Disclaimer: See Chapter One
Rating: PG-13 to R
A/N: So, there are two Elizabeths in this story. Liz Cutler will be referred to as Liz and Elizabeth Tucker will be referred to as Elizabeth (or Lizzie as her brother calls her).
Chapter 12
Elizabeth Tucker's life had gotten weird. Terrifying, too. But more than that, things had just gotten weird. She was lying on a bed in the Empress's private chambers having her nails manicured and painted pink. The woman doing her nails was the Empress. That wasn't normal, was it?
Sato's inner chamber was small comparable to her receiving room but still large by any normal standard. The room had a series of windows that looked out on San Francisco Bay, but the tints had been dimmed because Sato was enjoying a film on the Vid Screen while she painted Elizabeth's nails. Elizabeth thanked her lucky stars that she had taught herself how to do nails in high school because she suspected she'd be asked to return the favor for the Empress, who was calling this a "girl's day" in her chambers. It being girl's day didn't stop Sato from signing a few execution and arrest orders or berating a couple of her ministers.
A week prior, Elizabeth had been working as an assistant architect at the largest firm in Pensacola. Mostly, she did floor plans for hotels, schools and prisons. Once and awhile, she got to design a house all on her own. Although her boss was hardly a candidate for the Pritzker Prize, he made sure that the buildings they designed were safe and utilitarian. When she wasn't working, her life had been somewhat lonely. She would go home to her small bungalow and her two cats, where she would read or watch old movies.
It had gotten lonelier since her brother had disappeared. Although she was saddened and worried by his imprisonment, it did triple the amount of letters she got from him. She rarely spoke to her parents, and Trip was really the only person in the world that gave damn about her. Him and maybe her neighbor Mrs. Sommerville. As Elizabeth was being marched away from her home at the point of disruptor, Mrs. Sommerville had shouted to her that she would look after her cats.
Elizabeth glanced sideways at her reflection in a big gilded mirror on the wall. Sato had sent her to the palace's beauty parlor that morning where she had had her hair cut and dyed blond. Elizabeth now realized her new hairstyle had been designed to make her resemble the heroine of the film they were watching.
"Did I tell you this has been my favorite film since I was a little girl? It's really about female empowerment."
Elizabeth nodded, keeping her hand still as the Empress painted.
"When I was a little girl I wanted a chihuahua, so I could be just like Elle," she said, by way of making conversation.
"Maybe we can still make that happen! There are perks to being the Empress's friend."
Elizabeth smiled, despite herself.
Couldn't they have just put me in a nice, sane dungeon?
Since her arrest, Elizabeth's life had become a blur. She knew the arrest was all about her brother Trip and his escape from Starfleet. The last she had heard from him, he was being held in the brig of The Defiant and trying to earn the Empress's trust. It was only after her arrest that she had learned that Trip had escaped or been taken and was missing without a trace. This news was somewhat of a relief, since when his letters abruptly stopped Elizabeth had feared the worst. Now, it seemed there was at least a chance he still lived. More importantly, Sato wanted him back to work on The Defiant and planned to use her as bait to lure him back.
Instead of throwing her into a dungeon or prison or work camp, Sato had installed her into rooms near her own and proceeded to treat her as though they were the best of friends. If they weren't watching old films together, Sato giving her advice about clothes and ordering new things to be made in Elizabeth's size. She asked her about her love life and what her favorite music was. Sato even ordered them girly cocktails like cosmopolitans and margaritas, which Elizabeth hated but drank with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
Sato had also made her access all the letters Trip had sent her. Thankfully, nothing in them was incriminating. In fact, Trip had over and over again said that his loyalty was to the Empire and all he wanted was his old job back so he could continue to serve. This seemed to please Sato.
"You'll help me find him, won't you?" Sato had whispered into her ear once as she was braiding her hair.
"I only want my brother to be well and safe," Elizabeth had replied, "and so I will do anything I can to help you."
That had seemed to please the Empress.
As the credits rolled and the bouncy music about perfect days filled the room, Sato fell backwards on the bed with a laugh.
"Tell me, Elizabeth, are you enjoying your stay?"
Hardly. Being waterboarded wouldn't be as harsh psychological torture as this.
"I'm very grateful for all your kindnesses, Empress."
"I told you to call me Hoshi when we are in this room. Only in this room, of course."
"Okay, Hoshi," replied Elizabeth.
Sato reached up and caressed her cheek.
"Are you still confused? Are you still frightened?"
Elizabeth thought very carefully for a moment.
"I respect your power, Hoshi, and I am flattered that you consider me a good companion. But I have found my new circumstances strange. I never thought to be a slave. . ."
Sato sat straight up. She locked eyes with Elizabeth.
"Don't say that. You're not a slave. You're a guest. A guest that's going to help me get what I want. As long as you do that, you'll stay in my good graces."
Elizabeth nodded. She certainly felt like she was a slave, but she didn't dare contradict Sato.
"I'm glad of that," replied Elizabeth.
"In fact," whispered Sato, "You can have use of the slaves here at the palace. I've got plenty of them. Consider them at your disposal."
Elizabeth nodded tentatively. She knew the black clad men and women who kept their eyes down and never spoke were slaves. Elizabeth despised the concept of slavery, though she would never be so foolish as to advertise that fact.
"Would you like to meet my favorite slave?"
"Sure," said Elizabeth, who had never been a good liar but was learning. She hoped the Empress wouldn't notice that her drawl became more pronounced when she was lying.
"Good. I've been saving introducing you for a special occasion. But now's as good a time as any. He's in the other room. I'll ring for him."
Sato pressed a couple of buttons on her console. Soon, a man, dressed in a simple black pants and a black shirt crawled in to the room on his hands and knees.
"Stay there for a moment," ordered Sato, "Elizabeth, did you know the world slave comes from the latin meaning 'to save' because most slaves were spared death by their gracious conquerors?"
Elizabeth shook her head.
"I never took Latin. I took Spanish and Chinese."
"I'm a linguist," said Sato, "and you learn all sorts of things when you are a linguist."
Elizabeth knew that the Empress had been a language expert. She had mentioned it several times, as if she missed that part of her life.
"Anyway," she said, "I don't like killing things that might be of use to me. I like to keep them around. Come here, Jonathan, I'd like you to meet Elizabeth."
Elizabeth was startled. Jonathan. Could it be? Trip had told her the circumstances leading up to his imprisonment. Elizabeth had also seen pictures of the crew of Enterprise on the news. The man crawling toward them looked like he could be the same Jonathan Archer that Sato was said to have murdered in her own power grab. Trip's loyalty to the man had cost her brother his freedom, possibly his life.
Sato wasn't wearing any shoes, and she pressed her foot to the floor. Jonathan kissed her foot.
"You can look up now," said Sato, "This is my friend Elizabeth. If I'm not around, you have to obey her, understood?"
Elizabeth looked down at the man on the floor as he stared up at her. His green eyes were blank, but she recognized him. She had been right about his identity.
"It's nice to meet you," said Elizabeth, feeling beyond awkward.
"Likewise," he said.
There was no intonation in his voice. Elizabeth wondered if the man had been drugged or worse, tortured into submission or madness. She knew from her brother's letters, that he had been a ruthless man, but he had won Trip's respect. It pained her to see someone who had once been strong put in such a weak position.
Sato patted the bed they were lounging on and Jonathan crawled up between them. He moved to kiss the Empress, but she waved him away.
"I don't need you tonight, Jon," said Sato, "Travis is going to be here in awhile and he's a much less tiresome lover than you - even with your newfound gift for silence."
Jonathan leaned back. Elizabeth studied his eyes. She thought she detected a glint of something - some hint of humanity there.
"Why don't you give Elizabeth a back rub?" said Sato.
Jonathan Archer looked over at her. Elizabeth knew better than to refuse the Empress's offer, so she nodded slightly at the man and leaned forward. Soon, she felt his strong hands at her back.
As she looked at the Empress, a shiver went down Elizabeth's spine. The first night in the palace, she had feared that one or more of the officers or the guards would crawl into her bed and violate her. That didn't happen. Everyone treated her with the utmost respect. After that, she waited for Sato to make an advance on her, one to which she would have to acquiesce. Although Sato had touched her often, nothing sexual ever happened. Sato seemed to treat her as a close platonic friend.
But now, as Jonathan's fingers began to work at the knots her back, she saw an alarming glint in Sato's eye. Elizabeth wasn't terribly worldly, but she recognized that the Empress was getting turned on by watching them, and it was just a back rub.
Great, she thought, just great.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and while the knots in her back were disappearing, one in her stomach replaced it.
***
A majority of the Vulcans had gone to the surface with the Captain and T'Les, so Talas found herself in command of the The Selok. Not that it mattered, as they were simply orbiting T'Khut while cloaked. Tolaris might have enjoyed supervising general maintenance tasks and day-to-day operations, but Talas found such mundanities the worst part of being an officer. She wasn't terribly good at them either.
She didn't see the point of doing things that Tolaris enjoyed and did better just because he wasn't around. Anything that wasn't immediately necessary could wait until he returned.
She sighed deeply and looked at herself in the mirror. While the others were on the surface, nothing was interesting or fun going to happen. She was bored and decided to seek out some entertainment.
Talas dressed in her favorite leather catsuit and sprayed herself with her lucky perfume. She had been visiting Reed off and on for days. He remained an enigma, but she sensed he was attracted to her. Like most humans, he pretended indifference but that just made him more interesting.
She headed to his quarters, a slight skip in her step. She rang the chime on Reed's room, and he called for her to enter. She strode in confidently and saw him lying on his bed.
"The Captain wanted me to thank you again for taking out one of the Klingons,"
"It was my pleasure," replied Reed.
Talas walked to his bed.
"We should be able to release you at our next stop, or so I have been told. May I sit down?"
Reed gestured to the bed, and she sat on the edge of his bed.
"It must be lonely," she said "being down here without company."
She placed a hand on his thigh and twitched her antennae suggestively.
Reed didn't move and; he just looked down at her hand. When he didn't respond, she moved to pull it back but he grabbed her hand.
She smiled at him as he pulled her down.
***
T'Pol never cared for politics, so the three hour meeting of the Syrannite rebel council had tried her Vulcan patience. The council methodically went through each of its agenda items, which ranged from budget issues to demands they would make of Sato's government. Now that it was over, T'Pol simply wanted to get out of the dusty old council chambers and out into the fresh air. Although she was accustomed to life on a starship, she wanted to enjoy being planetside while she could.
As she exited to the back garden, she saw the Vulcan was high in the sky, and the sun had set. It was a breathtaking sight to her home planet rise above the plains of T'Khut's eastern continent.
She heard footsteps behind her. She turned around expecting to see T'Les but instead saw T'Pau - the young woman who had risen to become the spiritual leader of the Syrannites. T'Pol knew her mother had developed a strong loyalty to this woman, and T'Pol also sensed the woman's devotion to logic was absolute. Almost to the point of coldness. During her time among other races T'Pol had learned that logic, while useful most of the time, did not hold the answer to every question — especially when one was dealing with races that did not behave logically.
The two women nodded succinctly to one another.
"I have not had a chance to express how agreeable it is that you have taken command of The Selok," she said.
"It was the logical choice," said T'Pol.
"T'Les feared you wouldn't see it as such," said T'Pau, "but your experience at dealing with other races, including humans, will make you a strong leader. Most Vulcans have difficulty interacting with non-Vulcans."
T'Pol nodded slightly in acknowledgment of the truth.
"The Terrans are looking for your chief engineer, who is also your mate," said T'Pau.
T'Pol nodded again. She had expected T'Pau to bring up her unusual personal life.
"We cannot afford for you to be harmed by a separation, so we cannot allow him to return to Earth. The Empress is offering incentives for his return. How confident are you that he will remain with you by choice?"
T'Pol's mind wandered back to when she last saw Tucker, and they had both been content.
They had both dressed, and she was ready to leave for the surface. Tucker stood in the center of the room, looking at her. Her mind no longer awash in his anger and resentment, she experienced a sense of relief and pleasure akin to the abrupt cessation of physical pain. His affection served as a balm for the emotional turmoil created by their bond, and she did not wish to be separated from him. He approached her, and he leaned over and kissed her goodbye on the cheek.
"I'll miss you," he said, "Take care of yourself."
"Our separation will be short, and I look forward to my return."
With that she turned and left him.
The Empire held nothing but danger for both of them. Life on The Selok wouldn't be without its risks, but T'Pol couldn't think of anything that Sato could offer that would lure Tucker back.
"He is content with me, and he fears the instability of the current regime. It is logical for him to remain among us."
T'Pau nodded.
"That is agreeable news. It will be better all around if he stays with you by his own choice."
T'Pau's face was a mask, but T'Pol's instincts told her she was holding back information. Not that that wasn't typical of a politician, but she made a mental note of it.
***
Tucker yawned as he headed back to his quarters after a long shift. Usually, he had a lot to look forward to when he got home, but with T'Pol on the surface, all that awaited him was a hot shower and warm bed. Not that he wouldn't enjoy those two things.
His communicator chirped.
"Tucker here," he said, assuming Kov needed something. Kov was one of the only Vulcans who hadn't gone to the surface.
"It's Phlox. You need to come to sickbay, immediately."
Tucker sighed. Just what he needed. Phlox probably found some weird spot on his neural scans that portended a quick death or something. Tucker turned around and headed for the lift.
When he arrived at sickbay, Liz Cutler of all people met him at the door.
"I thought you weren't working here anymore," said Tucker, who would have happily throttled Phlox if he had done anything to Cutler.
"I had to come. I was down on the lower decks when the guards found her," said Liz.
"Who?" said Tucker.
Liz led him to the biobed where Talas lay, unconscious. Big white bruises were visible on her neck and collarbone. One of her antennae had been snapped in half.
"What happened?" asked Tucker.
"Reed happened. He did this to her and killed the guard that was at his door. One of the escape pods is gone."
Damn, thought tucker, and Talas was their chief of security. How the hell had she let this happen? He didn't know her well, but she didn't strike him as someone who would be easy to mess with. Tucker turned to Phlox, who was busy in the corner.
"How is she?"
"Reed left her for dead, but Andorian physiology is different from human. She was merely in a coma. She's still in a coma. I don't know when she'll awaken."
Tucker glanced over at Cutler, and then back at poor Talas. The broken antennae didn't look like it felt good.
"Is she on pain meds?" asked Tucker.
"Some," said Phlox, "I'll give her more if and when she regains consciousness."
Liz looked at him.
"There's more. With all the Vulcans on the surface and Talas out of commission, you're the highest ranking person on the ship."
Tucker rolled his eyes. The motley crew of aliens left were hardly going to be pleased at taking any kind of an order from a human.
"Isn't there someone that the aliens will like better, at least until T'Pol gets back?"
Liz shook her head.
"They all say they prefer you over Kov. They think Kov is too soft, and with Reed at large they don't want someone soft in the Captain's chair. Some of Talas's men want to talk to you about trying to track Reed.
Tucker nodded. Communications between The Selok and the surface were to be kept at a minimum because even though they were scrambled and encrypted, Terran ships might wonder why a communication signal was emitting from empty space above T'Khut. However, Tucker knew a few tricks that could make a short message look like random space noise. He could get a message to T'Pol. He had to. The Vulcans needed to know Reed was on the loose.
