—Chapter 14—
"Sorry to keep you waiting," said Shran as he entered the captain's dining room.
"Don't worry about it," said Trip. "Sorry you missed lunch, today. I would have relieved you, but Phlox kept me in his Sick Bay for two hours."
"It's nothing," said Shran, looking at Trip with concern in his eyes. "Why did Phlox keep you that long? This is the second time in a week that you've spent two hours in his Sick Bay. What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing, actually," said Trip. "Seems Phlox found a cure for the radiation sickness which afflicts engineers. I have one more session to go."
"That's fantastic!" said Shran. "I noticed your scars improving in appearance, but didn't want to say anything in case I was mistaken."
"Yes, Phlox either found a cure, or he's found a new and unique way to poison his captain," said Trip.
"If you die of his treatment, he dies by my ushaan-tor," said Shran, and Trip took comfort from Shran's loyalty.
The captain's steward came in then, and brought an ice bucket with three bottles of Andorian ale and a bottle of sake, all chilling within the bucket. Shran looked at the bottles and tilted his head in a quick jerky movement that reminded Trip of an owl, so he laughed.
"You mean us to kill all four bottles?" said Shran. "What if something that needs out attention pops up?"
"Don't worry about it," said Trip, opening one of the bottles and filling up two shot glasses. "Most of the ale is for you. I'm having the sake, which has a much lower alcohol content."
"What?" said Shran, laughing. "Why?"
"Because you're going to tell me why you ended up in prison," said Trip, sliding a shot glass at Shran. "I know there's got to be a juicy story behind it all."
"In that case I am going to need a drink. KashTria," said Shran, meaning 'Good Fortune' in Andorian.
"KashTria," said Trip, and they downed the first shot, then Trip filled up the glasses for another round, and then another, and another.
The steward brought out some Vietnamese fried springrolls, stuffed with shrimp, pork, mushrooms and carrots. The stuffing was tasty, the thin rice paper wrapper was golden and crispy, save where it was blistered and crunchy… they were heaven, but he and Shran were not here for the food. Trip poured another shot, and then another, and then another, and saw the effects of the ale upon Shran, which was not surprising, as Andorian ale was as good as rocket fuel. Another round of fried spring rolls, as well as some fried oysters and stuffed shrimp, another few shots, and Trip knew his time had come. He smiled at Shran and raised brow in parody of T'Pol, and Shran began his story.
"You know I like the ballet," said Shran, and Trip nodded along encouragingly, "and all Andorians love ballet. We even imported some of your best teachers to Andoria in order to create our own native dancers."
Trip nodded. He'd double 'dated' once, with Shran and Talas on one side, him and T'Pol on the other… He hated to even think of it now, but that had been after T'Pol's first pon'farr, when he'd hoped for something more with T'Pol than a series of backstabbing and manipulative maneuvers. So he'd bought four tickets, and invited the Andorians and the Vulcan to a night at the ballet, and a dinner afterwards. T'Pol had enjoyed the dancing, but nowhere near as much as the Andorians. They were captivated by the elegance, the precision, the grace… Trip poured another shot for them both, and looked back encouragingly at Shran.
"I used to go to the opera house each and every time I could when on Andoria, in order to see our own ballet dancers, and judge their progress," said Shran, "and I eventually met someone there, sort of. An Andorian beauty with eyes like cold mountain lakes. We never spoke, as she was always accompanied by some sort of chaperone, but we always had eyes for the other through the course of the performance, though we tried to be discreet."
"Well you're a handsome devil, Shran," said Trip encouragingly. "Were you wearing your dress uniform by any chance?"
Shran nodded his head.
"Well, there you go," said Trip. "You looked dashing as well. The poor girl never stood a chance!"
Shran nodded once again, miserably.
"What is her name?"
"Lidia," said Shran. "I found that out eventually."
"Ok, so what happened between you and Lidia?"
"One night a traveling band of Human entertainers was performing Irish folk dances at the opera house, and Lidia was there as well, and that night I could barely tear my eyes from the Irish dancers to glance at her. The dancers were magnificent!"
"Yeah, I've seen them," said Trip. "They're great. What you may not know is that a low state of guerrilla warfare exists between ballet dancers and Irish folk dancers."
"What? Why?" said Shran.
"Never mind," said Trip. "Get back to your story."
"Right," said Shran, popping a fried oyster in his mouth, and following it with a shot of ale. "Well that night, Lidia shook her chaperone and sought me out during intermission. It was the first time we spoke.
"Captain…" she'd said, gliding up to me.
"Shran," I said, "and if I might ask…"
"Lidia."
"Charmed," I said.
"I doubt it," she said, her eyes on fire. "I do not think that you spared a single glance for me this night, Captain!"
"If so, I was a fool, Lidia. Let me prove it," I said, working to convince her to spend some time with me, and eventually she relented. We left the opera house that moment, and hit a little bistro that's renowned for its quality, then ended back up at my place, where we spent a magical night. I've never been so happy, Trip, and Lidia's eyes were dancing with joy when she left me in the morning."
"Sounds great, Shran," said Trip, knowing that tragedy was just around the corner. "So what happened?"
"I was called in the next morning by an Admiral and read the riot act," said Shran. "Lidia is a minor relation to the Zhael, and she'd been marked for someone with whom the Zhael wished to have a closer political tie."
Trip nodded sympathetically, and Shran continued.
"But I couldn't stop thinking about Lidia," said Shran, "and apparently she felt the same, as someone delivered me a letter with the faint scent of her perfume on it. She felt what I felt. What could I do? We snuck out again, and again, to be together, and eventually we were found out. I was sentenced to twenty-four months in prison for disobeying a direct order, and while inside, word reached me that Lidia was pregnant with my child, and officially disavowed by the Zhael. I have a son, Trip, yet I am forbidden to see either of them, ever again, save from the distance."
Shran sighed, completely miserable now, and Trip wanted, needed, to throw him a life line.
"Shran, look at me."
Shran kept his eyes down, still lost in his grief.
"Shran," said Trip, and this time Shran looked up. "You know my intentions, and I promise you, if I make Emperor, the Zhael will not deny me a favor. I will insist upon it."
Shran's eyes opened at the thought and this time Trip saw hope in the Andorian's eyes.
"You may count on me to do whatever it takes to see you gain the crown, Captain," said Shran.
"I know," said Trip. "But than, I could always count on you, Shran, so nothing changes there."
"Shuttle One to the Tolek," said Soval, reading the Vulcan ship's name from it's transponder signal.
He and T'Pol had closed in on the rebel formation relatively quickly, as those ships had picked up the shuttle's energy signature on their respective sensors and come to a halt, curious at what an unarmed Human shuttle might be doing in the area at this time, and in time, the small video screen on the shuttle flickered to life, and the Bridge of the Tolek was displayed, with the Vulcan captain centered in the screen.
"I am Captain Sulek," said the Vulcan captain, "and you seem to be lost, Shuttle One."
"We are not," said Soval. "Rather we are searching for the Defiant."
"Indeed," said Sulek. "Why is that?"
"The High Command is debating on what course to adopt where Captain Tucker is concerned," said Soval, "and some of us believe that Commander Tucker will prevail and become the next Terran Emperor, and so we wish to prove our loyalty to him, in order to persuade him to look kindly upon Vulcan."
"I see," said Sulek. "It seems that we have missed much lately, but as it happens, we are also searching for the Defiant. You are welcome aboard my ship until we find the Defiant."
"Why do you seek the Defiant?" said T'Pol, speaking for the first time.
"We had intended to capture the ship," said Sulek.
"To make the attempt would be foolish," said T'Pol. "I assure you, the Defiant will make short work of you all, quite quickly."
"We have heard rumors of this ship's capacities," said Sulek, "and hoped they were exaggerated."
"They were not," said T'Pol.
Sulek seemed thoughtful for a few moments, then said, "Well, in any case, you will not find the Defiant in a shuttle. In exchange for our aid, perhaps you could tell us about this Captain Tucker."
"Agreed," said Soval.
Pursuing some leads from the Botha, who had been an Orion captive for months, the Defiant headed into Orion space to eventually come upon a large shipyard orbiting a small moon, onto which the Orions had built something like a military stronghold, to enforce their control of this sector of space. Without attempt at subtlety, for such would have been impossible, given that Orion sensor arrays would have picked up the Defiant long before her arrival, the Defiant simply plunged into the fray, relying on her shields and the Helmsman's abilities to keep the Defiant safe, while the ship's weapons worked hard to reduce the Orion shipyard to a field of debris.
They'd been at it for twenty minutes and doing a good job of it, when the unexpected happened: fourteen ships of mixed composition warped in to the scene and joined the Defiant in combating the Orion ships which had, up to that point, been swarming round the Defiant. It was enough, and though the Orions still outnumbered their enemies, the rebels bought the Defiant enough time to turn the shipyard into scrap, before turning it's weapons arrays onto the Orions. Shortly afterwards, the Orions broke, and fled, only to be pursued, and destroyed.
Eventually, the Defiant stood in place, surrounded by the rebel strike force, and although an NX class ship would have been at a hopeless disadvantage in such a position, the Defiant was not, and on the other side, the rebels had seen the Defiant's capabilities, so they politely powered down their weapons, though not their shields, and the Defiant did the same.
"Hail the Defiant," said captain Sulek, sharing the screen with captain Melonos, and soon enough the screen was divided once more, to display an image of the Defiant's Bridge, along with that of the other two ships Bridges.
"Well met, Captain Tucker," said Sulek, and Trip nodded.
"Shran? Is that you?" said Melonos, noting the Andorian that had moved into the frame of the Defiant's video stream. "Last I heard you were imprisoned."
"Melonos!" said Shran. "Last I heard you were sexually servicing the entire Tellarite navy."
Melonos laughed at that, and it seemed that introductions had been made all round.
"What can I do for you fine captains today?" said Trip.
"For a start," said Melonos, "you can thank us for the help we've just rendered your ship and your crew."
"I didn't ask for your help, and I didn't need it," said Trip, annoyed at the Andorian's tone. "Now, what do you want?"
"As a matter of fact," said Sulek, "we are returning one of your shuttles. Soval was in the middle of nowhere, searching for the Defiant. He seemed quite eager to find you, so we gave him a hand."
"Much obliged in that case," said Trip. "Feel free to send him over with my shuttle pod, and with my thanks."
"Will do," said Sulek.
"Anything else?" said Trip.
"It seems you bring the winds of change to the Empire, Captain," said Sulek. "Many eyes will be watching your coming moves."
"Fair enough," said Trip, "but it would do Vulcans well to stay out of this contest. To stand against me would be a mistake."
"Yes," said Sule, "Soval has told us that you mean to set Vulcan free. A week ago, I would have approved of your purpose, but Soval can be quite persuasive, and he argues for displaying our loyalty and making a contribution to your victory, in return for a favorable place in your Empire."
Trip snorted at that, and said, "Typical Vulcan bullshit. Offer loyalty in return for preferential treatment. No thanks. I have no doubt that if Melonos and I ever cross paths we'll try to kill each other in short order, but if ever he swears loyalty to me he'll mean it, and it won't be for scraps from my table. Send me my shuttle, Sulek, then get out of my sight before I remember that you're rebels against the Empire."
"As are you," said Sulek.
"Clock's running, Sulek," said Trip. "Make the most of it."
The Defiant's data stream ended, and Sulek was left in communication once more with Molonos alone. Sulek looked at Molonos, not pleased with his conversation with Captain Tucker. For his part, Molonos laughed.
"He's a prick, all right," said the Andorian, "but I could get used to him, and if Shran chose to be a part of his crew the Human can't be all that bad. We will speak later, Sulek."
The Andorian's data stream ended, and Sulek sighed, and looked round the Bridge to lock eyes with Soval, who looked displeased as well.
"I'll take my leave of you now, Captain," said Soval. "I thank you for your assistance to reach the Defiant."
Sulek nodded and Soval headed for the Shuttle Bay, where T'Pol had been warming up the shuttle, and waiting impatiently for Soval since the end of the battle. She hadn't even waited on the Bridge long enough for the inevitable communication with the Defiant… Or perhaps she didn't want Captain Tucker to see her before she could board the Defiant: with T'Pol, anything was possible. Soval entered the shuttle, and sat silently as T'Pol piloted the shuttle to the Defiant's own Shuttle Bay, then exited the ship to find Captain Tucker waiting for him in the Shuttle Bay.
"Soval," said Trip as he approached the shuttle, obviously pleased to see the Vulcan. "Long time no see you Vulc—"
The captain froze, and from the corner of his eye, Soval caught sight of T'Pol exiting the shuttle and standing next to him, standing at attention with hands clasped behind her back, poised and proud on the deck of the Defiant once more.
The captain remembered himself, and approached Soval and T'Pol both. He inspected T'Pol from head to toe, noting the outfit that covered everything but her hands, neck and head, but left nothing to the imagination, given how snugly it fit, and he then grabbed a handful of T'Pol's hair, and pulled her face closer to his. T'Pol did not resist, though her eyes looked resentful of the treatment, not that the captain cared, or had eyes for anyone but T'Pol.
"I always knew you were a pain in the ass, T'Pol," said Trip, "but I never thought you were stupid."
"I am not stupid, Captain," said T'Pol.
Trip released his hold and T'Pol pulled back, though not as far as she might have done, and looked at the captain, her eyes still resentful at the public display of his displeasure.
"No, you must be stupid T'Pol," said Trip, "or you'd never have returned to the Defiant after my warning. Report to the—"
"Agony Booth?" said T'Pol, brow raised in challenge.
"Precisely," said Trip. "Clear the room. I'll be there in a few minutes to light you up."
T'Pol merely looked at the captain in her most inscrutable gaze, then walked away, Trip watching her intently, but that was understandable… the hardest man could not but admire that lovely view. Once T'Pol had left the Shuttle Bay, Trip waved an Ensign over.
"We'll speak in a bit, Soval," said Trip, "but let's get you settled in first, in a private cabin."
"Yes, Captain," said Soval, and moments later he too was gone from the Shuttle Bay.
***Kathy, Rishooter - Ok, I looked at the reviews for this story, and both of you are really good at anticipating the plot, and you both have good ideas. I know Ris won't write stories, because I've tried to get him to do so before, but Kathy, you should sign up for a membership and start cranking out stories for us all to read. You'd be really good. In any case, I think you'll both hate what the Botha is about to do quite soon. Hate it!
Kathy - I just had Shran kill a few dozen female Orion dancers in order to maintain some credibility and to make this story feel more evil, but you were right to call me up on the carpet for it - everyone is still a bit too goody, goody for the MU. As far as the Botha being good, at least so far, not every member of every species will be evil, but you are right, I'll have to crank up the dial on evil if I'm to hope that I can maintain some self-respect.