AN: Thank you all so much for your reviews. Sorry about the mistake with the third chapter, it has been fixed. If the last time you read this the third chapter was a repeat of the second, please go back and re-read the third chapter or you won't understand this one. I really liked all your reviews, a lot of you have very cool ideas about where this story is going. I've done a few sex scenes before but am not great at them. I'm not sure whether or not I'll have them in the future, but I would still like some input and advice about them in case I do decide to include them. In the future, I will be stealing plots from certain episodes of TNG, DS9, and some other works of fiction. I promise though, when I do, I will identify what I'm ripping off in an author's note before each chapter.
I promise you guys that I have some great things in store for Uhura. She was one of my favorite characters and one of my role models because she was a fully-fleshed out, non-stereotypical strong black female character on a show that aired in an era of hostile racism and sexism. I'm hoping to use her and other characters to examine new social dynamics and prejudices that exist in the future. This is a LONG chapter (over six thousand words), so enjoy!
Chapter Four: Communication
Lieutenant Uhura smiled at herself in the mirror. She could not help but feel proud of herself at the moment. For the past three weeks she and Professor Grayson had been deciphering the Rubrazens' strange language and had finally found an easy way to translate the bulk of it into English through a new technique the Professor had been developing over the last five years. The Lieutenant had been floored by Mrs. Sarek's skill and creativity. She was surprised that the Professor wasn't better known for her brilliance when it came to words. She supposed that the Professor probably lived in the shadow of her husband. Uhura vowed never to let that happen to her.
She was now changing into her dress uniform, preparing for the presentation she and Professor Grayson were to give to a select group of Officers in Holodeck One. She was excited to give it, despite the fact that she had to do it in Dress uniform, which she disliked almost as much as McCoy did.
Actually, Uhura disliked her regular uniforms too. The skirt was too short. The problem was that the pants uniform offered to women sent the message that the female officer wearing them was a defensive, arrogant and overly-aggressive and they rarely got promoted early. But at the same time, she hated having her legs so exposed. Uhura couldn't help it, she was insecure about her body. She had been a very chubby girl growing up, losing her baby-fat at the age of nineteen. But still, she felt the sting of old childhood scars that made her doubt and feel insecure about her appearance. It wasn't that she thought she was fat. She knew consciously that she was an attractive woman, but that didn't stop her from feeling old insecurities, no matter how much she fought them. Still, she always tried to turn lemons into lemonade, and used her desire not to think about her looks to become even more involved in her work.
Uhura turned away from the mirror and looked over her presentation materials. All her projectors and info-pads were in order, numbered one to twenty-three. She still couldn't believe that the Professor and she had accomplished so much. When she first encountered the sample recordings the away team had given her, she had been completely at a loss. But Mrs. Sarek had taught her so much in the weeks they had worked together.
Uhura looked around her quarters in appreciation. Aside from the holodecks, her favorite thing about the Penthesilea were the spacious quarters Officers had. Her bedroom and closet were large, she had her own sitting room and office, and the bathroom was excellent. She finally had enough room for all the African art she cherished. She couldn't help but be reminded of that time she had to give up her quarters on the Enterprise to that awful Princess Elaan and the woman had called them a "dump", she wondered how Elaan would find her new quarters.
Her doorbell rang and Uhura went to answer it. There was the Captain, standing in her doorway in his dress uniform, smiling.
That evenings presentation was corresponding with the Penthesilea's rendezvous with the Star Ship Bronte, which would be taking Ambassador Sarek and his wife back to Vulcan the next day and were bringing some Star Fleet Anthropologists aboard the ship to help with the study of Rubrazen. There was to be a banquet after the presentation that allowed escort couples. Captain Kirk had graciously offered to be Uhura's date.
Uhura wasn't stupid. She knew it was no accident that Chekov was left off the guest list for the presentation and banquet. When Kirk asked her to be his date, she had hesitated.
She had thought long and hard about what relationships with the Captain or Chekov would mean. While Uhura found Chekov fun and charming, he was still just a boy, and Uhura wasn't sure she was still at the stage in her life where she still wanted to mess around with boys. The Captain was a man, a very attractive man with a lot to offer her. He was intelligent, brave, strong, hard-working, successful, charming, entertaining, and very respectful of her. Off-duty and even on-duty sometimes, he treated her like an equal and a friend. He was the type of guy every hetero-sexual woman wanted to marry. But entering a relationship with could be complicated.
The fact was that Nyota Uhura didn't need a man. It wasn't something she was very up-front about nor was it something she thought about much. The simple fact of the matter was that she didn't need one. It wasn't that she disliked men—she loved men passionately and enjoyed romance as much as the next girl, but she was also perfectly happy without one. It wasn't something she needed in her life, even though she wanted to have a husband and children someday, she knew she could live a very happy and fulfilling life without either of those things. It was something she had come to realize over the course of her life without really thinking about it. Her work, however, was what she lived for. She had to have her career. The fact was, words and military service were her passions and she knew she could only be happy in life were she to spend the entirety of it devoted to them. She loved being an Officer on a Star Ship, she loved the discipline and opportunities her life gave her. She adored her role discovering and interpreting the different ways people communicated. After all, she was a human woman, and human women had a history of being all about communication.
Entering a relationship could mean a number of different things for her precious career. Her reputation meant a lot to her and she was definitely fearful that if she entered into a relationship with him, she would be seen as sleeping her way to the top. Uhura worked hard to achieve her ambitions and always prided herself on her professionalism, hard work, and ethics in her work to excel and progress in her career. She wanted to set an example for other Officers and she worried that her ability to do that would be threatened if people thought she was using sex to get ahead. At the same time, though she was not in love with him, Uhura definitely saw the Captain as someone she could fall in love with and marry some day, and she would like to have it all even if she didn't need to. A successful relationship with him could also help her set a good example for romance in Star Fleet and balancing your personal life with your professional life. Even though Jim could be foolhardy some of the time, she did trust him.
Despite her worries, Uhura had agreed to be his date because of one thing: he had not used his position to pressure her. If she had felt he had tried to in any way, she word have said no right away. But he hadn't, he had been completely ethical about it and she felt that deserved some consideration.
"Hello, Lieutenant," Kirk said, smiling. "Are you ready?"
Uhura grabbed her materials and smiled. "Yes, Captain, I am."
Kirk offered her his arm gallantly and they made their way to the Holo-deck. On the way, Kirk complimented her on how she looked and told her about the anthropologists from the Bronte.
The Holo-deck was programmed to resemble a grand lecture hall. The Captain brought her up on stage where the Colonel and Professor Grayson were already setting up the materials. A great number of people of people began to file into the Holodeck. After about a half hour, the Colonel and the Captain introduced the Professor and Uhura and their presentation began.
It wasn't a long lecture, only about an hour or so. The two women taught about the roots of the Rubrazen language, what it was similar to, their structures of grammar and diction, and what about the Rubrazen culture they were able to glean from their language. They also presented the translator devices they had constructed so that the future away teams would be able to communicate with the Rubrazens. By the end they received a standing ovation.
"That was brilliant!" Kirk said as he approached Uhura after she was done. "I'm very proud of both of you!"
"You did well, Wife," Sarek said to Amanda. "You have aided the Federation greatly."
Amanda smiled. "Thank you, Husband."
The two of them locked fingers in their usual symbolic gesture of affection. The entire party adjourned to the The Aft Hall, a restaurant/bar/club Command had reserved for this function that had a beautiful view. A buffet and bar was set up for them and monitored by the civilian staff, and classical music was provided by a Scyran band. Uhura had met and shaken hands with several people during the first half hour before settling into a circle with Jim, Sarek, Dr. McCoy, two of the Anthropologists from the Bronte named Lieutenant Forrester and Commander Marcus, three Scyran Officers named Lieutenant Anstice and Major Nyssa, Spock, and Colonel Minerva.
"I must say, after seeing your presentation, Forrester and I feel much more comfortable setting up our study Rubrazee," Marcus was saying.
"How exactly will your study work, Lieutenant?" Major Nyssa asked.
"Well, first we'll make an estimation of the planet with an away team composed of members of the Enterprise. But then, we will start an independent study. Thanks to holographic technology provided by your people, we will be able to set up a lab and base on Rubrazee completely invisible and undetectable to the Rubrazens," explained Marcus boastfully, "That way, we will truly be able to follow the Prime Directive to observe but not interfere. It's the first study of its kind, and we will be hand-picking some members of your crew to join us. We're all very excited about it."
"It is exciting." Uhura agreed. "Do you think it will work?"
"We hope so," replied Marcus. "It is our belief that if this study is successful, more and more of them will be launched , after a while Star Fleet won't have to make contact with natives to learn about them, and exploration missions and crews will be obsolete!"
The star ship officers all looked at each other strangely. Marcus noticed.
"Not that I don't have the utmost respect for what you al do," Marcus said, "I just believe that eventually these sort of operations will prove more efficient."
"I have to argue with you there, Commander," Kirk said, "With all due respect of course, but nothing will ever replace an exploration ship and its mission. After all, we could never gain a full understanding of a culture without eventually making first contact with it. A secret study done by professionals of course could yield a wealth of fantastic rewards, but it will never be able to do all that one of my landing parties could do."
Uhura smiled. Marcus's face faltered slightly, but he soon beamed.
"That is your opinion, Captain, and I can understand why you would want to believe that," he said pompously, "Let us agree to disagree."
Kirk didn't give the Commander any satisfaction of showing a reaction to his insinuation. "Very well then, Commander."
Uhura really did not like the Commander. He struck her as being extremely arrogant.
"Colonel!" The Commander said, smiling hungrily at her. "I have heard that your men are stronger than the average humanoid. Tell me, how much stronger would the average Scyran male be compared to someone like me?"
The Commander wore a tight uniform that left very little to the imagination. He was a very large, muscular man with a pretty face and long blond hair. Minerva looked him up and down.
"Judging by an estimate of your muscle mass and the density of a human male, the weakest of our men would be approximately four times as strong as you. The weakest of our women, on the other hand, would be very different compared to you."
"Really? How strong would they be?"
"The weakest of our adult women would be about seven times as strong as you are. I would guess that you have the strength of an eight year old Scyran boy."
Marcus' face went into one of revulsion. "I find that hard to believe."
"I didn't know you had such an interest in Scyran Physiology, Commander," McCoy said with a grin.
"I think I might be even more interest in the Scyran tendency toward exaggeration and jokes." Marcus said. "It would be hilarious if the Colonel here would be able to beat me in a fight, wouldn't it?"
"No, and she can," said Spock. "Trust me, Commander, if the Colonel wanted to, she kill you using three fingers."
"The muscle density of a Scyran female is on average thirty times that of a human male," McCoy said. "They are trained in numerous forms of combat for many years and are deadly warriors. You wouldn't have a chance in a fight with the Colonel, Commander. None of us would."
"I'd like to test that hypothesis," the Commander said, still not believing it. He started stroking the feathers of the Colonel's wings in a most unprofessional manner. "Would you like to spar with me, Colonel? I am sure I could teach you a few things. I am actually quite the martial arts expert. Perhaps my expertise could help you in your role as chief of security."
"I would not like to spar with you, Commander, for a few reasons. 1) I would no doubt unwittingly injure you in some way and we need you in perfect health when we get to Rubrazee, 2) I only spar with those I believe to have the discipline of a true warrior and you seem to lack it and 3) I dislike you as a person and hope to spend as little time in your company as possible. However, I would be open to you battling my daughter, Arsinoe. She would not injure you too quickly and facing her might teach you more than facing me would."
Uhura held back the urge to start laughing hysterically. She could see everyone else was as well. The idea of Little Arsinoe beating up Commander Marcus was almost too good to be true. It would definitely teach him a lesson.
"Well, fine then," Commander Marcus said, quickly removing his finger's from the Colonel's wing. "Why don't we place a wager on it? If your daughter wins, I'll concede that Scyran women are stronger and not try to make your jobs obsolete. If I win, Colonel, you will join me for a romantic dinner."
Uhura couldn't believe that Minerva didn't punch him in the face.
"Very well then, but you cannot pull out of the agreement or the fight, no matter what." Minerva said.
"Fine. What about tomorrow in the holodeck, eight hundred hours?"
"Arsinoe and I will be there."
It hadn't taken long for it to spread like wild-fire that the lead Anthropologist from the Bronte was going to be fighting the Colonel's seven year old in the holodeck that morning. By eight hundred hours, the holodeck was packed and programmed to look like a wrestling ring. The Commander was dressed in wrestling tights and was staring disgustedly at Little Arsinoe, who looked extremely calm in her school dress.
"You expect me to fight a little girl?" He said angrily. "Is this some sort of joke?"
"I assure you, it's not," Kirk said to him. "Arsinoe is a very strong fighter. I suggest you don't hold back. The fight will have five rounds, whoever wins three first is the victor. Whoever is held to the ground for ten counts or indicates surrender loses the round. I suggest, Commander, that you do not hold back. Are you two ready?"
"Yes Big Brother Jim," Arsinoe said.
"Fine," The Commander said, rolling his eyes.
"On the count of three," Kirk said, "One, two, three!"
Arsinoe was instantly in the air. She kicked the commander in the head, then body-slammed him to the ground. She crouched over him and shoved his face into the ground with her left hand. The Commander struggled, but it was no use. He lost the first round.
The second round, Marcus tried to punch Arsinoe in the face and stomach, but she dodged him. He then tried to grab her and hold her down, but she slipped out of his arms, twisted them around his back and then forced him to the ground again for ten counts.
The third round, he actually managed to get a shot at her, angrily charging at her with all his might. She forced him to the ground once more. Kirk declared her the victor, tears of laughter in his eyes.
The whole crowd chanted Arsinoe's name and cheered for her. Kirk lifted her up in the air. "Presenting, the winner of this battle, Her Royal Highness Princess Arsinoe Hippolyta of Scyra!"
The Commander, fueled by rage and humiliation, attacked Arsinoe and Kirk, earning himself three broken limbs and a ride to sick bay.
The rest of the day, everyone kept stopping Arsinoe in the halls and congratulated her. The only ones who didn't were Spock and Sarek. Sarek seemed very displeased by the whole affair and had called Spock into a private conversation before he left two hours later. Amanda, however, was thrilled.
That evening, Colonel Minerva was brushing her daughter's hair when someone came into her quarters. To her surprise it was Spock. She invited him in and they sat down.
"How can I help you, Commander?" Minerva asked him.
"My father was highly displeased by what took place this morning. And frankly, so am I." He said. "Violence is deplorable, and having a child inflict violence on someone is even more unacceptable."
"Spock, we were never going to harm the Commander," said Minerva, a little put off by her First Officer's tone. "It is customary for our people, even our children, to spar with others. The Commander did not believe a Scyran woman could be stronger than him, so I found the most efficient way possible to prove him wrong. There was no way I would let my daughter get hurt, and she knew she wasn't to do him serious injury. She was gentle with him up until he attacked her. I'm sorry if you were displeased, but this sort of thing is not uncommon among our people. I was worried if the Commander went head to head with an adult Scyran, he would be dealt much worse injuries. He was the one who proposed the fight, and he wasn't going to take no for an answer, so I tried to give him as easy a time as I could."
"My father thought very highly of you before this," Spock said. "He still respects you, but he doesn't respect you as much as he should."
"Well, that's unfortunate, but the fact is that neither of you should be applying your people's customs in judging us. Our practices are not yours and I thought you would respect that."
"I am still displeased," replied Spock. "I wanted my father to have a good impression of you."
"Well, if he still respects me, then I did." Minerva was confused. "I don't understand why you're acting this way, Spock."
"I merely wished to inform you the injury you might have done your people politically by this display, that is all." Spock insisted. "I thought as Crown Princess, you'd be more wary of that."
Minerva had had enough. "Well," she said, struggling to keep her voice even, "I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Spock. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to put my daughter to bed."
She couldn't have seen him out any quicker.
"Mama, what's wrong?" Arsinoe asked as her mother re-entered her bedroom.
"Nothing, Sweetheart, just something with work, it's nothing." Minerva replied, grabbing Arsinoe's brush and resuming her strokes. She smiled. "I'm very proud of you, Precious One."
"Thank you, Mama. I'm proud of you too." Arsinoe answered. Minerva laughed and gave her daughter a big squeeze.
Two Months Later:
Minerva Hippolyta was feeling extremely exasperated. For the last two months the Penthesilea had been on a very dangerous, difficult, and time-consuming mission that involved the Romulan neutral Zone and three rather barbaric planets that had taken up all the crew's time and energy. To make sure her daughter would not be neglected, Minerva had sent her daughter off to stay with her grandmother Queen Hippolyta for the four months the mission was supposed to take place. Today, however, the Penthesilea had gotten word that the mission was now cut short and that they were done and released for shore leave for the next two months.
Minerva had at first been happy at the opportunity to not only see her daughter again sooner than expected, but also have plenty of free time to spend with her. But she had just gotten done talking to her mother via videophone, and the Queen refused to release her granddaughter.
"Absolutely not," Hippolyta had said, "You promised me four months with her, and that's what I'm going to get. Besides, right now I am tutoring her in royal deportment and this course cannot afford to be cut short. You're just going to have to live with it."
Minerva had tried everything, but if her mother was anything, it was stubborn. She was absolutely riddled with disappointment at not having her daughter with her. She would have loved to have been able to visit Federation planets and enjoy them a her own leisure with Arsinoe, but unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to do that. She should have known, though. Her mother had been punishing her for going into space ever since the Penthesilea first set off. First she tried to make Minerva stay by keeping any of her lovers from getting to join the crew. When that didn't work, Hippolyta had tried to keep Arsinoe on Scyra as well. Minerva had actually had to go to the courts to get her daughter with her. Hippolyta highly disapproved of Minerva's choice to explore the galaxy with the Federation. This was just one way for her to try and make Minerva regret it.
Minerva was disturbed from her sulking and brooding by her video phone sounding. She answered it and Ensign Chekov appeared.
"Colonel Miner-wah, the Captain has cleared you to land on Persephone Eight for shore Leave. You are released from duties until further notice."
"Thank you, Ensign. Minerva out."
Minerva tried to cheer herself up by putting on her favorite red off-the-shoulder silk top and black skirt. At least the planet they were orbiting, Persephone Eight, was beautiful, and the people were supposed to be friendly to an extreme. There was also supposed to be an excellent market place, beautiful cities, and radiant beaches. Minerva packed a bathing suit, her morpho-ball, guitar, her art kit, music player, and some money and then went to the transporter room.
She beamed down to the market place to find the planet as beautiful as reported. She only paused for a second to feel regret that Arsinoe could not see it with her, but then decided to make the most out of a bad situation. She decided she'd buy some things for her little girl to surprise her when she got back.
She first made a bee-line to a toy stand and bought a strange doll called a Cheshire cat that could talk, tell riddles, and make parts of itself disappear. It came with an Earth novel called Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Arsinoe liked both reading and riddles and would no doubt like that. Minerva then went on to buy a small painting of the Persephen market place, then moved on to a fabric stand to find some cloth to make Arsinoe some new clothes.
She was looking at a lovely blue silk and a burgundy gauze with gold embroidery when a young man suddenly ran up to her, kissed her hand, and said, "Ah! Belissima!"
Minerva looked at the man in shock. He was an utter dandy, dressed in a pink silk shirt, ivory velvet waistcoat and pants, sky blue vest, gold chain, and black satin tie. His long, thinning blonde hair was tied into a pony-tail by a pink ribbon, and he was about five foot three.
"Excuse me?" She asked, bewildered. "I don't believe I know you."
"Let me introduce myself," the man said in a ridiculous accent that Minerva had never heard in her life, "I am Gerard Lemeiu, a gentleman of Leisure who devotes his life to beauty and art. When I saw you from the streets, I knew I must have you. You are not just a beautiful woman, but a beautiful work of art that I must possess. Please, let me make you a wardrobe of all the fabrics here, take you away to my chateau and make love and worship you for the rest of my life. I promise, I am a rich man who will protect you and see to your needs for the rest of your life. You will never have to think of anything again accept me and all the pretty things I will give you!"
Minerva's eyes widened in shock. By far, this man was the most ridiculous things she had encountered in her twenty-four hundred plus years of living. She had lost count of the amount of offensive things he had said halfway through and was not sure how to respond. Normally, she would have told him to fuck off or get a kick to the head, but she didn't want that to be the first impression this planet had of her.
"Um, thank you for your compliments, Sir, but I have to decline. I cannot be possessed by you or anyone, I don't need anyone to provide for or protect me, I am very happy with my current life and am only shopping for my little girl. Thank you for your offer, but I cannot accept."
The man looked flabbergasted. "B-But beautiful women such as yourself need a man to hold on to them, to take care of, love, worship, and possess them! That is what beautiful women like you were made for, so that great men such as myself could worship them!"
Minerva was really starting to get annoyed. "I have to disagree with you, Sir. I'm very sorry, but I am not interested. Now please, leave me be."
He grabbed her arm and it took Minerva every ounce of self control she had not to inflict a great deal of pain on him.
"No, no! You are just confused! You want to come with me, I am a man, I know what women such as yourself want. You will be the newest piece of art in my collection! You will be happy, I promise!"
Minerva gritted her teeth. "I said, NO! Let go of me."
Lemieu gestured to the shop-keeper. "Merchant, I will take everything you have! It is all for the beautiful woman here!" He looked at her. "See? Everything you desire. You come with me now."
Minerva pulled her arm away. "No, I told you no, and I mean it. I'm not interested and if you persist in this, you will regret it. I am not an object for you to own and I am not the least bit impressed by your so-called wealth."
Lemieu sighed. "I should have known that a woman with wings would need them clipped! Very well, if you will not come with me willingly, I will take you by force! Joraz! Mince!"
Suddenly, two large, nasty-looking, armed men appeared. Minerva stared at Lemieu.
"Mr. Lemieu, I am warning you for the last time, leave me alone or you will regret it." She said seriously, looking around nervously for a means to escape. She really didn't want to have to dispatch this man and his guards in public with civilians around.
"Boys! Seize her!" Lemieu ordered.
Minerva took to the air before they had a chance. They fired up at her and she deflected their blows with her silver gloves. She flew high into the air, then dived down at them and grabbed both guys and Lemieu under each arm. She flew to an open, uncrowded field, then dropped them to the ground.
Lemieu shrieked at her. "Bitch! I will get you for this! Boys! Attack her!"
The two men lunged at her. She grabbed one with her right hand and flung him as hard as she could into a tree. He crashed against the trunk and bumped his head, knocking him out. With her left hand she knocked the other guy's teeth out and then kicked him in the balls. The guy reached for his weapon and fired at her again, but she deflected the blows with ease. She jumped up high into the air, then came down, elbowing the guard in the head as hard as she could, bringing him to the ground. She then body slammed him and kicked him in the head as hard as she could, knocking him out.
Lemieu screamed and held up an extremely large gun at her, trembling in fright as she came towards him. He fired at her maniacally. The bolts turned out to be too big to deflect with her gloves, so she dodged them and then at her top speed, placed herself so the gun was pressing into her stomach. She reached down and shattered it with her hands. Lemieu stumbled back and fell to the ground, shaking in fear.
"Madam!"
Minerva looked up and saw what looked like a police force running towards her. Then, before she knew it, Lemieu was laughing. He pushed a button on his arm band and vanished before Minerva could stop him.
"Madam, are you alright?" One of the policemen asked her.
"Yes, I'm quite fine. I was about to knock that man out, but you distracted me and he got away," Minerva said angrily.
"Well, we needed to have someone qualified to apprehend him." The Policeman said.
Minerva whipped out her identification. "Colonel Minerva Hippolyta, Scyran Army, Co-Commanding Officer and Chief of Security of the Star Ship Penthesilea. As a collaborator with the Federation and Star Fleet, Federation criminals on my ship and hostile personages on the planets our crew visit our under my jurisdiction with full authorization to apprehend any individuals I view as dangerous."
The Officer's eyes widened. "Of course! I am sorry, Colonel, we had no idea. That man, Gerard Lemieu? He's not a Federation citizen, he's a Gorrillian nobleman who has been running around the galaxy trying to kidnap women for his personal harem. Problem is, he has diplomatic immunity because he's a registered ambassador. Apparently, what he does is customary on Gorrillia." The Officer sighed. "I'm just glad he didn't hurt you."
Minerva snorted. "Please. The only reason I didn't kill him within the first seven seconds was that I didn't want to give a bad first impression. How long has he been in the system?"
"Not long. He usually doesn't do his kidnapping himself, it's usually members of his crew that do it. It's how he keeps his hands clean. We've been able to retrieve and rescue all the women we know of that he's attacked, but it's becoming a serious problem. I'm sorry your first visit to our planet had to end up like this. I'm afraid there just isn't much we can do."
Minerva felt awful. She could definitely understand what this was like. There were times during the war that her people had been in impossible situations. She sympathized.
"You can understand, there is the rest of the Penthesilea's female crew. The Star Fleet personnel. If this man is active in this area, than I am concerned about their safety. While I would not have to worry about the Scyran crew's safety, I do worry that the Scyran Officers might cause a panic if they were drawn into battle and I worry about them getting caught up in some sort of diplomatic incident. Why wasn't the Penthesilean Command informed of this before we started releasing our officers down here for shore leave?"
"This is the first we've seen of him in months. He left a while ago. We thought we had forced him out for good. He won't appear in person here again, but he'll probably send his goons. The best we can do is advised your female crew to stay around male crew members, be armed, and be on the lookout. They won't try to ambush a woman if they think she belongs to another man, so keep that in mind."
"What is your name, Officer?" Minerva asked.
"Carrington, Ma'am, Joshua Carrington."
"Joshua, I am going to have you report to my co-Commanding Officer Captain Kirk aboard the Penthesilea. In the meantime, I am going to go patrol the marketplace for any of Lemieu's goons. I assume that they'll be wearing the same uniforms as the guards I incapacitated?"
"They will."
"Fine. I'll get my security officers together as I patrol. I promise to avoid a brawl at all costs."
"Thank you, Colonel."
Minerva spent two hours patrolling and finding nothing. She had sent security officers out to different areas of the planet, but had gotten nothing. She was wandering the city, ready to give up when she felt eyes upon her. She started walking, and caught sight of their shadows. It was then she realized that they weren't just following her, they were trying to surround her.
She tried to get to crowded areas, but it was no use. Each time, they found a way of blocking her off. Minerva could tell that once she took to the air, they'd fire, and she really didn't need them to fire at her. There were only so many energy beams she could deflect and it would undoubtedly cause a panic. She went in circles and moved through the streets in what she hoped was a random pattern until she spotted a tall, dark-haired Star Fleet Officer up ahead. Seeing this as her chance, she got as close as she could to him.
"Oh, Darling!" She cried out, grabbing the Officer's head and pulling him into a passionate kiss. All at once, she heard them run off. Once she was sure they were gone, she pulled away and smiled.
"Thank you- Spock!" She said, shocked when she finally got a look at his face. The Vulcan frowned.
"Why did you do that?" He demanded, sounding very confused.
Minerva explained the situation to him as best she could. "Sorry if I scared you, but the Officer said they leave women alone if they think they're with someone. You were the first and most convenient person I saw."
"I apologize for this ordeal," Spock said.
Just then, Minerva and Spock's communicators both sounded. They flipped them open and made their greetings.
"Spock? Minerva? Are you okay?" Kirk's voice sounded.
"Yes, Captain." The two of them said in unison.
"Oh, good. Listen, Minerva, Officer Carrington explained the situation to me. I know that you're fully capable of seeing to your own safety, but I talked to Star Fleet, and apparently there's this screwed up deal between the Federation and Gorrillia. If you were to kill any member of Lemieu's staff, they'd view it as an act of war. Even if you don't kill them, they'll play dead and unlike the two you dispatched earlier, we won't be able to prove that they're alive. Lemieu is really out to get you, so he's been interfering with our signals so now people can only be transported back onto the ship at certain locations. They're after you, but it is a crime for a Gorrillian to abduct a woman under another man's ownership. So I need you to let Spock escort you to Veroni Beach. Keep checking in with us every fifteen minutes so we know you're alright. If we don't get a signal, we'll come looking for you. Just get to the beach as fast as you can in one piece, and we'll be alright. You understand?"
"Yes," Minerva answered. "Minerva out."
She looked at Spock. "Well, like it or not, I have to let you take me to the beach. How about I just fly and carry you to save time?"
"That would be logical."
"Alright." With that, Minerva picked Spock up bridal-style and took to the air.