Civilized Savages
By Didi
Disclaimers: Star Trek is owned by the late and great Gene Roddenberry. I own nothing within this story except the improbable idea behind it. Paramount owns the rights to the show and I do wish they would run of the wonderful reruns of the older series. Please don't sue me cause I have no money and will have to pay you in lint.
Summery: When one of their own goes missing, Enterprise crew goes on a search as to why.
Acknowledgement: To my darling Julie who loves Star Trek and is always willing to listen to me either rag or rave about episodes. Always know that you're opinion is more important than the stupid producers.
RATING: Rated R for content.
Note: I know that Enterprise hasn't been on television for long and the characterizing of the characters on the show may not be accurate but it's the way I see them. Bear me with here as I attempt to give some life to this.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Eight
~~~~~~~~~~
Klingon Warbird Kollarg
The language in question really wasn't all that complicated in the ways of foreign languages. It was make up of sixteen syntaxes that comprised of fourteen polimo... well, sufficient to say that it was easy enough for her to lean in a day or two's time if Hoshi took her time, less if she was in a hurry.
And Hoshi was in a big hurry to get off this particular ship. Not only did Klingons eat live food, they also neither bathed nor wore perfume to cover the distinctively unpleasant odors radiating from their bodies. Shaking her head, the young Japanese linguist sighed resignedly. "This must be how T'Pol feels being around all the guys after they leave the gym." She muttered, her fingers working slowly across the vocabulary of words the computer has already distinguished from the conversation. She could almost make out what was being said.
The meal the night before was enough to make her dread breakfast, she could only imagine what kinds of new tortures the Klingon are going to find for her. Perhaps watching her turn the color of a gully fish was somewhat amusing to them, but it certainly wasn't to her abused stomach. The mead last night was the only thing that stayed down and now she's got a headache that size of Jupiter's third moon.
Customary as they are to not knocking, Klaang and his friends walked in without so much as a beep of the door. Hoshi didn't bother looking up; she was too deep into the world of language to be bothered with little things like three seven feet tall warriors standing in the doorway.
P'Mai watched the little woman with the corners of his lips curled in what could described as a smile on his face that looked strange on the usually serious faced warrior with eighty kills to his name. The tiny thing was certainly fascinating to watch with her dark eyes and strange behaviors. "Time for..."
Hoshi let out scream that came close to shattering the eardrums of all three warriors as she clutched at her heart, trying to return it to a semi normal rate. Staring at the three with wide frightened eyes, she gasped for breath.
Lucudur was the youngest officer on the ship; his hair was not as long nor as wild as his elders. It has yet had the proper time to grow and tangle. His ears however were every bit as sharp as his comrades. Almost wincing with pain, he grabbed his ears with his not so clean hands. "Does she always greet a man this way?"
Klaang frowned at the woman still staring at them as if they had all turned into some horrible creatures from deep space. "What is the matter with you?"
Swallowing hard, she hoped her heart wasn't going jump right out of her mouth. "What's wrong with me?" She was rather surprised at how outraged she sounded at the moment. "What's the matter with you people? Haven't anyone ever taught you to..." She couldn't remember the word in Klingon so she opinioned for English. "...to knock?"
"Knock?" Lucudur frowned, confused by the word. Obviously, there was nothing of the sort in Klingon language. "What is that?"
"Can you eat it?" P'Mai asked sincerely.
"We should eat now." Klaang announced with a quick glance for his comrades. They had insisted on accompanying him to get the girl, but now they were behaving in a manner that he was unaccustomed to. There was a strangeness going on here. "You need to eat."
"Not what you're giving me." She rubbed her stomach slowly, remembering the night before. She was hungry but the very thought of having to watch her Klingon captives eat was enough to make her want to avoid it at all cost, including a little spontaneous fasting. "I'll just stay here and work on this if it's all the same to you."
"You need to eat. You are weak." Klaang said wisely, nodding his head slowly to emphasize his point. "You will eat."
Hoshi ran her tongue slowly over her tongue wondering what in the world was making her so bold. Perhaps it was the knowledge that these Klingons had gone to a lot of trouble to bring her here because she was the only one that can do what she does. To kill her now would be rather silly. "And if I don't?"
P'Mai leaned over and got right into her face. The smile he wore was sickeningly sweet enough on such a dangerous face that it made her heart skip a beat. "Then we will simply have to find a way to get food into your stomach."
Sitting there a moment, Hoshi allowed her mind a nightmarish moment of imagination. "All right then I guess I'll go with you." She smiled weakly but backed out of the chair slowly, careful not to come in contact with the warrior. "But don't say I didn't warn you when I lose my stomach on your...huh...." She glanced down at the leather and steel feet of the warriors. "Boots."
"How does one lose one's stomach?" Lucudur asked with rapid curiosity.
The young ensign sighed with resignation. If the food doesn't do it, the cultural difference is going to be the death of her. Though if she was completely honest with herself, she was actually beginning to enjoy these little strange conversations. "This is going to be a fun trip."
~~~~~~~~~
Enterprise - Bridge
"Looks like they are not headed pack to Kronos, Captain." Reed's brows were now in a near constant knot. "From these trials, we're looking at a trial that converges with three other ships and headed toward another sector all together."
"Where in tar nations are they taking her?" Tucker muttered as he looked over Reed's shoulders at the Vulcan star charts. "There's nothing there but a couple of gas balls and empty waste baskets for space junk."
"Perhaps Commander," T'Pol said with her calm and stoic air. "The Trisellar Nebula is not their final destination."
"You mean they are going pass it?" Reed asked, his dark eyes filled with concern. "You've got nothing pass the thirteenth planet in that system."
"Our science team has yet to report back from a mission to...."
"In other words," Archer said looking over at the science officer. "You guys have no idea what's in that direction either."
The Vulcan's superior brow went up again. "That would be correct, Captain."
"Great," Archer muttered under his breath. He did not need this right now. With Hoshi gone, the crew picking up the tension from the senior staff and no accurate star chart to follow, they were possibly heading into some real danger. Not that he had any kind of choice at the moment. Hoshi was a friend. More than that, he had been the one to talk her into taking the assignment in space, where she was uncomfortable and skittish. For gosh sakes, the girl jumps at every little shake the ship makes. What was he thinking, bring a young vulnerable woman into a place like this? For all he knew, the Klingons kept harems. "T'Pol, is there anything you can tell us about where we're headed?"
The dark faced Vulcan woman moved from her science station toward the main computer console behind where Hoshi usually sat. "The Trisellar Nebula had been known to be a favorite among the Kocklonds to be used as a temporary station."
Tucker frowned. "Temporary Station?"
Reed sighed and shook his head. "You're saying that these Kocklonds uses it as a hide away."
"Kocklonds are what humans call pirates. They are very dangerous, very unpredictable."
Mayweather failed to keep his voice low as he muttered, "Very human."
T'Pol looked at the young man. "Precisely."
"Are the Klingons and these Kocklonds allies?"
The Vulcan returned to her station and stared with pouting lips at the Captain. "The Kocklonds have no loyalty to anyone, including their own kind. Klingons do not believe that any races is equal to their savage-like society." There was just enough contempt in T'Pol's voice to irritate Tucker.
"Oh now T'Pol, not all of us can be dull as dish water." He said with a grin. "After all, if the universe were all as 'logical' and 'controlled' as the Vulcans, we might as well all be dead."
Reed cracked a smile for the first time since waking up from this forced nap. Shaking his head, he wondered for a moment if the banter between the redneck American engineer and the stick in the mud Vulcan science officer was going to last through their entire mission. If it were, it was sure to provide a great deal of entertainment for the rest of the crew.
"What the hell would the Klingons want with Hoshi?" Arach asked more to himself than the rest of the bridge crew.
Tucker shrugged his broad shoulders. "Maybe they needed someone that is as fluent as Hoshi is with every language from this side of the Milky Way to...."
"Maybe they needed to trade her for some..." Mayweather realized what he was saying and felt infinitely silly. "Forget I said that."
"Gladly," Trip muttered darkly.
Archer sighed. This was beginning to look a little more complicated than a kidnapping. "The Kocklonds, are they friendly? For pirates I mean."
"Hardly." T'Pol replied, her tone completely devoid of emotions.
Reed glared at the science officer. "You know T'Pol, you could at least pretend to be concerned for Hoshi's safety."
"It is highly unlikely that Ensign Sato is in any real danger."
"What makes you say that?" Tucker asked, his eyes narrowing in suspension. They may have gone through a heck lot with the Vulcan, but his distrust in them were still here.
T'Pol turned her dark exotic eyes toward him. "The Klingons obviously want her for some unknown reason. They went to some considerable trouble to obtain her; including working with one that is outside of their race. It is very unlike the Klingons to not use their brute approach by taking Ensign Sato simply because they want her. They were careful to assure her safety in obtaining her. She is valuable to them at the moment. They will not harm her."
Archer nodded his head. "Agreed. Now lets find her before they no longer need her."
Reed frowned, his mind deeply troubled by the fact that Hoshi's chances of survival depended on her usefulness to the Klingons. "Lt. Mayweather, I'm going to transfer the course to you now."
"You draw the map and I'll follow it to the last curve." Travis Mayweather said, his usual boyish smile lost in the gravity of the situation.
Archer shook his head. He wanted to know why the Klingons had taken the girl in the first place. Scratch that, he wanted Hoshi back and then to learn why they had taken her. This little excursion in cultural expansion was turning into something none of them expected.
By Didi
Disclaimers: Star Trek is owned by the late and great Gene Roddenberry. I own nothing within this story except the improbable idea behind it. Paramount owns the rights to the show and I do wish they would run of the wonderful reruns of the older series. Please don't sue me cause I have no money and will have to pay you in lint.
Summery: When one of their own goes missing, Enterprise crew goes on a search as to why.
Acknowledgement: To my darling Julie who loves Star Trek and is always willing to listen to me either rag or rave about episodes. Always know that you're opinion is more important than the stupid producers.
RATING: Rated R for content.
Note: I know that Enterprise hasn't been on television for long and the characterizing of the characters on the show may not be accurate but it's the way I see them. Bear me with here as I attempt to give some life to this.
~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Eight
~~~~~~~~~~
Klingon Warbird Kollarg
The language in question really wasn't all that complicated in the ways of foreign languages. It was make up of sixteen syntaxes that comprised of fourteen polimo... well, sufficient to say that it was easy enough for her to lean in a day or two's time if Hoshi took her time, less if she was in a hurry.
And Hoshi was in a big hurry to get off this particular ship. Not only did Klingons eat live food, they also neither bathed nor wore perfume to cover the distinctively unpleasant odors radiating from their bodies. Shaking her head, the young Japanese linguist sighed resignedly. "This must be how T'Pol feels being around all the guys after they leave the gym." She muttered, her fingers working slowly across the vocabulary of words the computer has already distinguished from the conversation. She could almost make out what was being said.
The meal the night before was enough to make her dread breakfast, she could only imagine what kinds of new tortures the Klingon are going to find for her. Perhaps watching her turn the color of a gully fish was somewhat amusing to them, but it certainly wasn't to her abused stomach. The mead last night was the only thing that stayed down and now she's got a headache that size of Jupiter's third moon.
Customary as they are to not knocking, Klaang and his friends walked in without so much as a beep of the door. Hoshi didn't bother looking up; she was too deep into the world of language to be bothered with little things like three seven feet tall warriors standing in the doorway.
P'Mai watched the little woman with the corners of his lips curled in what could described as a smile on his face that looked strange on the usually serious faced warrior with eighty kills to his name. The tiny thing was certainly fascinating to watch with her dark eyes and strange behaviors. "Time for..."
Hoshi let out scream that came close to shattering the eardrums of all three warriors as she clutched at her heart, trying to return it to a semi normal rate. Staring at the three with wide frightened eyes, she gasped for breath.
Lucudur was the youngest officer on the ship; his hair was not as long nor as wild as his elders. It has yet had the proper time to grow and tangle. His ears however were every bit as sharp as his comrades. Almost wincing with pain, he grabbed his ears with his not so clean hands. "Does she always greet a man this way?"
Klaang frowned at the woman still staring at them as if they had all turned into some horrible creatures from deep space. "What is the matter with you?"
Swallowing hard, she hoped her heart wasn't going jump right out of her mouth. "What's wrong with me?" She was rather surprised at how outraged she sounded at the moment. "What's the matter with you people? Haven't anyone ever taught you to..." She couldn't remember the word in Klingon so she opinioned for English. "...to knock?"
"Knock?" Lucudur frowned, confused by the word. Obviously, there was nothing of the sort in Klingon language. "What is that?"
"Can you eat it?" P'Mai asked sincerely.
"We should eat now." Klaang announced with a quick glance for his comrades. They had insisted on accompanying him to get the girl, but now they were behaving in a manner that he was unaccustomed to. There was a strangeness going on here. "You need to eat."
"Not what you're giving me." She rubbed her stomach slowly, remembering the night before. She was hungry but the very thought of having to watch her Klingon captives eat was enough to make her want to avoid it at all cost, including a little spontaneous fasting. "I'll just stay here and work on this if it's all the same to you."
"You need to eat. You are weak." Klaang said wisely, nodding his head slowly to emphasize his point. "You will eat."
Hoshi ran her tongue slowly over her tongue wondering what in the world was making her so bold. Perhaps it was the knowledge that these Klingons had gone to a lot of trouble to bring her here because she was the only one that can do what she does. To kill her now would be rather silly. "And if I don't?"
P'Mai leaned over and got right into her face. The smile he wore was sickeningly sweet enough on such a dangerous face that it made her heart skip a beat. "Then we will simply have to find a way to get food into your stomach."
Sitting there a moment, Hoshi allowed her mind a nightmarish moment of imagination. "All right then I guess I'll go with you." She smiled weakly but backed out of the chair slowly, careful not to come in contact with the warrior. "But don't say I didn't warn you when I lose my stomach on your...huh...." She glanced down at the leather and steel feet of the warriors. "Boots."
"How does one lose one's stomach?" Lucudur asked with rapid curiosity.
The young ensign sighed with resignation. If the food doesn't do it, the cultural difference is going to be the death of her. Though if she was completely honest with herself, she was actually beginning to enjoy these little strange conversations. "This is going to be a fun trip."
~~~~~~~~~
Enterprise - Bridge
"Looks like they are not headed pack to Kronos, Captain." Reed's brows were now in a near constant knot. "From these trials, we're looking at a trial that converges with three other ships and headed toward another sector all together."
"Where in tar nations are they taking her?" Tucker muttered as he looked over Reed's shoulders at the Vulcan star charts. "There's nothing there but a couple of gas balls and empty waste baskets for space junk."
"Perhaps Commander," T'Pol said with her calm and stoic air. "The Trisellar Nebula is not their final destination."
"You mean they are going pass it?" Reed asked, his dark eyes filled with concern. "You've got nothing pass the thirteenth planet in that system."
"Our science team has yet to report back from a mission to...."
"In other words," Archer said looking over at the science officer. "You guys have no idea what's in that direction either."
The Vulcan's superior brow went up again. "That would be correct, Captain."
"Great," Archer muttered under his breath. He did not need this right now. With Hoshi gone, the crew picking up the tension from the senior staff and no accurate star chart to follow, they were possibly heading into some real danger. Not that he had any kind of choice at the moment. Hoshi was a friend. More than that, he had been the one to talk her into taking the assignment in space, where she was uncomfortable and skittish. For gosh sakes, the girl jumps at every little shake the ship makes. What was he thinking, bring a young vulnerable woman into a place like this? For all he knew, the Klingons kept harems. "T'Pol, is there anything you can tell us about where we're headed?"
The dark faced Vulcan woman moved from her science station toward the main computer console behind where Hoshi usually sat. "The Trisellar Nebula had been known to be a favorite among the Kocklonds to be used as a temporary station."
Tucker frowned. "Temporary Station?"
Reed sighed and shook his head. "You're saying that these Kocklonds uses it as a hide away."
"Kocklonds are what humans call pirates. They are very dangerous, very unpredictable."
Mayweather failed to keep his voice low as he muttered, "Very human."
T'Pol looked at the young man. "Precisely."
"Are the Klingons and these Kocklonds allies?"
The Vulcan returned to her station and stared with pouting lips at the Captain. "The Kocklonds have no loyalty to anyone, including their own kind. Klingons do not believe that any races is equal to their savage-like society." There was just enough contempt in T'Pol's voice to irritate Tucker.
"Oh now T'Pol, not all of us can be dull as dish water." He said with a grin. "After all, if the universe were all as 'logical' and 'controlled' as the Vulcans, we might as well all be dead."
Reed cracked a smile for the first time since waking up from this forced nap. Shaking his head, he wondered for a moment if the banter between the redneck American engineer and the stick in the mud Vulcan science officer was going to last through their entire mission. If it were, it was sure to provide a great deal of entertainment for the rest of the crew.
"What the hell would the Klingons want with Hoshi?" Arach asked more to himself than the rest of the bridge crew.
Tucker shrugged his broad shoulders. "Maybe they needed someone that is as fluent as Hoshi is with every language from this side of the Milky Way to...."
"Maybe they needed to trade her for some..." Mayweather realized what he was saying and felt infinitely silly. "Forget I said that."
"Gladly," Trip muttered darkly.
Archer sighed. This was beginning to look a little more complicated than a kidnapping. "The Kocklonds, are they friendly? For pirates I mean."
"Hardly." T'Pol replied, her tone completely devoid of emotions.
Reed glared at the science officer. "You know T'Pol, you could at least pretend to be concerned for Hoshi's safety."
"It is highly unlikely that Ensign Sato is in any real danger."
"What makes you say that?" Tucker asked, his eyes narrowing in suspension. They may have gone through a heck lot with the Vulcan, but his distrust in them were still here.
T'Pol turned her dark exotic eyes toward him. "The Klingons obviously want her for some unknown reason. They went to some considerable trouble to obtain her; including working with one that is outside of their race. It is very unlike the Klingons to not use their brute approach by taking Ensign Sato simply because they want her. They were careful to assure her safety in obtaining her. She is valuable to them at the moment. They will not harm her."
Archer nodded his head. "Agreed. Now lets find her before they no longer need her."
Reed frowned, his mind deeply troubled by the fact that Hoshi's chances of survival depended on her usefulness to the Klingons. "Lt. Mayweather, I'm going to transfer the course to you now."
"You draw the map and I'll follow it to the last curve." Travis Mayweather said, his usual boyish smile lost in the gravity of the situation.
Archer shook his head. He wanted to know why the Klingons had taken the girl in the first place. Scratch that, he wanted Hoshi back and then to learn why they had taken her. This little excursion in cultural expansion was turning into something none of them expected.