three times as she considered his question. Then she stared into his eyes. "No, in fact, I cannot recall an occasion where I overpowered you. How can that be?"

"I don't know how I do it, V'Lar. I never really wanted to know because if I told anyone else about it, they might have turned me into some kind of lab rat; you know, their scientists would have taken away my freedom to study me. Somehow, I have this ability to slightly surpass the strength of any humanoid I face in hand-to-hand combat. I think it's one of the reasons I succeeded as a Section operative. That's why the Romulan woman I killed had no chance against me. That's why you had trouble with me when we escaped from the baryon sweep." He paused momentarily to gather his thoughts. She said nothing; she simply stared into his eyes as he continued his declaration. "W-when I saw what Tevik did to you...I lost my mind. I dragged him off you and all I wanted to do was kill him. Right after that, there he was floating in space. Somehow, his body phased through the window and he was dead just as if a genie had granted my wish." Then he glared at her, his eyes wild. "Was it me? Did I kill him with another ability I possess? Am I some kind of monster, V'Lar?"

She shook her head. "No, my beloved, Section 31 killed him. Its operatives were the ones who poisoned him. And you are no monster. You are my adun, the light of my katra. But I realize my words are inadequate to truly express what I feel for you. Allow me to show you."

He leaned toward her and sensed her fingers as they pressed against his temple, the side of his nose and jaw. Then, almost immediately, his psyche encountered the exceedingly structured and rational mind of his wife. Like a tranquil sea, her thoughts were serene and calm with occasional waves of emotion that crested yet swiftly rolled under into the glassy-smooth surface of her mind.

The waves formed when she reflected on the concepts of beauty, honor, curiosity, and, surprisingly, love. And he knew, after being in her mind, that she loved him completely. When he risked himself, his career, to save her, that was when she'd come to see him as both beautiful and honorable. That instance had served to pique her curiosity about this mysterious human with the stars in his eyes. Her fascination, over time, grew. Not long after, she'd begun to bond with him, leaving the conventions of her people behind and starting them down the path that had led to this moment in time.

As the meld continued, he showed her what she'd meant to him – how his first impression of her comported with Shakespeare's vision of the lovely Titania straight out of A Midsummer Night's Dream, followed by a year of collaboration and the building of a friendship that slowly evolved into longing which then flared into the intensity of his passion for her now and forever.

Minutes later, she uncoupled the tips of her fingers from his face and terminated the link. Then she kissed him deeply. When their lips parted, she whispered, "No matter the challenges that come our way, I shall always cherish thee, my noble champion."

"I am forever yours, aisha," he responded, his heart bursting with his love for her.

"Come," she said simply. She stood up, took him by the hand, drew him to his feet and led him back into their bedroom. She guided him down onto the mattress, crawled into bed on all fours above him and said in a low, husky voice, "How do I love thee, adun? Let me count the ways." As she spoke to him, an image of Vulcan females on their hands and knees, just as she was right now above him, looking seductive and alluring with their cheeks and lips flushed the ripe green of late spring, suddenly flashed into his mind.

V'Lar slipped open his robe and lowered her face to drag her nose across his chest. Her nostrils flared and she breathed deeply. "I desire thee," she whispered. Then her mouth suckled one of his nipples for several moments, causing him to gasp. She released the chocolate-colored morsel of flesh and confessed, "No, my longing for you surpasses mere desire; rather, I adore thee." Now, she turned her attention to his other nipple.

His body writhed beneath her. At that moment, he glanced down and spied the fire in her eyes. His pulse quickened as she brushed the tip of her nose along his sternum and her tongue trailed along the path that led to his navel.

"I have always admired your intelligence," she whispered, her voice continuing to deepen into a sensual growl. She teased his body with her lips, teeth, and tongue while she used her voice to seduce him. "From the start, I was drawn to you, to your generosity of spirit, your sense of fairness, your kindness."

Suddenly, her face hovered above his. She flicked out her tongue against his lips, drawing a soulful groan from him. Then she peered deeply into his eyes. "I want thee."

Before he could respond, she silenced him by covering his mouth with hers. Meanwhile, her two fingers glided slowly over the flesh of his body, snaking along his torso. Moments later, she gently nudged his legs apart and slid her lithe body between them.

"I love thee," she confessed as her breasts grazed his chest and his civilized veneer was swallowed by his id. Single-mindedly, she stroked his chin with her fingertips, teasing his lips open so she could snake her tongue into his mouth with a soft moan.

As she deepened the kiss, once again, she placed her fingertips against his psi-points, entered his mind, took his body and whispered, "Let me worship thee, my husband," as their meld reflected the union of both their physical and psychic worlds.

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After our early morning tryst, I completely understood why a Vulcan male would kill to mate and bond with a certain Vulcan female.

Once we'd left our cabin and my wife's smoldering sensuality was once again safely secreted behind her meticulously-crafted emotionless facade, we had some breakfast and met Kang and Lady Mara when they'd beamed aboard the Valkyrie. The Klingon couple had joined me for the Incident Command meeting while V'Lar had visited with Janja to finalize the modification of our quarters. Apparently, Janja had figured out a way to remove the wall that currently separated our quarters to provide V'Lar with a meditation area and a closet as well as combining our lavatories into a very large bathroom. Since Rex had been still concerned about V'Lar's transparent aluminum window, we'd expand our new suite up to the window and turn her quarters into a low priority storage area. Of course, Salayna's people wouldn't give up trying to determine what had happened to Tevik.

Around 1100 hours, the Kolm-An class assault ship, USS Axanar had warped into the system and come alongside the Val. The new platoon had beamed over to our ship and taken a few hours to get squared away while several work bees transferred some heavy cargo to our shuttle bay, including several planetary shield modules for Alliance Earth.

Later that day, V'Lar and I had been scheduled to orient the new platoon members and several other people who'd transferred over from the Axanar. Unfortunately, I hadn't been given any prior warning about the nature of two of our transferees until I'd received a call from Admiral Mendez at noon time.

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"Good afternoon, Jay," Mendez said when his image appeared on Tynen's desk monitor. "How's married life treating you?"

"It's great, sir. V'Lar is a wonderful woman; I'm lucky she'd have me."

"You know, my wife says the same about me—that I'm damn lucky to have her," Mendez noted with a smirk. "Anyway, I'm glad to hear that about you and V'Lar, son. It's good you managed to stop that bastard, Tevik, from seriously harming her."

Tynen simply nodded.

"Jay, the reason I called was to tell you that besides the platoon that's scheduled to join your crew, we also sent you a woman named Athena Palamas. She's a full lieutenant who graduated from the Yale Medical School with a specialty in psychiatry. She's been assigned as a psychiatrist in your medical division."

Tynen narrowed his eyes at the admiral. "Palamas…I know that name from somewhere."

The admiral grunted. "Of course, you studied the first five year mission of the Enterprise under Kirk's command?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you recall the mission where they ran across the alien who claimed to be the ancient Greek God Apollo?"

"Yes!" Tynen exclaimed. "He impregnated one of Kirk's officers!"

"Yes, well, Carolyn Palamas' little girl is all grown up now. Our 'demi-goddess' has a high psi-rating, even higher than the most adept Deltans. She's telepathic and empathic but we don't know if she possesses any other abilities. We'd like you to mentor her and to monitor her progress."

Tynen smirked. "You want to make certain she doesn't follow too closely in daddy's footsteps."

Mendez nodded. "You understand perfectly, captain. If she becomes dangerous, I'm counting on you or V'Lar to deal with her. I think our chances are best, though, if the task falls to you."

"Received and understood, Admiral."

"Good. Oh, Jay, the final person joining your crew is a reporter for the Altair Information Syndicate."

Tynen got a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach at that bit of news. "A reporter, sir?"

"Yes. Commander Holloway at the Sentient Relations and Communications Division came up with the idea of embedding a reporter on one of the ships we're sending to the Alliance Earth quadrant. Holloway thinks having the reporter file articles for the Federation, the Klingons, and the races in Alliance Earth's area of operation will go a long way in helping us raise the credits we need to fund the war effort against the Minbari and in winning the hearts and minds of the races on the other side of the galaxy."

Oh well, he mused inwardly, at least the admiral gave me the name of the bastard in SRCD, so I know who to kill. "What's the name of this…reporter?"

"It's Bob Hastings."

"H-hastings, sir?" Tynen sputtered. "Wasn't he the joker who'd written the article that forced Admiral Duane into early retirement?"

"Yes…that's him," Mendez noted with a growl. "He's been warned, though, not to ambush any of our people on this assignment. If he does, dump his ass on Alliance Earth, preferrably on their Antarctica for all I care! However, Holloway assures me that having someone with Hastings' reputation for being an independent operator will go over big with the politicians and the Klingons. We wouldn't get the same leeway if a reporter from Federation News Service had been given the assignment."

"I understand, sir."

"Oh, Jay, he'll probably want to do a piece on your marriage."

Tynen's eyes opened wide at that. "He'll want to do a piece on V'Lar and me?"

"Yes. Be accommodating but if he gets too nosy, tell him to stick it where the sun doesn't shine."

"But, sir…Vulcans highly value their privacy. I'm not sure my wife will agree to something like that."

"Oh…" the admiral grunted. "I forgot about that. Well, just broach the subject with her and ask if she'd be willing to do it as a personal favor to me. If she does, I promise to make it worth her while."

Tynen nodded and sighed heavily. "Aye, sir."

"That's the spirit, Jay!" the admiral teased. "I'll call you again before you cast off for the rendezvous point. Oh, by the way, good work with the Klingons. It seems you made quite an impression on General Kang and his friends."

"Thank you, sir. What exactly did they say?"

"Well, they said, 'Until we'd met Captain Tynen, we'd believed that once Garth, Mendez, Kirk and that she-wolf Hudec met their well-deserved ends, neither the Federation nor Starfleet would possess anyone interesting left to kill. How fortunate it is to find we were mistaken in our beliefs.'"

"Wow…I really feel the love, sir," Tynen offered with a smirk.

"I know I feel appreciated," the flag officer said with a death's head grin.

"Sir, there's still time to refit the Fighting Maine. Your Pyotr Velikiy-class cruiser certainly gave the Klingons a rough time. It could do the same against the Minbari."

The admiral smiled wistfully. "Don't tempt me, son. It's hard for me to sit this one out. You know, Jay, you have the chops to become an admiral but if you're smart you'll take my advice. Don't ever let them take you out of the captain's chair. That's where the real action is. That's where you can make a difference. That's where you won't find the time to grow so…damn…old."

"Aye, aye, sir!" he barked to the admiral like a wet-behind-the-ears midshipman.

Mendez chuckled at him. "Well, I have a meeting I've got to run to. Give my regards to the missus, all right?"

"You've got it, sir. And…thank you…for everything."

"Don't mention it, Jay. Mendez out."

As the screen went blank, Tynen reflected upon all of what the admiral had said. Then he thought about how captains like Mendez, Kirk, Kang, and Kor, men who'd pushed the boundaries of exploration, still preferred to go out in a blaze of glory with phasers and disruptors firing on the deck of a starship. He frowned. He'd heard about how Kirk had lost his son moments before he'd murdered his own ship. Now, James T. Kirk had the opportunity to take another Enterprise into harm's way to defend the Federation.

Like Kirk, Tynen was going to try and beat the devil and all he had to wager with was his ship, his crew, and the love of his life.

He damned the Minbari, but mostly, he damned himself as he turned in his chair to stare out at the stars through his office window as another of Kirk's adventures came to mind. "Perhaps the Metrons were too optimistic about us," he murmured to no one. "A few thousand years might not be long enough."

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