Chapter 22 Twelve Little Suspects
In order to foster a reunion between Alawa and the Romulan Praetor, Kirk formerly invited Orion contingent on Hodge Podge to the Enterprise under the ruse of continuing negotiations for trade. Technically, the Federation had no jurisdiction over the space mall but Sarek and Spock pulled a slight ruse. Trusting Nyota's judgment, Kirk believed that the marriage between the Orion female and her master to be a farce or forced. Once aboard, careful logistic planning would ensure that the Orion and Romulan contingents never crossed paths at least the entire party. Nyota planned to get the Praetor and the Orion girl alone together at some point. Neither the captain nor her husband dared ro interfere Nyota's plans for matchmaking.
In the shuttle bay wearing their dress uniforms, the officers of the Enterprise awaited the doors of the rectangular Orion shuttle craft to open. McCoy readied his tricorder to scan for the Orion female's pheromones. The doors opened and a ramp extended. A large muscular bald Orion man wearing brown cover-alls exited first and stood at the end. Next another middle-aged Orion man in a blue suit exited. Last a stylishly tailored young Orion man with short dark hair exited with a gorgeous jade Orion female on his arm. The girl wore her hair in long thin ebony braids. Nyota noted the white chiffon spaghetti strapped designer dress that cost more than a month's salary. Dr. McCoy's scan showed no signs of the normal Orion pheromones.
Kirk approached them. "Welcome aboard the Enterprise. I'm Captain James Kirk." Then he introduced all his officers.
The stylish Orion male stepped forward. "Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm Mindel Liba. This is my lovely wife Adeena." The girl curtseyed. The older man cleared his throat. "Oh I almost forgot. This is the idiot Evals. He's with the Orion government."
Everyone looked at each other with that comment.
"Would you like a tour of my ship?"
"Of course," Mindel replied. Taking Adeena's arm in his own, Mindel had Adeena walk next to him, forcing Evals to walk behind them.
"This is against protocol," muttered Evals. "She is NOT your wife but only a slave. I don't care about Federation law."
They toured through medical, observation, navigation and more. "May we see the engine room?" asked Adeena.
Behind her, Evals glared at Mindel. "No collar, dressing in expensive clothing and now you let her speak freely," he growled.
"Of course," replied Kirk. "Not many people care to see the engine room. Scotty will explain everything in great detail."
Within the engine room, Mr. Scott proceeded to explain the various features of the engine room enthusiastically. Several technicians tended to meander nearer to the Orion contingent. Most conversed with Adeena. Every time they did, Mindel looked on with pride while Evals looked on with contempt.
Moving away from the rest of the group, Adeena looked up to some of the steam pipes. "The synthetic skin used by the medical department can reinforce the joints. After one year, it is unusable for patient care but it is perfectly suited to reinforce the joints. If there's a rupture in the pipe, the skin will give a little but the joint will remain sealed for up to an hour."
Scotty looked up to the pipes. "That's completely brill…"
Taking everyone by surprise, Evals grabbed Adeena and punched her on her right side. Mindel started screaming at Evals in Orion. Several of the crewman and officers screamed death threats at Evals while security did little to stop them. Seeing the threatening glares and hostility directed towards him for punching the girl, Evals bolted into the hall.
While McCoy scanned her with a medical tricorder, Spock tried to lay her on her back to help with the scan. From his touch telepathy, he sensed excruciating pain. "McCoy, she needs a painkiller. The pain is unbearable." While Spock's love for Nyota encompassed the entire spectrum from lust to love to friendship, he couldn't deny feeling a platonic fondness for the Orion girl. Then he saw her feebly reach out looking to him and his father.
Sarek who had many more years of training took her hand pushing past the discomfort of the pain. Since her mind screamed, both Vulcans clearly read her deep fear of Evals before McCoy sedated her. Mindel scooped her up and followed them to sickbay.
Within sickbay, Dr. McCoy performed a complete scan to find her in optimum health other than a cracked rib and severe bruising from the punch. However, the punch hit a nerve cluster which caused unbearable pain as if planned. Those findings were shared with the officers and Mindel.
"Evals has trouble accepting someone of the slave caste as my wife. I cannot excuse his behavior but I cannot punish him for it either."
"Neither can the Federation because of his diplomatic immunity."
"I understand. It is best if we ignore his behavior and move forward. As Dr. McCoy can attest from his medical scans, Adeena is not mistreated by me or my staff." Mindel adamantly stayed at his wife's side as McCoy administered treatment.
"Since that is the case, would you and your party like to join us for dinner?"
Mindel looked to Adeena who nodded. "Since my wife is up for it, yes."
Once they left, McCoy performed a detailed analysis of Adeena's medical scan. To his surprise, he found that she produced pheromones but different than that of most Orion females and had not been mistreated. This tidbit he relayed to the captain while he continued his research.
Logistically speaking, the Enterprise crew performed a miracle. They acquired advance copies of next week's soap operas which would please the Praetor. During his private viewing in the mess hall, they would treat him to a meal fit to eat while watching his shows, a dinner theater of sorts. In the meantime, the Orion contingent would have dinner in the private dining room, thus avoiding each other. During the officer's meeting, they finalized the little details of this plan.
The door chimed and they let Vavrin in. "Good afternoon, the Praetor disapproves of the dinner plans. He prefers not to eat a meal while watching the vids. However, he very much looks forward to dinner. Chef Beaumont told us of the meal she planned for tonight and he is looking forward to the turkey dinner."
Everyone looked at each other after he left. "This is a disaster. Does anyone have any suggestions?" Kirk scanned the table.
McCoy scratched his head. "I do but it's not entirely by the book."
"Since when has that stopped anyone," Spock stated flatly.
"We don't want the Praetor to see the Orion girl yet. She must not attend the dinner and neither should her husband." Everyone nodded in agreement with the doctor. "She has a follow-up treatment. Sometimes vitamin injections and pain-killers make a patient sleepy."
"Too sleepy to attend a dinner," Kirk added. "I'm sure her husband will want to be at her side. Administer treatment as you see fit."
Being a dutiful doctor, McCoy did as his captain ordered.
Being nosey and listening to rumors, Zelipe performed his job proficiently but certain things even he could not foresee. When he overheard talk of the Orion contingent and of the unusual Orion female, he investigated. Vavrin returned and joined them as they read the news on the view screen about the marriage. Too engrossed and shocked at the news, no one paid attention to the Praetor as he silently awakened from his nap and snuck up behind them. A sharp intake of breath alerted them to his presence. At once they turned to see his reaction but all they saw were unfathomable dark eyes staring coldly at the scene before him. For a brief moment, his face revealed a murderous rage before he went to his quarters alone and locked the door.
About a year prior when Sen heard the news of Alawa's death, his first reaction was pure fury followed by the pain of loss. While onboard his flagship, he went about the business at hand after a few days of grieving. At the time part of him refused to accept her death. That's how he coped. When he finally returned home with the mission completed, he walked through his home hoping to see Alawa around each corner. Outside, he walked to the pond where they used to swim but it was empty. Lastly, he went to their bed where he laid alone for several nights hoping she would slip beneath the covers and curl up next to him.
Several days later he finally accepted the pain, physical pain that suffocated him and wouldn't leave. All that was Sen who loved her with all his heart, would always agonize so he boxed away that part of him in the back of his mind. All that remained was the scientist and the politician. Slowly and with the help of his wife, the Praetor emerged more prominently than before. The Praetor ruled without succumbing to pain, lamenting over lost loves or caring about much of anything but he always got what he wanted through charm and manipulation.
Today Sen learned that his love left him but didn't die. An old repressed painful wound tried to reopen but the Praetor wouldn't let that happen because he had a mission.
Around dinner time, the Praetor joined a few of his Uhaii guard not uttering a word as they all silently marched towards the conference room. Awaiting them, the captain, his officers, a few Vulcans, an outlandish artist and two Orion males greeted the honored guest. While Rishley shook slightly and nearly convulsed, the youngest Orion male paled beneath the Praetor's scrutiny. Somberness and the false pretense of being complete strangers pervaded the dinner table as they began their meal. Many noted the Praetor's lack of his usual charm. A festive turkey with all the fixings had been placed on the table. A dish of pepper fried tofu replaced the turkey for the vegetarians.
All the while, Mindel worried that the tenuous hold he had on his wife would slip away so he did the only thing he could. He decided to play a game, albeit a foolish game of which he had no inkling of how dangerous it could be. "Captain Kirk, my wife sends her regrets for not attending the dinner but she was tired. Rest assured, you will never see Evals strike her again because I have forbidden it. Not all of us are monsters."
With that statement, the Praetor's scrutiny fell to Evals. "You struck her?"
"She spoke out of turn and needed punishment." Evals' glass shook as he nearly choked on a sip of water with the looks he received from nearly everyone at the table.
Uhura looked deep in thought and remembered something from the tape, a declaration from the Praetor who sat at this table; something she feared would have the direst of consequences. No other man may touch my gorgeous Alawa under penalty of a slow and painful death by my hand. The look in his eyes spoke volumes. That look fell foremost to Evals and then to Mindel.
"Adeena is treated as a most beloved wife. That is how she deserves to be treated, not as some slave or mistress. When I met her, I knew this." Mindel nodded to the doctor. "Thank you for your medical services. We might call upon your services in the near future or so I hope."
McCoy felt uncomfortable but curiosity got the better of him. "The wound seemed to be mending just fine."
"Indeed it is but I'm speaking on an entirely different matter. We're starting a family." Everyone stopped mid-bite including the impassive Praetor. "My wife has the most honed maternal instincts. Once she told me she loved me, I'm afraid I couldn't refuse her anything her heart desired."
Until then, Rishley ate quietly which to many seemed quite uncharacteristic to his normal boisterousness. His fingers whitened as he gripped the table. "Captain, everyone, if you'll please excuse me, I have an unbearable headache. The dinner has been most delicious."
T'Pyre nodded to everyone and left with him. Outside, she grabbed his arm as he stood shaking. "What's wrong?"
"Murder, so many plotting murder," he mumbled.
"You're a telepath. The erratic mood swings when we're on a planet or a ship are from psi blockers. That's why you have robots for companionship and me because I can keep my thoughts to myself."
"Not always," he stated with a gasp. Then he looked at her in horror and bolted. T'Pyre felt a surge of anger and followed.
In the meantime, Mindel savored a few more bites of turkey while everyone seemed shocked. He looked at his wrist communicator. "It seems my wife is up and anxious for my attentions. If you'll excuse me," he said smugly with a curt nod to everyone at the table but the Praetor who received a slight smirk.
The Praetor promptly put down his silverware and nearly threw his napkin on top of his plate. "Though dinner was delicious, I'm afraid I've lost my appetite. Please excuse me." With a parting glare to Evals, he left with the rest of the Romulan contingent.
Soon after Evals left and Captain Kirk looked at his crew who were the only ones remaining aside from Ambassador Sarek. "Can this night possibly get any worse?"
An hour later, it got far worse than Captain Kirk could have imagined in his wildest dreams. The engineers finished cutting through the door to the Libas' quarters and at the behest of Mindel, his final wish from his bed in sickbay. Kirk, Spock and a contingent of security officers cautiously entered. Kirk swallowed hard at the sight before him. Dark green Orion blood covered the walls in a macabre painting of the recent events that occurred within. On the bed sat the Romulan Praetor with his royal robes covered in Orion blood cradling the still body of an Orion woman. As Kirk approached, the Praetor looked up with a feral murderous rage in his eyes. His knuckles whitened as he gripped the curved blade covered in Orion blood.
"Captain, I urge you to step back….slowly." Spock knew the fury that his race was capable. Fury that Romulans didn't have the mental discipline to control.
Special thanks to Linstock for encouraging me to continue this story. Please R&R.