Questionable Morality - Chapter 7
Questionable Morality
Chapter Seven
The heat was the kind that made you wish for the coldest
winter. The humidity made it unbearable and Bishop was whining again. Mukai
rolled her eyes as she shoveled dusty minerals into a container.
"The heat," Sandy moaned. "I don't think I
can take much more. I think I'm going to pass out. I think I'm going to �"
"Shut the fuck up?" Lindsey taunted hopefully and
earned a burning look from her partner.
Lita snorted in agreement and a buzzer sounded in the
distance. She caught herself as somebody brushed against her and knocked her
off balance.
"Come on," Tucker mumbled as he passed her.
"It's time for the midday break."
Mukai stared at his retreating back and licked her lips. His
back was covered in dirt and grime, but the muscular lines were lithe and his
ass was �She shook the nonsense out of her head and followed him.
They traversed the damp corridors in silence, listening to
the prattle of various crewmembers along the way. Finally, a cavernous room
appeared before them. People were already sitting down to their meals and a
line had formed.
Mukai stood in line behind Tucker and broke the silence.
"Where are we?"
Tucker scooped a glob of food onto his tray. "This is
the midday cave."
She shook her head in disbelief. "No. I meant what
planet are we on? What species are we 'working' for?"
Trip didn't answer right away. "Archer must have kept
you in the dark," Trip stated coldly, as memories of their capture taunted
him. "He gloated to me every chance he got."
Her stomach growled and she mimicked Tucker as he selected
his food. "We were either in the brig or �" Lita shuddered as the
memories of her experience came back to her. Part of her thought it would
vanish from memory, but it was etched into her forever.
Tucker picked up a spoonful of bright blue goop and put it
on Mukai's plate, trying to break the memories that held her still before him.
"We're 'working' for the Narlessleie. They rely on pennelium to
fuel their generators, but it's toxic to them in its raw state. Do as your told
and you won't get shocked."
"Have you tried to escape?"
"Yes," he stated sullenly. "There is no
escape." Tucker walked to the nearest table and slid into the bench.
Lita remained silent waiting for him to continue.
Sensing this, Trip set his fork down, his appetite suddenly
gone. "I lost nine crewmen during the attempt."
"I'm sorry," she interjected, watching the pain
cross over his face.
A loud buzzer sounded and people started to mull into an
adjacent room. A slow fog rolled out of it.
"This is your only time to get clean," Tucker
explained as he padded into the foggy room still clad in his blue skivvies.
She walked into the mist. It was so thick, she could barely
see three feet in front of her. Amazingly, the mist that fell onto her skin was
cold, a rare treat indeed. A hand reached out and tapped her shoulder and she
turned around with her fists raised.
Tucker put his arms up in surrender. "It's okay. It's
only me." He cleared his throats as sounds of moans and giggles permeated
the room. "I just wanted to let you know that the temperature of the water
varied in several spots."
She followed him, oddly feeling safe with him. She looked
through the mist and clearly saw a silhouette of a man pressing a woman against
a column, fucking her.
Tucker saw what she saw and stood underneath a warm spray,
washing the grime away. "I'm sorry about that, but there really isn't
anyplace 'round here for privacy."
Mukai watched the swirling pattern of his hand as it washed
the grime from his chest and body and she blushed.
Trip saw the blush and smiled. "I guess I really should
designate a side of the shower room for those havin' relations and those who
aren't."
"I thought Starfleet regulations frowned upon
fraternization." Lita turned away and walked under a lukewarm spray. She
gloried in the feel of the silt and dust leaving her skin, and ran her hands
modestly under her clothing to remove more of it.
Trip scrubbed his unruly hair and beard. "After six
weeks here, the frat rules went out the window. It really didn't surprise me
one bit who wound up together."
Another buzzer sounded in the distance.
"Well, that's our cue. Best get back to work."
Trip brushed past her and walked into the mist.
Lita didn't want to leave the showers, but the anklet
started to throb and she started to walk in the direction Tucker had gone.
--
"I'll lock the door behind me," Travis stated next
to her ear, as the music was still rather loud. "Nobody will bother
you." He hoped it was the truth, but something in his gut told him
otherwise. He handed her a phase pistol in the dimly lit room where the
camera's couldn't see and put his finger over his lips.
Hoshi nodded.
Travis took the hypospray out and made to inject her with
it. "I'll be back as soon as my shift is over."
He walked out without looking back and strode down the hall.
The lift doors opened and Archer greeted him with a cold smile.
"Good morning, Sir."
Archer nodded and pointed to Travis cheek. "She really
is a wild one, isn't she? How is your cargo this morning?"
"She's sedated, Sir. I can't put her in the brig
because I don't trust the crew not to rough her up. So, I sedated her while I'm
away." Travis said as little as possible.
"Did you beat her or fuck her?"
"Both," replied Travis coldly.
"I received a complaint about loud music last night
from your quarters," Archer continued questioning him.
"I'm sorry, Sir. I'll turn it down immediately. She was
screaming last night and I figured it would drown out the screams."
Archer smiled, convinced of his lieutenant's sincerity. He
slapped him on the back and laughed. "So when do you plan on selling
her?"
"I don't know," Travis shrugged, relaxing a little
underneath Archer's scrutiny.
The lift door opened and Travis got out. "If you'll
excuse me, Sir."
"By all means." Archer watched Travis as he made
his way down the corridor to the mess hall.
--
Reed sipped his drink and stared across the table at
nothingness. His meal went untouched and he listened as the vibrations of Intrepid's
engines exerted themselves at full warp. He cursed his ship and its inability
to go any faster. He cursed her crew for still being alive and making him pay
his debt to her. He cursed his desire for her. He scoffed at himself.
"Love sick fool."
He felt weak.
"You
make me feel weak and inferior, and I hate both of us for that." He
recalled her words and something twisted inside him.
"You're
anything but weak," he saluted her phantom. He held the PADD in front of
him and watched the countdown he had initiated. There were forty-eight hours
before they reached her crew.
--
The
heat clung to her and she turned over in her bunk and punched the material that
doubled as a pillow. Mukai prayed for deliverance and her crewmates who weren't
with her. A hollow feeling invaded her stomach and she prayed for the soul of
her captain and friend. A squeaking mattress and a sound of passion reached her
ears and she covered them. "Jesus Christ! Isn't it too hot to fuck?"
she mumbled under her breath.
"Can't
sleep?" Tucker turned over and propped himself up on his elbow.
"How
do you sleep?" Mukai asked.
"It's
easy when total exhaustion overcomes you," Tucker yawned. "Give it a
week. You'll be sleeping like a baby by then."
"God,
what I wouldn't give for a shower right now." Lita bowed her head and
moaned as thought made her skin tingle.
"You
could if you could stand the shocks," Tucker explained as he put an arm
over his eyes. "That would be out of bounds and your anklet would
activate."
"Hey.
A girl can dream, can't she?" Mukai moaned again as she lay back down.
Tucker
kept his arm over his eyes. The sounds of sex in the distance coupled with the
woman next to him had him rock hard. He turned away from her, not wanting her
to see the lust in his eyes. Visions of her in the mist and the shower taunted
his dreams. She was slick and hot around him as he pinned her against one of
the shower columns. She was moaning now and he thought he would come right
then.
--
Hoshi
sat in the darkness and waited. Her senses were about her now, as she kept the
phase pistol nearby. She waited for Travis to return and closed her eyes,
damning Starfleet to hell. Apparently the left hand didn't know what the right
hand was doing. Travis had been strategically placed on Enterprise by the head
of Starfleet Intelligence. He was a mole, so much so that the Admiral who gave
Reed his orders didn't know anything about Travis.
Her
crew had suffered indignities unimaginable and she wanted to kill the Admiral
who hadn't figured checking the facts. The thought of Reed flashed through her
mind and she held it to her like a fragile thing. He had helped her as much as
he could. She held no malice toward him.
She
heard somebody outside the door punch in the entrance code and she relaxed,
feigning sleep, yet grasping the phase pistol tightly underneath her pillow.
The door opened and closed and a whispered, "It's me," greeted her.
Travis
groped around in the shadows and finally knelt in front of her.� "I've had
enough. There's enough evidence to fry his ass. I've sent an encrypted code to
Admiral Bryant. He'll send the nearest Starfleet vessels to take Enterprise and
put Archer and his crew in custody."
Hoshi
froze as hope and dread warred within her. "How are they going to do that?
Surely, Archer will put up a fight."
"Don't
worry about that. I have a plan."
They
both jumped as the chime to his quarters sounded. Hoshi feigned sedation and
Travis jumped up and turned the lights on.
"Who
is it?" Travis stood at the door, phase pistol drawn.
"It's
your Captain," Archer informed on the other side of the door.
Travis
set the phase pistol down and opened the door. Archer walked in with his hands
behind his back.
"I
thought I would come and check on Captain Sato." Archer walked to the bed
and looked down at Hoshi as she slept.
"She's
still sedated," Travis explained.
"Funny,"
Archer puzzled.
"What?"
Travis' heart pounded in his chest.
"I
thought you said you beat her last night. She doesn't look beaten to me."
Archer pushed her hair from her face.
"I
realized that I wouldn't get very much for her if I left bruises on her,"
Travis rationalized.
"She
is beautiful, isn't she? Her hair is so�" Archer inhaled sharply and
pulled the sheet from her naked body and examined her, running his hands along
the bruising on her thighs. He reached into his chest pocket and took out a hypospray.
"You wouldn't mind if I wake her and borrow her for a little while would
you." It was a request, not a question.
Travis
remained silent.
"Captain's
prerogative, you know."
Travis
nodded in resignation. "I don't want any more bruising on my property,
Sir. I respectively request that you return her when you are finished and that
no one else is granted privilege."
Archer
smiled. "Why don't you make yourself scarce, Mr. Mayweather. That way you
don't have to worry about me returning your property."
Travis
watched as Archer revived Hoshi. Her eyes fluttered open and he saw her stare
blankly at the Captain then smile. "I was wondering when you would come
back to me, Captain."
Archer
reached a hand toward her and stroked her hair.
Hoshi
could suffer anything at this point. Help was on its way and this ordeal was
almost over. She looked at Travis coldly. "Is an audience really
necessary?"
Travis
could hardly believe what she was capable of at this point. He said a silent
thank you and left his quarters. He didn't leave though. Instead, he stood by
the entrance. If she screamed for help, he was going to kill Archer, mission be
damned.
--
"Sir,
the Grissom and Kennedy have received new orders," Ensign Mathers
reported.
Reed
leaped out of his chair. "What kind of orders? From whom?"
"They've
cut off communications, Sir."
"What's
our ETA?" Reed asked quietly.
"Twenty-six
hours," reported the helmsman.
Reed
started to pace the length of the bridge and finally settled into his seat. On
the armrest he could see the chemical tracers. Everybody was alive. If they
weren't, the chemical would have dissolved and they would have lost the signal.
He pulled another schematic up and his eyes fixated on Hoshi's signal. His
promise pained him, as details of her journey were unknown to him. He wanted to
change course and go directly after Enterprise, but he knew she wouldn't want
him to do that.
"Stay
on course, and as soon as we are in range, I'll want a tactical analysis."
Reed turned and went to his ready room.
-----
TBC