Questionable Morality - Chapter 2
Questionable Morality
Chapter Two
She tossed and turned all night, having fended off and lied
to her crew as to the seriousness of the allegations they were facing, and
telling them there was some problem with the ship's registry and that it was
being taken care of. She was sharing a cell with her engineer, a scraggly old
bastard by the name of Earl, who knew something was up. The fact that he kept
asking her if there was something she wanted to unload was probably what kept
her up all night.
After she told him that she would cut his nuts off if he
asked her again he finally got the message.
Sato blinked as the harsh lighting of her cell invaded her
broken sleep. A boot in her back and a harsh "get up" was a rude
awakening. She turned over.
Lieutenant Gomez was standing over her. "Captain Reed
wants to talk with you."
Hoshi so wanted to tell her to tell him to fuck himself and
the horse he rode in on, but the slim glimmer of hope he had changed his mind
spurred her to comply.
"You have fifteen minutes to get ready." Gomez
left.
Earl snorted in his sleep and mumbled a breathless, "Oh
yeah, baby. Show daddy."
Sato rolled her eyes in disgust and headed for the bathroom.
On the back of the door was a gray jumpsuit similar to a prison uniform and
some undergarments. She turned the shower on and started taking her clothes
off. In no time steam rose and she was lost in the moist heat. This truly was a
luxury and she jumped under the spray, afraid it would turn cold before she got
a chance to enjoy it.
--
Reed had slept like a baby; content with the knowledge he
had Sato spooked. Instead of eight women to chose from, there were twelve. He
calmly sipped his juice and reviewed the offer he would extend to the
Celestial's captain. He needed at least three women to make the plan
believable. It wouldn't be worth Archer's trouble if he didn't approach him
with at least three women to be sold into 'slavery.'
He pulled up the information on his PADD and reviewed it
again, hoping to find some clue as to exactly how Archer was pulling it off.
The destruction of the Constitution tipped his illegal activities off. Somehow,
Captain Tucker had gotten wind of his good friend's flesh peddling and
confronted him about it. Tucker was an idiot and thought he could persuade his
friend to stop. At least that is what his sister told Admiral Walters once news
that the Constitution had met with an unfortunate accident. There were no
survivors.
Archer had a friend in the Admiralty. It didn't take any
great stretch of the imagination to figure out who it was. Reed would be a rich
man if he gambled on Forrest being in on the action. If the corruption went
that high, it had to be rooted out.
Reed snorted in disgust. Corruption in Starfleet �
Imagine that!
So the plan was this -- Reed would approach him with some
unknown flesh and offer it to him on a silver platter. His finances were
questionable at best right now due to a few 'bad speculations' and he can
approach Archer as a man strapped for cash. He just hoped that Sato had a few volunteers
once he laid out the plan to her. If she didn't, he would need to dispose of
her and find somebody else to use.
He set the PADD down and looked at the time. She was late.
--
The water trickled down the valley of her breasts and she
just stood under the spray glorying in the sensation, her troubles splendidly
washed down the drain. A draft broke the spell and she opened her eyes.
Scowling azure eyes met hers and she turned the water off and reached for a
towel.
His hand clamped around her wrist and he yanked her out of
the shower. "When I send one of my officers to collect you and they give
you a time frame, you best mind them. Hell, you better lick their boots,
princess!"
She gasped as he pulled her naked and wet into her cell and
out into the hall. Earl shot up, bleary-eyed and shouted for them to quiet
down. Hoshi shivered as his boots sounded along the deck and the patter of her
feet followed him. She had to give his crew credit. They didn't bat an eye as
their Captain pulled her buck-ass-naked behind him.
The door to the mess hall opened and they walked through it
to his private mess.
Reed pulled a chair from the table and set it away from the
table.
Her ass hit the chair with a resounding slap and her
tormentor paced in front of her silently.
Hoshi shivered, crossed her legs and folded her arms over
her chest. His silence was unnerving, but his next action was even more so.
Reed stopped pacing, sat down, unfolded his napkin and
started to eat his breakfast. He was completely un-phased, as though dining in
front of naked women was done all the time in his world. He set his fork down
and wiped his mouth.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you and your crew
are in? You will be executed when you are found guilty. Your crew will
serve life long labor terms. You seem to think this will wash over with an
offer of a slap and a tickle," Reed stated calmly and sipped his beverage.
She was now physically trembling, but he felt no pity for
her. She would have to be stronger than what she was now to carry out what he
had in plan for her.
Reed scoffed and called for his guard. "Get her out of
my sight."
Hoshi felt the warm hand of his security guard clasp her
upper arm and heft her to her feet. She stood firm, brimming with humiliation
and desperation, but didn't move. "What do you want?"
"Wait!" commanded Reed. He whispered something to
his security guard and sent him running. "Sit down."
Hoshi did without hesitation and looked straight ahead.
Reed sat back down at his table, staring at her and eating
his breakfast.
"Everybody has a price. What's yours?" she asked
calmly.
He continued to eat his breakfast in silence.
The chime on the door signaled a new arrival and he barked a
curt "Enter!"
A steward walked in with clothing and Hoshi gladly accepted
it and quickly dressed. She stood by the chair almost afraid to provoke the
maniac further. She shifted uncomfortably, waiting for him to pounce.
"My price is steep and I'm not sure if you're up to
paying it," he stated blandly.
"Name it," she whispered without missing a beat.
Reed tossed the PADD at her and she held it like it was a
snake at first, but quickly started perusing it.
"About four years ago, E.C.S. cargo ships started
disappearing. Rumors abounded, including one where the ships were boarded with
little to no resistance and the crews were either murdered or sold into
slavery."
Sato flipped through bank records of a Starfleet Admiral and
Captain Archer. The accounts were not impressive in the least.
"They have other accounts set up under dummy
corporation names," Reed continued, frankly impressed that she had
panicked yet.
A headline flashed before her about the loss of the
Constitution � "Gross Negligence to Blame for Loss!" Hoshi shrugged
her shoulders. "What does this have to do with me and my crew?"
"Archer and Forrest are the prime suspects. They got
sloppy with their financial transactions and one of the accounts was traced
back to Forrest. Before the Constitution was lost, Captain Tucker confided in his
sister that Jonathon Archer was responsible for the disappearances. The
evidence is sketchy at best and not enough to stand trial."
Hoshi remained silent as the names of those lost flashed
before her. Some of the people she knew, others were nothing more than
unfortunate strangers. She set the PADD on the table. "So."
"We'll be rendezvousing with Enterprise in three weeks.
I'll approach Archer about his illegal activities and let him know that I have
potential candidates for the market." Reed reached for a container on the
table, opened it and took a cigar out. He bit it, lit it and puffed on it as a
feeling of dread passed over her.
"I need you and whoever you feel would be up to it to
be the bait. I need at least three people to make this worth Archer's
while." A cloud of tangy sweet smoke rose into the air.
Anger boiled to her surface as she finally saw what he was
proposing. The charge was a ruse. She'd spent the entire night questioning her
ability to command and her overall sanity. After all, one of a commanding
officer's many duties was to keep apprised of current events and shifts in the
political quagmires that were so prevalent in the interspecies community. It
wasn't a difficult balance to maintain -- please your clients and keep Starfleet
paid off. She was the one who liked to skate on the edge of the law and Reed
had come along and knocked her over that edge. She leaned on the table and
bowed her head as the ramifications of what he had done and what he wanted from
her finally hit home.
"In payment for your services and that of any of your
crew who wish to volunteer, the sedition charges will be dropped." A cloud
of smoke reached her nostrils.
Sato stood with her head bowed, silent, as the rage
continued to churn inside her.
"You need to make it perfectly clear when you request
your volunteers what you are asking of them. Some will be sold into
prostitution. Some will be sold into labor camps. I advise you to approach the
members of your crew who have sexual prowess and don't mind � varying their
sexual orientation."
"And if I don't agree?" she asked quietly.
"You will be executed for sedition and the rest of your
crew will be imprisoned," he smiled, waiting for her to blow her stack. He
didn't know why, but he so wanted to ruffle her feathers.
"You and I both know the charges would never hold up in
a court of law. They're bogus," she bluffed, but kept her head bowed.
"I've already altered your destination logs. The court
will look at it and see that you were on your way to deliver weapons to the Klingons.
With all the skirmishes along the boarder, surely even you are aware they are
listed as Earth's enemy number one." Reed tongued the tip of the cigar and
took a drag off of it.
"You certainly have gone to a lot of trouble. Why not just
have some of your officers go under cover?"
"Archer can smell Starfleet personnel a mile away,
besides, aren't cargo women of questionable morality? They'll probably enjoy
the variety?"
Red flashed before her eyes and she grabbed a fork on the
table. Her reflexes were quick and he wasn't expecting such an outburst. She
jabbed the fork down into the table through the sleeve of his uniform.
"I won't pimp my own crew," she growled through
gritted teeth.
Reed lifted the fork out of the table calmly and set his
cigar down. She didn't see it coming as he jumped up and grabbed her by her
jumpsuit. "It's time you accepted the responsibility you won in that poker
game six months ago, little girl. You're the one who decided to skim around the
edge of the law, and you're the one who got caught."
She could smell the tobacco on his breath, as his face was
mere inches from hers. Sato could make out a faint scar along his cheekbone,
which trailed beneath his beard.
"You have three weeks to make your decision," he
hissed into her ear. "That should give you plenty of time to practice your
legendary sexual prowess." He couldn't resist goading her.
She blushed hotly. "Not with you, I won't."
He pushed her away and laughed. "I'm glad you got that
out of your system. But, if you change your mind, you know where to find
me."
She watched him go and only when he was safely out of range
with the door closed behind him, did she pick up a glass and heave it at the
door.
On the other side of the door Reed smiled then winced. He
lifted his arm and checked under the sleeve. Damn that would leave a scar � not
that another scar would make much difference. His guard stood at attention by
the door, not even flinching as they heard glass shattering in the room.
"Make her clean it up."
Reed grinned, not envying his young Ensign.
--
She paced the room, wishing he were still in here. His
threats and offers were genuine, and she could sense he wasn't one to be messed
with.
The door opened and a young ensign entered. "Captain Reed
has ordered me to tell you that you are to clean the mess you've created up at
once."
Sato froze in mid stride. She picked up a serving dish full
of eggs and hurled it at the ensign's head. It hit the ensign in the shoulder.
"Tell him to go to hell!"
The ensign left.
After completely wrecking the room she was in, she cleared
off a seat and sat down. Arrogant prick! (Hot smelling prick!) Who the hell
does he think he is?
"He's the one holding your ass over the fire, is who is
he is," she spoke out loud. She bent to the box of cigars that was now all
over the floor and picked them up. Now she knew where he got that god-awful
(sigh) smell.
Sato sat on the floor and crumbled his cigars up one by one,
but when she got to the last one, she tucked it into her pocket.
Either way she went, she was fucked, as she mentally ticked
off the crew roaster in her head. Spangler was just a kid. Earl was butt-ugly,
but probably a good candidate for a laborer. Sandy was loose. She didn't know
of anybody Sandy hadn't done on the Celestial, other than herself. Not that Sandy
hadn't tried, but Hoshi just didn't swing that way.
And there's a major problem right there! Not only did Hoshi
not swing that way, she had never swung the other way. Sure, she'd had the occasional
heavy-petting sessions with an awkward man here or there, but truth be told,
her virginity was firmly intact and her legendary prowess was a rumor she used
to keep unwanted advances from her.
What a hell of a way to loose one's virginity, kido! You
sure know how�
Her thought was interrupted as the cabin door swished open.
An even angrier Reed stood over her, with his sleeve cut and his arm bandaged.
He grabbed her hair and pulled her to her feet. "I should just kill you
now! I'm sure it would be much less trouble. The next time you take a pot shot
at one of my officers, I won't just kill you, I will make you suffer, before I
kill you."
She winced.
"For now, I'll put you in solitary confinement."
She got to her feet and he grasped her upper arm, dragging
her behind him. The ride in the lift was short and he dragged her down the
darkened corridor to her new accommodations. She stood before him and looked
into a pitch-black room. Before she could say anything, a booted foot kicked
her posterior and she fell into the room.
-----
TBC