A/N: Welcome to double overtime! I wanted to get this done in 30, but here we are and I know if I stop now I will get pelted mercilessly with virtual rotten produce of various persuasions, so we will shoot for 35-ish. This has taken much longer than I wanted and I squarely blame all of you who are so darn encouraging! If it wasn't for all your love reviews I could quit…but nooo…you people have to be so nice and downright funny…
Chapter 30- A Game of Chess
Spock decided to keep Chekov on the bridge and instead directed Scotty to meet me in the transporter room since Engineering probably wouldn't see any action in the foreseeable future if they were in a holding pattern in orbit. On the ride down in the lift, I tried to clear my head and take some deep breaths. I had taken police psych before, so I knew the basics of hostage negotiation- which was kind of what this was- but outright Machiavellian manipulation was a dark art all unto itself.
I had to prepare myself to do or say anything necessary to get everyone out. In short, I had to use every ounce of my training to gain her trust, flatter her, scare her shitless, and then offer her a way out all while carefully spinning lies that were believable yet flexible enough to bend if I didn't read her correctly. The thing that made her dangerous was that she was not psychotic in the least. On the contrary, she was very cold and calculating which meant I had to stay one step ahead of her in the dance across the chessboard. Too bad our pieces were actual people.
I greeted Scotty when I arrived and took my place on the pad. He looked at me with just the slightest bit of apprehension in his eyes. "Scotty, what happens when a psychologist and a hooker spend the night together?" I asked with a smile.
"I dunno, Doc." he replied, "but tell me when ya get back safe with the others. Ah will be here waitin' for ya." He grinned at me and I held on to his smile until I could no longer see him.
I reconstituted near a very large building that looked very much like the ruins that I saw on AR-558. Three of the Amazon guards were waiting and they looked even more frightening up close, but I remembered Uhura's example and kept a self-assured appearance bordering on defiance. Psychologists are nothing if not great actors since we are privy to the very thoughts and mannerisms of others that make a person who they are. Even though it was a slightly uncomfortable persona, I channeled the essence of Saren to give me a disguise of supreme confidence and a casual disregard for unpleasant circumstances. I had to be coolly detached if I was going to make her swallow my snake oil and beg for more.
The guards surrounded me and ordered me to put my hands on my head while they marched me into the large building that resembled a temple. I walked with them until we entered a large antechamber where the Queen sat on her throne flanked by more guards. To the Queen's left hung Jim, Sulu, and McCoy who in unison looked as if to say, "WTF?!" I just knew Spock would never be left in charge again.
Come on, boys. Play ball with me.
I stopped in front of the Queen and one of the guards kicked the back of my knees to make me kneel. She looked down at me in silence for perhaps a minute while I steadily held her gaze, not flinching. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "We welcome you, sister. I am Queen Sentia. What is your name?"
"Morgan Collins." I answered. I thought it best not to use the hyphenated form to indicate I was married if they really hated men as much as it seemed. Even though I wasn't really married, it would have been too convoluted to explain so It thought it best to just avoid it outright.
"And what is your occupation?" She asked raising her dark eyebrows slightly. "You have the look of a warrior."
"Women are the ninjas of mind fucking and you are their queen."She had no idea…
I bowed to her slightly and replied, "Your majesty is very generous. I am the ship's counselor."
"You advise your Captain?" She inquired intrigued.
"I tried, but it seems he does not value the advice of a lowly woman." I sneered looking in Jim's direction.
He was momentarily startled by the false accusation, but quickly caught on and rhetorically asked, "What does a woman know about war anyway? Your place is the kitchen, not the bridge." The guard that stood behind him slapped him in the back of the head and I wished he hadn't said anything.
"That is why I volunteered to join you, Queen Sentia. My talents are obviously being wasted. I could help you expand your empire. I come from a planet with a history of great Queens and military leaders. Catherine the Great ruled over the largest empire of the time and her reign saw unparalleled peace and prosperity. Queen Elizabeth I was a woman of great power in a time when the treachery of men sought to destroy her. Joan of Arc led an army that defeated the British who sought to invade her country. Boadicea held off the Roman legions, the most formidable killing machine of it's time to defend her homeland. Cleopatra was the brilliant Pharaoh who also saved her empire from Roman conquest by her wile and wit. There are these and many more. You can learn from these great women and I can help you."
Her eyes had lost the usual hard edge and were now neutral. "But I have armies to defend me. How can you be of help?"
"Your armies of warrior women are impressive." I baited. "But your colony is dying. We have located one of your sister settlements that has been wiped away and yours is perilously close. I can help you expand and survive. Expansion is not always about conquest, your majesty. A wise queen will choose the best strategy for her long term success."
It was just a split second, but I saw it; a flicker of self-doubt and fear flashed across her eyes.
That's right. You know your days are numbered.
She lifted her head and narrowed her eyes at me. "Explain yourself."
"Truly successful women of power know the enemy they wish to engage. If you choose to fight men, it is best to know what motivates them. What happens when you physically fight a man?" I asked glancing over at the captured crew. "They love it. It is in their nature to love violence, so it is best to use that as a last strategy. Men are at the heart very simple creatures and can be harnessed in much easier ways." I didn't want to give away all our secrets…. "But it is also to your benefit to understand the conditions of each battle, which brings us to your agreement. I willingly came to you in exchange for two of the men."
She glanced at the row of prisoners and almost rolled her eyes. "I will honor your agreement. Choose which will go free."
I looked back at her and smiled sarcastically. "Respectfully, my Queen, it would be best if you choose because now is a good time to use your intellect as you would in battle. Think of it as practice."
She seemed amused by the game as she laughed lightly. "Then I will keep your Captain since he has the most value."
"It would seem a wise choice, your majesty, but he is and never was my Captain. Despite wearing similar clothing, I never was one of them. And you are right about his rank making him valuable, but consider this: he is not just a Captain, but perhaps the most important in the Federation which actually makes him a liability. All the man in control of the ship now has to do is say the word and 50 more will descend on your planet and obliterate you. You keep him here at your peril."
The blank expression on her face was priceless. She either didn't know how powerful the Federation was or never considered it a threat. Jim rattled his chains in protest, but McCoy hissed at him. I knew he would insist on being the one left behind, but he was more useful back on the ship to formulate a plan. No matter how smooth I talked, there was still going to be two who needed rescued. There was no way I was good enough to talk her into letting all of us walk away. "Then the young one. His face pleases me." She revised.
I looked at Sulu who glared at her defiantly. The short hair actually did him well- I could easily see him in saffron robes wielding his multi-edged sword with focused intensity like a Shaolin monk. "Certainly a good reason," I said hesitantly, "but how will one pleasant looking male further your quest when all he is good for is a few moments of fleeting pleasure?" It almost sickened me to think of him being a boy toy. "You will eventually need ships to colonize other more habitable worlds. He is a pilot, your highness, he does not know how to build ships and therefore useless to you. You would be selling yourself short by keeping him when really he is the one you want." I stated jerking my head in McCoy's direction.
She looked him up and down while he kept shooting fierce warning glares at Jim to keep him quiet. "Why would I want that one?" She asked patently dissatisfied.
"He has valuable skills that are immediate and practical." I smiled trying to sell it as hard as I could. "Your warriors are limited, but with his knowledge you can keep them healthy and strong to fight another day. Let him demonstrate his abilities." I suggested. "He came here with a bag of tools. Let him show you what he can do." McCoy looked at me wearily. I could just imagine him saying, 'Damn it! I'm a doctor, not a side show magician!'
"Very well." The Queen sighed. "He will use you to impress me." As McCoy's guard released him and marched him in my direction, another guard drew a short blade and drug it across my forearm. It stung and I struggled to keep my face neutral. I had no idea how Spock managed it when I had seen him deal with far worse. The Queen watched intently as he removed one of his many devices from his bag and held my arm steady as he carefully used a laser to close the wound. Her face was pale with astonishment and I remembered that was pretty much how I felt the first time I saw him do it. The technology he had was far more advanced than anything they had ever seen.
"Release the others." She breathed still staring at my outstretched arm.
Sulu limped alongside his guards, but Jim was defiant to the end and had to be drug out of the complex by three of the heavily muscled women. I followed along behind while McCoy was returned to his restraints. Although he may not have liked being strung up, he was able to see the writing on the wall and played along. When the women released Jim and Scotty went to work, he gave me a determined look. I could see the wheels turning in his head already and I was grateful.
Think of something fast, Jim.
The guards watched he and Sulu dissolve with a barely concealed sense of wonder. When they disappeared, they all looked to the sky as though they could see them ascending to the stars and I smirked. To think I was once like them; the things I took for granted these days.
I returned to the main chamber where I was again forced to kneel and my hands were chained together in front of me. I felt honored, my manacles were gold with fancy scrollwork unlike McCoy's which were made of what looked like rusted iron. "You will now join us, sister." The Queen said rising from her throne. "Your initiation will be at first light."
I nodded once with determination, but I knew that we would be long gone before then if Jim had anything to say about it.