Uhura sat in her small quarters, enjoying a hot cup of tea and whiskey after a great day. After their swim, Lena had lead them to a small sanctuary to clean up, and bathe - well, spa. You knew the culture was run by women when you couldn't just take a shower. She, Lena, and a few other females had shared an enormous scented candle lit bath - with wine. Lena has noticed that Uhura was wearing her ring around her neck instead of her finger (she had clearly read her culture briefing), and offered to have it resized for her. At first Uhura was apprehensive - it held tremendous value to her and Spock, but after she told Lena where the ring came from, Lena had promised that it would be returned to her in perfect condition. "I will take care of it", she said. The spa was located in a tree house overlooking the volcano, where the four had spent the remainder of the day. Uhura was floored when Lena actually beat Spock at a chess-like game. Lena just laughed and said after getting her ass kicked by Veelia and Suria day in and day out, she had actually forgotten what is was like to win.

Lena was - awesome. Uhura had to admit it. It seemed odd that someone with so much power and beauty could also be so down to earth and charming - and fun! She was sort of like Jim in that regard - he could be a total imbecile at times, but there was also a certain amount of levity to him, something about him that made you trust that you could count on him. It was what had drawn Carol to him, and, she suspected it was what was drawing him and Lena to each other now. After spending the day with them she was certain - they had very strong feelings for each other. She didn't care what Spock said or thought. They were leaving Ya-Mo in eight short days, and she knew that it wasn't going to be pretty.

Veelia bounded through the Palace looking for Lena. Pavel was sleeping. She was thrilled! She had had sex five times today! She was quite sore though; she probably should have taken that into consideration. She reached Lena's door and almost went inside, but stopped when she heard Lena's laughter ring out. She was hailing someone. Listening closer Veelia heard the Captain's voice. She was aware of their affair, indeed Lena had had a few before, but it was odd. She had just spent the whole day with him - why was she talking to him now?

Sighing Veelia stepped away; she would have to tell Lena later. Her bracelet lit up suddenly - dark blue - Suria was hailing her.

Suria's room was only a short distance from Lena's so she just went straight to her without picking up.

"Veelia", Suria said upon seeing her in her door way, "come in."

Veelia entered Suria's impeccable bedroom. Brok was standing in the corner. At one time she had a huge crush on him; he was very attractive, tall with dark hair and dark eyes. But she knew him to be betrothed. He should have mated by now, but he had agreed to help Lena and Suria with their war effort. His betrothed, who Veelia had never met, lived on the home planet working on biological research. Veelia read her work from time to time, but the organic sciences weren't really her thing.

"Hey kiddo," he said, using her pet name.

"Veelia", Suria said sharply, "Is this formula really all you've done in the past four days?"

Oh- so this is why she was here.

"I...yes? I guess I fell a little behind."

"This is completely unacceptable. You do know the Enterprise is leaving in eight days right?"

"Yes but…"

"No 'buts', Veelia." Suria sighed, first Lena, now Veelia, "I need their technology completely unencrypted before they leave. I know you have a gift, and I know that can be distracting, but you have a duty. You are first and foremost a Winged Daughter. This is what that means - you must finish your work - then you can play."

Veelia knew Suria was right but she still protested, "He will be gone in 3 days!"

"Then you will only have five to complete your task!"

"I - The scans are awful! There is so much data missing...it's impossible!"

"You had less data with the Hamids! Enough - this is not an argument. This is your responsibility Veelia! I don't care how you get it done - just see that you do. You're not a child anymore and I'm not going to treat you like one. Finish. The. Analysis. That is not a request."

Ugh -this was going to take FOREVER! But Suria was right, it was her responsibility- she was the only one who could do it.

Veelia turned to leave.

"Veelia!" Suria gasped, "Are you? Are you wearing anything under that dress?"

"Ummmm...I...no?"

Suria smiled, "Did you…?" she let the phrase hang in the air. Veelia had intended to tell Lena first, but her blush gave her away.

"Way to go kiddo", Brok said laughing. "When?"

Veelia gave up -she was dying to tell someone, "Today, actually. I wanted to tell Lena but she was hailing the Captain from her room."

Suria went over to Veelia and hugged her, "I am really happy for you", she said, "I'll go a little easier on you - I didn't realize today was so productive!"

"It's alight", Veelia smiled, "I can do both - this is really important."

"How it was?" Brok asked.

Veelia broke into a mischievous grin that was all Lena, "It was really good by the fifth time", she said and skipped out of the room.

Brok looked at Suria, "I think Lena's created a monster."

Suria rolled her eyes, "I think Lena's created herself."

That night Suria snuck into Lena's room. She had done this before. Crawling into Lena's bed she wrapped her arm around her. Lena woke up abruptly and turned to Suria to find her lips on hers. "Hey", Suria whispered.

Lena laughed softly, "What are you doing?"

Suria kissed her again, "What do you think I'm doing?" Suria's hands found Lena's breasts - she really had nice ones. They started kissing when Lena broke away, "I am tired", she said.

"I want to", Suria released her pheromones on Lena.

"That's not fair," Lena squirmed. Suria could be incredibly seductive when she wanted to be. Her betrothed would be quite pleased.

"We won't be able to do this for much longer… once we are mated…", Suria said nibbling on Lena's ear. Lena was strangely not tempted- Jim did that better.

"Not tonight." Lena said and Suria desisted.

"I'm sorry- it's just that- I haven't seen you for days," she began.

"You see me every day in our meetings."

"You know what I mean - you keep running off with the Captain...you're missing things."

"What have I missed?"

Suria smiled, "Veelia consummated with the boy you picked for her today."

Lena sat up in bed, "Really?!"

"Yes - five times apparently. I think you have successfully turned her into you."

Lena shook her head, "If I were more beautiful, brilliant, and thirteen years younger."

They snuggled into each other's arms, and Lena drifted off to sleep. Suria felt a sinking feeling in her chest. She had been entertained by Lena's perusal of the Captain at first, but now it was becoming clear that she was getting attached. Lena never turned her down. Wondering what was to be done she remembered what Lena had done when one of the girls had started to get too attached to their gift three years ago. Lena had sent him back to his people early, before they could develop even stronger feelings. Of course the Captain wasn't a gift, but Suria was pretty sure they should not spend more time together. "I'm sorry", she whispered into Lena's shoulder.

Veelia sat at her con-sol, frustrated, working into the night. She was so irritated. Now that she had gotten over her fear she wanted to enjoy her gift. He has actually managed to make her orgasm the final time! It was not fair! Her exasperation was compounded by the fact that Pavel would be able to do this so easily - he needed to know this - it was his ship. She remembered how he had balanced her formula in a second. Suddenly an idea struck her. She couldn't let him know what she was doing, but she COULD ask him for help, like she had done earlier. Of course Lena and Suria would be livid, but they didn't have to know - besides, Suria said she didn't care how she got it done. This way would be much more efficient.

Making up her mind Veelia got to work pulling equations from the Enterprise and altering them, but not balancing them. Pavel could do that part. Then they could have sex. Priorities!

Bones and Chekov beamed back onto the Enterprise four days later. Bones was quite impressed with how Chekov was handling himself. Veelia was insanely beautiful, and Suria had told him that they could barely keep their hands off each other for the past couple of days. He had expected a tearful good-bye from both of them. But Chekov explained it to him, "Vee-ya is vonderful, inside and out, and she is very, very special to me. I vill never foryet her. But, zis vos ze arrangement. I vill alvays cherish ze time we spent togezer, but she vos never mine to keep."

"I wish someone would tell that to Jim."

They strolled into the sitting room in Captain's quarters to see the Captain quickly close a hail on the bracelet Lena had given him. He had been talking to her.

"Welcome back boys!" Kirk smiled, "or men now, as I was told, Chekov."

Chekov blushed. He had always suspected that girls talked, but he hadn't anticipated this much publicity.

"Leave him alone, Jim." Bones said.

Kirk just laughed, "I'm just messing with you Chekov - So anything I should add to my log?"

Yeah," Bones said. "I sent over some of my files to Princess Suria. I noticed their medical facilities were sort of lacking."

Kirk frowned, "Can you do that?"

"Yes. Under Federation Law, as a doctor, I am allowed to share potential life-saving information with outsiders."

"Fair enough."

"Doctor, deed you zend anyfing else over?"

Bones turned to Chekov, "No. What else would I have sent?"

"I...I…", Chekov was stuck. He did not want to betray Veelia, but she had asked for his help balancing quite a few formulas and decryptions over that past few days. It had not escaped his attention that many of them were strikingly similar to what the Enterprise used. They weren't exactly the same, and they weren't complete - she said she was inventing them. She was bright enough to do it, he knew, and additionally, whenever he tried to ask her about them he somehow ended up naked with his face between her legs, or naked on top of her, or naked on his back with his dick in her mouth. Needless to say, he promptly forgot all about the formulas.

"Ensign", the Captain said questioningly, "what are you not telling me?"

"I don't -"

"That's an order Ensign. You are a Starfleet officer - what do you know?"

Chekov sighed; the Captain was right. He quickly went over his suspicions.

"Ov course, she is a genius. Eet ees possible she did invent zem, independently."

The Captain glared at him, "Why didn't you figure this out while you were there?"

"Aye… I am sorry."

Kirk face was unreadable. "The material is a little over my head, but: Is it your professional opinion that she came up with her formulas herself?"

"Yes", Chekov said quickly, then "I don't know - I, she is smart enough to do it. I know zat."

Kirk remained impassive, "OK - dismissed."

As soon as Chekov left Bones turned in Kirk, "That girl may be a genius, but she did not invent the Enterprise in 2 weeks, while it just happened to be sitting here."

Kirk put his head in his hand - "I know. I just don't get it, HOW?"

"They scanned us, obviously!"

"That's impossible, we would have detected it."

"What about Brok - he was on the ship for a few days."

"I locked him out of everything once I realized they had gone through our personnel files - I'm not an idiot."

Bones glared at him, that wasn't always true, "What about Lena?"

Kirk jumped, "What about her?"

"You took her aboard the ship - the night of the feast."

Kirk began to get angry, "What are you talking about? Lena wouldn't….I was with her the whole time. There was no way she could have…"

"Are you sure? You were with her every second, then?"

"I…" Kirk's eyes had fallen on a black piece of fabric draped over his couch. It was Lena's dress from the night they had sex in his quarters.

"No", he whispered. He was in shock, he told Bones how she said she didn't know how to put her dress back on and how he had gone into his bedroom to get clothes for her.

"It was… 30 seconds, tops", he finished.

"Jim, that's all she would need."

"But…"

Bones said angrily, "You really think a girl like that would be so dependent on servants she wouldn't know how to put a dress on?"

Kirk had never thought of it like that. But it was impossible. She was NAKED, for chrissake. But then he remembered the knife she had hidden in her enormous wings - she could have very easily held a scanner as well, and his PADD had been right on the coffee table. She had scanned it - he was sure.

"Oh my God, Bones," Kirk began to shake with shock. "I...but we….why would she do this to me?"

Bones threw his hands in the air, "Oh I don't know, maybe because we have the most advanced ship in the area."

"But she..."

"She what, Jim? She likes you? She's a fucking Princess - you are a visiting toy - with an upcoming expiration date."

"That's not true."

"It is true - she has an intended."

"They all do, they're like Vulcans."

"No". Bones told her what Suria had said to him a few nights ago. She confessed to Bones that he was to be her last gift, and possibly lover, ever. Her intended, Avar, was to arrive on Ya-Mo two days after the Enterprise departed, and she wanted to get pregnant right away. It was time, she said. When he asked what Lena would do without her, she smiled and said Lena would come with her. Lena's intended, Bay-Lou, would arrive with him. Once the two men arrived their betrothals would begin, and as soon as Suria and Lena conceived they would be officially mated, never be with another ever again. Then they would depart for the home world shortly before the births of their children, and Lena would take her place as Queen, Suria at her right hand. This had been planned out years ago.

"As soon as we leave, Jim it's over. I'm sorry, but she played you - she played you really good."

Kirk felt like he had been punched in the gut. She lied to him - she seduced him, stole scans of his ship, then kept him around for a pet. A physical punch would have actually been easier to stand - he'd felt that before. In the corner he saw he bracelet light up amethyst - she was calling him. Somehow he felt so numb he couldn't even muster up anger.

"Are you gonna get that?"

"No."

"Jim, I'm...sorry...I always thought you knew."

"It's OK. Hey… Bones?"

"Yeah"

"This stays between us. Spock would...relieve me of duty. I...I made a mistake."

"Yeah, you did. I won't say anything to the Vuclan - but let's get the fuck outta here."

"Agreed", Kirk said.

When Bones left Kirk pulled out his com. He typed a brief, curt message to Laveen. The Enterprise would depart in the morning - five days ahead of schedule. He apologized for any inconvenience, but they had just detected a passing asteroid with an interesting substance he suspected could be used as a sustainable fuel. He felt he needed to go after it. He thanked the Virosa for their kindness.