I got bitten by the mild drama bug. My apologies in advance! However, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

A hearty thanks for all the reviews! XD they still make me update faster.

I own nothing, Rated M, please enjoy!

OoOoO

She'd had just about enough of the two males acting as if she wasn't even in the damn room! Her blue eyes swung to gaze at Maelrok, who was busily goading the Vulcan. And, then to Vulcan, who was busy glaring at the Romulan. She very nearly sighed. It would be entertaining if it wasn't so serious.

If they got out of this unscathed, Jim had a few choice things to say to the Vulcan Captain. Shame over her actions aside, they really needed to discuss what constituted as proper toward a terran. Jim blew a stray lock of hair out of the way. It would have to wait until they hopefully survived Maelrok.

"Eh. You think a Klingon vessel is going to stop me?" Jim winked at the slightly ruffled Romulan Sub-commander. "You don't know me at all do you?"

"I think it wise to approach this situation with all due caution," Spock stated tonelessly, and Jim turned to smile at him widely.

"Relax. Klingon is the one language I do speak outside of standard," she stated soothingly, "We've got this."

Spock tilted his head in contemplation. "I do not comprehend what it is you believe we have procured."

Jim blinked at him. "Never mind."

"Captain we are being hailed by the Klingon ship," the stoic Vulcan First Officer's voice floated out of the communication screen.

"On screen."

"Affirmative Captain."

"Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no," the chief engineer murmured in absolute horror as an unfortunately familiar face filled the screen. It was harsh and she stared at calculating eyes.

"How sweet!" The Klingon jeered at the terran woman. "Kirk acting the part of a Vulcan? Just when I believed I had seen it all," he sneered at her apparel with humor as Jim watched his attention swing over to Maelrok, "You never told me the terran beauty you intended to abscond with was none other than James T. Kirk."

"I had not realized it was relevant," the Romulan stated stone-faced, and Jim could practically see the waves of anger radiating from his frame over the screen.

"Oh its relevance is very important," the Klingon laughed already more pleased by this than Jim cared to think about.

Jim cleared her throat awkwardly, and licked her suddenly dry lips."Klag of house Unagroth," she stated as nonchalantly as she could muster. Internally she was ready to shit the proverbial brick.

"You know one another," Spock interjected in a furious manner… for a Vulcan.

Jim winced at the statement Spock uttered which had most certainly not been a question.

"Let's just say it involves a bar and Klingon opera; and leave it at that," she responded promptly.

Jim felt her face flush a new and undiscovered shade of molted red. She had never expected to run into Klag ever again. Really, she had prayed she never would. It had been the worst and most agonizing days of her life listening to what Klingons defined as 'music'.

"I should be honored to meet once more the being that disgraced the repugnant former heir of Unagroth," he jeered at her lightly.

Jim was not amused. "Feel as 'honored' as you like," she retorted.

"His fall from grace was glorious indeed," the Klingon continued with sharp teeth gleaming under the florescent light.

God she hated Klingons…

"Yes, I'm sure it was, but I don't think that is what you are here for," she pointed out with little patience.

"You would be correct, Kirk," Klag offered with ill-suppressed mirth, "I have been called to assist a future ally for the good of the Empire."

"I'm shocked… really," Jim stated sarcastically before giving a baleful glare at the Romulan.

"Truly, it is most logical that the Sub-commander would call for aid," Spock commented and Jim nearly snorted.

She would have to add 'making obvious comments' to the list of things to speak with the Vulcan Captain about. "I am aware, Captain," Jim responded dryly.

"Indeed," the Vulcan reposed.

"I am curious Kirk, how did you end up garnering the attention of such a prestigious member of the Empire?" The mockery was plain in Klag's words, and Jim was beset by the urge to punch him right in his ridges. For once she and Maelrok were equally insulted by the crass implication.

Jim winced internally at the reminder of her former Klingon 'betrothed'. She still felt bad that he had been 'disgraced' by the Federation absolving her of her accidental obligations. Really, she felt bad about that.

But, that didn't mean she was going back to marry the man.

Her blue eyes flashed warningly. "I sang him Aktuh and Maylota," Jim quipped sarcastically. She had given the title of a well-known Klingon opera that spoke of star-crossed lovers.

She grinned at the Klingon smarmily. "I thought it could be our song."

Klag threw back his head, and laughed heartily, as Maelrok looked decidedly displeased at their discourse. Jim felt her unease dissipate slightly.

"You are as I remember you, Kirk," Klag offered in backwards praise.

Jim repressed the urge to roll her eyes. "And you are as I remember you. It has been two years since we last met. If I am right, and you are the honorable Klingon I remember, then come," she gestured invitingly, the gears in her mind turning over what she had learned about Klingons in her xenobiology class. And her unfortunate blunder in their culture that had led to being accidentally betrothed. Something Bones had never let her live down. "Be a warrior and declare your intent. Are you going to join the Romulans in attacking the T'Maiti'?"

Her thoughts churned with a gleam of fear to them. 'Plant your feet apart, and look him directly in the eyes. Speak plainly.' Her mind chanted softly.

A grudging nod of respect came from the Klingon who glanced briefly at the Romulan Sub-commander. "You have not stated why you wish to possess the female."

"She is mine. I have laid claim to her. What other reason do you require?" The Romulan stated with barley-concealed anger.

"I am not his," Jim stated boldly, and perhaps, there was a half-shout of hysteria in there somewhere, "He has no claim to me."

"It is to the benefit of the Empire," Jim groaned internally that there were too many damn empires in space, "that we help our potential allies in glorious combat," Klag declared.

"Glorious combat?" Jim arched an eyebrow at him so incredulously that she was certain even Captain Spock would have been envious. "The T'Maiti is a peaceful ship! We have been chased by a Warbird that has operated from the shadows!" She called out hotly praying that poking a Klingon's honor would invoke a reaction. Klingons hated cloak and dagger operations. Their strict code of honor demanded they be straightforward in all of their dealings…

Something Romulans were not.

She was not disappointed when he snarled at Maelrok. "We do not take kindly to subterfuge and deceit. It must be more than simple lust that drives you to want the human."

"What I want is none of your affair. Help me and you shall have strengthened a treaty between our empires," the Romulan stated coldly.

Jim bit her tounge to quell the urge to tell Klag the true reason behind Maelrok's ambition. However, that would have doomed her twice over. If she found the idea of playing consort to a Romulan repugnant, it was ten-fold that for being the wife of a Klingon house heir. Former or not! She knew Maelrok would not volunteer the information for fear of losing her to his 'allies'.

Therefore, Jim was left with little choice but to appeal to Klingon honor. If she played her cards right, the Klingons would leave and perhaps, if she were exceedingly lucky, even help the T'Maiti fend off the Romulans. She granted that it was highly unlikely, but it was the best she could do with at the moment. With intelligence so rarely used outside of engineering, Jim launched herself into the battle of wits and the allure of having the higher held virtue.

Jim stepped forward. "There is no honor in helping him attack a pacifist ship in the middle of neutral territory," she retorted sharply, "Dung Hoch ghaj quv," Jim knew that she was exceedingly poor at all other languages beyond this, and Standard; but she could speak Klingon with the best of them.

The rather aggressive Klingon stared at her with surprise before his lips twisted into a cocky smirk. "SoH jatlh vo' 'a Suvwl' ghoS."

"HIja,"Jim stated with conviction, "Do not fall prey to the petty lies of one who has already deceived you."

A moment of tense silence stretched between them, and she fought not to fidget out of nervousness.

"The human race is not all lost perhaps?" The Klingon intoned bluntly.

Jim grinned in agreement. "Perhaps."

"She is female; she knows nothing of the Warrior's path," Maelrok contradicted.

"Excuse me?" Jim felt her face morph into disbelief. "I don't know the Warrior's path? I have out maneuvered you twice. You have lost to me twice," she hissed at the screen forgoing any semblance of diplomacy. She'd had her fill of this fucking Romulan.

Klag looked suddenly pensive. "She has escaped you twice?" He asked the Romulan intently.

"Merely an inconvenience that I shall rectify today," the Romulan bit out frostily.

The Klingon shook his head, and Jim felt relief swell in her chest. "The human has already earned her freedom in the eyes of our law. Assisting you would only bring us dishonor."

'Suck it,' Jim cheered in her thoughts.

"However," the Klingon continued, and Jim's jubilation died, "We also will show favor to our potential allies by not taking insult to their actions." Klag gazed at Jim, and she looked at him with an expression of 'well screw you too'.

Jim watched his side of the communication screen go blank.

"Well, what can one expect when one tries to enlist the help of Klingons," Maelrok spat the word like a curse.

"You really aren't going to give up are you?" Her blue eyes puzzled over the face of the Romulan Sub-commander softly.

"Never," he said quietly, and for a moment Jim's heart skipped a beat at the look of sheer determination on his face. It was perfectly normal to be slightly turned on by a nemesis right?

Right.

"What exactly are you hoping to accomplish here Maelrok?" Her mouth moved of its own will to ask the question she had pondered a thousand times over.

"I want you Jim," he said as if it explained everything. "You will be a large asset to the Romulan Empire," he acknowledged with reservation and she watched the muscles in his jaw twitch, "However, that is not is why I want you."

"W-what?" She asked as her eyes widened at his statement.

Dark eyes pierced her confused blue ones. "You have captured my thoughts as well as my heart terran," he murmured openly, and Jim felt the room shrink for a moment.

Well, she hadn't seen that one coming …

"You… just want me?" She asked more dazed than curious.

'When did my voice get so breathy?' She wondered vaguely. "Not my theories on increasing warp core efficiency? " Jim asked finally.

She felt lust pool between her thighs because being told that she had practically captivated someone was extremely flattering; not to mention sexually exciting. As far as words went, those were pretty invoking of emotions Jim would have only shown another person she was interested in. Not, that she was interested in Maelrok, but it was still a very faltering thing to say.

The Romulan gave a small smile. "Your intelligence is a reason for my interest," he conceded slowly, "But I just want to have you with me."

"Oh," Jim responded lamely.

Because really, what could she say? Her mind had shut down at such an intense confession. Jim had several experiences where someone wanted her body or needed her for a specific goal. They called it high school on earth, but she had had very few relationships, and none of her partners had wanted her as… earnestly… as this Romulan claimed to.

"Does that change your opinion of me?" The smooth voice broached almost cautiously.

Jim shifted her gaze away from him. The flush on her cheeks betrayed her thoughts, and she turned her head to the side. It was a curveball he had thrown at her and she needed a few moments to recuperate.

A snarl erupted from her right, and Jim snapped her gaze to a downright furious Vulcan. "I will not suffer this insult any longer." It was a near shout but it made everything around Jim fall mute in wake of his wrath.

"Captain Spock?" Jim broached gently as worry flooded her senses.

"What insult?" The Romulan growled through the screen.

"She is under my protection. You will not have her," the abnormally expressive Vulcan captain stated lowly, "You will cease your distasteful, and aggressive, advances at once. She has no tolerance for them, as you have already been informed, and neither do I."

Jim noticed his eyes were dilated widely. Her breath stilled in her throat at the declaration.

'Dear God, that's hot,' she thought in surprise to herself. She could not have been the only one that found a near feral Vulcan to be attractive. She chastised herself for the extremely inappropriate thoughts that circulated in her head. She was caught in an argument over who had ownership over her. What the hell was wrong with these species?

"You have no claim on her," the Romulan hissed back with vengeance burning in his eyes.

"If you attempt to continue encroaching in my territory I will rip your ship apart bolt by bolt," the Vulcan promised meaningfully.

Jim stared wide-eyed at Spock, who oozed protective jealously. Her blood pounded in her ears, and Jim was struck by the most intense yearning she had ever felt. There was something so… she had no words to describe the hot knife of need that stabbed at her heart.

A tiny gasp left her mouth before she could strangle it. Impossibly dark eyes shifted to her and she stood still under his gaze. His eyes consumed her in a blaze of heat. Jim took a step backward out of reflex and the Vulcan's gaze had hardened under the movement.

"T'nash-veh," The voice was dark, husky, and so animalistic that Jim felt a surge of fear that mingled with her prevalent lust. Something was changed in the Vulcan Captain and she had not known the cause. Human instinct flared brightly, and she understood, on some level, that if she did not leave the room she would have far more to worry about than a love-struck Romulan.

"Wait, what?" The blonde blinked dumbly at the Vulcan Captain

"T'nash-veh," The word was insistent and urgent.

"Um…are you feeling alright?" She asked imploringly, as her heart raced at the look of utter desire in his dark eyes.

A languid blink was the initial response. "T'nash-veh. Goh, T'nash-veh," he stated again, more firmly.

"Maybe I should call Bones," her mouth supplied helpfully, "Or T'Starla?"

"T'nash-veh," The tone was silky and possessive again.

"Yeah," She quipped lightly her mind still reeling as a low rumble emanated from his throat, "You've said that like a dozen times." She wanted to back away from him.

Her feet however, where being mutinous it seemed because they refused to obey her mind's urgings to vacate the room. Jim blinked once, and her gaze roamed to where the communication screen still held the visage of Maelrok. She knew it was the worst thing to have done when the sound of a growl carried swiftly from the being now in front of her.

"You will not look at him. Du t'kup," the sharper angles of Spock's face was highlighted in the glow of the overhead lights.

Jim could feel her fingers as they trembled, but she still could not command her body to flee. Thoughts and images conjured by her imagination floated to the forefront of ways she would like to hear such a commanding tone being used in an intimate moment between the two of them. What had caused his sudden loss of aloofness, Jim's brain could not comprehend for a moment. It was bizarre, but it bewitched her into staring into his snarling face. She was powerless to look way, just as if a force of nature was dropped neatly in front of her.

Had the room gotten smaller?

'No, he's just gotten closer,' she noted absently. She watched his predatory movements as he stalked to her gracefully, but his intention clear. Jim swallowed softly. Her pulse was erratic and she was certain he could hear it. His leaned in Jim drew a breath in reflex. She closed her eyes as the heat of his body washed over her. She could hear the intake of his breath and realized he had smelled her.

'Well, that was new. Incredibly arousing', she conceded, 'but new'. In the background she could faintly hear the sound of Maelrok cursing over the roar of her heartbeat.

With her eyes closed she hoped not to see whatever it was that would be blazing in the inky depths of the Vulcan's eyes. However, she had not accounted that with closed eyes she could also not see his mouth descending ravenously upon her own. She parted her lips to make a sound of surprise which had been swallowed whole by the hot, and claiming, mouth of Spock. She felt his arms twine around her to bar her from escape.

Her thoughts sped, and slowed under the touch of his skin to hers. Her emotions rolled, and boiled in desire. A sudden rush of deep longing filled her with such vast force that Jim was staggered by it. It was so much stronger than anything she had ever felt before, nearly alien to her. She wanted him more than she wanted coffee or breath. She felt herself press into his stronger frame willingly. Her reward was a low rumbled in his throat and she lost herself to sensation.

Well… if that pressure against her was what she thought it was; then they were both equally excited.

Her arms entwined around his neck and she returned his passion with her own. In her mind she could see his face, so dark, and animalistic. She felt as if the very room where moving beneath the intensity of their embrace.

Then she realized the ship had actually shaken when Spock pulled his mouth from hers. Jim opened her eyes to protest and then she noted the flashing alarm lights. The same recording she had heard weeks ago when she first boarded the T'Maiti blared in the background and she looked to see the communication screen was blank. It was then that she understood that Maelrok had shot at the ship in order to break them apart. She blushed when she comprehended that she had just made out with Captain Spock again, but this time in front of the very male that was intent on chasing her to the ends of the galaxy.

Jim leapt away from Spock quickly and watched his neutral mask click back into place. She also watched him walk away swiftly without a word, and touched her bruised lips for a moment in contemplation. Her blue eyes flickered back toward the alarm lights, and she sighed.

"What the hell just happened?" She asked the empty room both deliciously rumpled and thoroughly kissed. "Seriously... what the hell?"

Damn it; she had finally made out with the incredibly hot Vulcan Captain. And now she was going to die unless she could get down to the Engineering bay, and kick start her plasma power grid. If she hurried she would be able to make it down to Engineering before the shields failed entirely. Her only hope was that Ra'Vesti was on duty. He would already know the basics to setting up the grid by the previously used outlet. That would take several minutes off of the necessary time for the rid to warm up to operating temperatures. It also meant a ride on the god forsaken turbo lift in a language she still could not read.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the ship pitched to the side again, and Jim went flying toward the ground.

"Mother fucker!" Jim exclaimed in pain and shock.

Her emotions were in chaos. She forced her steps to the door as she pushed her way into the hall. Vulcans ran all around her. Jim collided with one or two, before she moved herself to the walls. She was human, and could not match them in a body mass contest, so she thought it best not to try. Her heart was hammering in her chest. Fear had taken over the majority of the complex thoughts tearing her mind apart slowly. There was a very slim chance she would escape once again from the enraged Romulan. However, she had to try. Part of her conceded that this very well might be the end of the line for her, and she never would be able to stand by Spock's side for his 'Vulcan ritual'.

'Oh my God, I'm going to be a consort,' she thought with horrified amusement, in the event that her first plan failed. Jim was always one step ahead of the competition, and should it be required she was going to offer herself to the Romulan as a tempting prize in order for him to spare the Vulcan vessel. She really was not looking forward to yet another near death experience.

… Still, it was better than Klingons.

_O-O-O_

Translations:

Du t'kup: You belong to me (more accurately, you belong to I)

Dung Hoch ghaj quv: Above all, have honor.

Goh T'nash-veh : Only mine

HIja : Yes

SoH jatlh vo' 'a Suvwl' ghoS: You speak of the Warrior's Path

T'nash-veh : Mine