Questionable Morality - Chapter 8
Questionable Morality
Chapter Eight
Lita Mukai stumbled through the mist of the shower room,
ignoring the various couples that were going at it like rabbits. She had even
come across Bishop and Lindsey. They had even welcomed some of the
Constitution's crewmen to join them. Mukai turned away from them and sought the
cold mist to calm her down and cool her off. Pornographic thoughts of Tucker
filled her mind and she shook her head.
She stopped dead in her tracks as the mist rolled away and
revealed a lone figure with his back to her. It was Tucker and he was
completely naked. Lita stared at his ass and the way his body moved. It seemed
like he was shaking, as though he were in the cold mist she wanted. Suddenly he
groaned and gasped and Lita stepped closer. There was little light where he was
and the area offered seclusion like no other. That was when she noticed the
movement of his arm. He was masturbating. She gasped and started to back away.
Trip froze and looked over his shoulder. Lita stood there in
shock. "Shit." He reached for his pants and took a step toward her. "Aw,
God. I'm sorry. I�"
Lita stepped back and raised her hands up. "No, no. I'm
sorry," she stuttered and continued to back away from him.
He continued to advance and she continued to back away from
him. Trip righted his boxers over his quickly diminishing member and stopped.
"I'm sorry," he repeated and ran his hands through his already
disheveled hair.
"So, I take it that isn't the cool mist section." Lita
looked at the floor.
"Uh, no," he replied.
"Yeah right," Lita stammered. "I'll just be
going now. Gotta find that cool mist before our time is up."
Trip smiled as he heard her muttering under her breath.
"I'm going to need a cold shower now."
--
Travis held Hoshi in the dark as she wept, him apologizing
and crying along with her.
"I'm alright, Travis," she whispered next to his
ear. If he hadn't been in the middle of telling her that help was on the way,
she probably wouldn't have been able to carry through with bedding Archer
again.
It was strange. Archer had been strangely tender with her,
his hands always in her hair like he was making love to it rather than her. She
was thrown for a loop when he whispered for her to say his name. His face was
in her hair when he entered her and groaned, "Allison."
"Say my name," he had growled and thrust into her
harshly, garnering her total submission.
"J-Jonathan."
Hoshi closed her eyes and chanted his name. The sooner he
got off, the sooner he would leave her.
And he did leave her, but he took part of her with him. She
had watched him dress and thought she was safe, but he turned suddenly, and
unsheathed a knife. He covered her mouth quickly to keep her from crying out.
"Shh, this won�t hurt at all."
She could feel him tugging on her hair, then he quickly
rose, holding some of it in his hand. He had cut some of her hair off. She
remained stock-still, afraid to move.
Finally he left.
Travis came in and looked at her. Seeing she was still alive
he clicked the lights off and knelt in front of her. "Hoshi, I'm so
�"
She shivered and wept. "I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay.
She kept repeating those words like a mantra. She reached out to touch Travis
and fell from the bed into a heap and hugged him to her.
Travis held her.
--
Reed sat quietly in his ready room and waited for any
reports regarding the tactical status on the planet. He wanted to go and toss
his tactical officer out of the way and do it himself, but waited. He was on
edge. He had been ever since he had her. Not a night went by when he wasn't
woken by the memory of her touch. He knew he was being foolish for she would
surely hate him if ever they met again, especially if anything happened to her
crew.
The comm on his desk chirped and he pressed the button
quickly. "Reed here."
"Sir, I have the tactical analysis of the Nantellis
system you ordered," Lieutenant Gomez's disembodied voice informed.
"I'm on my way." He cut the comm link and walked
to the bridge and directly to the tactical station.
Gomez brought up a quick schematic of the planet the crew
was located on and started pointing out capabilities. �It's the Narlessleien
home world. They are a pre-warp civilization. Starfleet has had no official
contact with them yet, but amazingly, their language is in our UT
database."
"Open a channel," Reed barked.
The com officer replied instantly, "Aye, sir."
"This is Captain Malcolm Reed of the Earth Starship
Intrepid. You are holding Earth citizens against their will and my government
wants them returned."
Precious seconds ticked by and Reed waited for some semblance
of a response. He looked at Ensign Mathers intently.
"That channel is open, sir," replied Mathers.
"So much for a diplomatic solution," Reed stated
irritably. "Lieutenant Gomez, can we transport the Celestial crew without
incident?"
"Yes, sir," she replied. "Sir, there's
incoming artillery from the planet."
"Raise shields," Reed said calmly. "Return
fire."
--
Mukai dragged along behind Lindsey and Bishop. They were on
their way to the dormitory, a full day of manual labor behind them and memories
of what Lita had witnessed in the shower. She wanted to approach him about it,
but finally conceded that discretion was the better part of valor. She tossed a
look over her shoulder and saw him behind her. He was looking at her intently.
She slowed down, giving him the opportunity to approach her
if he wished. She wasn't disappointed.
Trip approached her cautiously, words of apology sticking in
his throat. Why should he apologize anyway? It was her damn fault � her and her
moaning the other night. Aw, hell's bells. It sucked being the captain. Who the
hell was he kidding? He wasn't about to initiate an intimate relationship with
any of the women in his crew. Most were spoken for and the others were still
skittish after their ordeals on Enterprise. He wasn't a saint, but he was still
their captain. "I just � wanted to apologize for�"
"Um �" Lita started.
"It was totally inexcusable and I promise to be more
discreet if �" Trip blushed wildly and looked down at the ground, as one
of his crewmen walked by and nodded a greeting.
"Ensign," Trip nodded in exchange.
Lita could see the loneliness and isolation etched in his
stance. She stepped toward him and placed her hand on his sweat-covered chest
and said nothing.
His hand covered hers.
Without warning, the ground above them quivered and dust and
rocks started to fall from the sky. "Cave in!" exclaimed Trip in
warning and pushed Lita ahead of him through the dust. The ankle bracelets
started to throb and flash with pain, making it difficult to walk, much less
run.
Lita screamed as a warm sensation ran through her entire
being and the walls around her slowly dissipated.
Trip watched through the haze as she disappeared before him,
the familiar patterns of the transporter sequence shining in her place.
--
Mukai opened her eyes and saw an unfamiliar ensign in front
of her. All of her crewmates stood off to the side, confused and touching
themselves and making sure all of their parts were still there. Lindsey stepped
forward. "It's okay, Lita, we're onboard Intrepid. The mission's
over!"
Lita pounced at the ensign. "Let me speak to Captain
Reed! There are other humans down there!" She felt dizzy and lightheaded,
her ordeal quickly catching up with her.
She didn't have to wait long as Reed walked in to take stock
of his lover's crew. He breathed a sigh of relief. Mukai was shouting at his
ensign, fistfuls of the ensign's uniform in her hands.
She released the ensign and stumbled toward Reed and grasped
his uniform. "There are others down there. Humans! Tucker! The
Constitution!"
Reed's thoughts whirled as what she was saying sank in. He
hit the com panel on the well. "Reed to bridge."
"Go ahead, sir," Lieutenant Gomez replied.
"Cease fire immediately and scan for human biosigns,"
he instructed, keeping the com channel open for an answer.
"Sir, I'm not picking any up."
Mukai interjected at that point. "Could there be come
kind of interference that stops your scanners from detecting them? I know I'm
not crazy!" She waved at her crewmembers and they all nodded in agreement.
"There are high level of pennulium, which prevents us
from getting any in depth scans below the surface," Gomez reasoned.
"Prep both shuttles and meet me in the shuttlebay."
Reed closed the com channel and turned toward the ensign at the transporter
controls. "Escort them to sickbay and inform the doctor to prepare for
more wounded."
--
"Sir, we're being hailed by Captain Zamora of the
Kennedy," the com officer on Enterprise stated calmly.
Archer scooted to the edge of his seat and nodded for the
ensign to open a channel. "Captain Zamora, what can I do for you?" he
asked like speaking to another starship captain was an everyday occurrence.
A man with dark hair and even darker eyes stared back at
Archer on the view screen. Captain Zamora shifted nervously. "Captain
Archer, Admirals Walters and Bryant request you to stand down and relinquish
all command codes at once."
Archer stared blankly at Zamora. "Why?"
"Sorry, Captain, but that's a need-to-know basis, and
frankly I don't have an answer for you. I'm just following orders," Zamora
shrugged.
A pregnant pause filled the air as both men continued to
measure one another.
"Very well then," Archer replied. "Lieutenant
Mayweather, slow to impulse."
"Aye, sir," Travis replied, relief flooding
through his veins.
"I look forward to chatting with you over lunch,"
Archer smiled.
--
Zamora nodded and cut off communications, his ship just a
few light years away from Enterprise. The Grissom was not far behind.
--
Archer's smiled quickly turned into a look that would chill
the coldest of winters. "Lieutenant Laxdal, go to yellow alert and be
prepared to execute maneuver Archer theta omega on my mark."
"Aye, sir," the armory officer grinned.
Travis didn't blink as he entered the admiralty code into
his console, effectively crippling all systems on Enterprise except life
support. It would take the Kennedy at least an hour before she caught up with Enterprise.
He just hoped he could survive that long. Archer was anything but stupid. It
wouldn't take him long before he figured out his ship had been shut down by an
admiral's code. He would go sniffing around for a mole and Travis knew he was
first on his list.
The loss of momentum and light stunned the crew as Enterprise
went dormant. Auxiliary lighting kicked in and Archer flew from his chair.
"Report!" he shouted.
Nobody answered as they stood around trying to access their
consoles. Archer went from console to console, cursing and punching it.
"It looks like we've been locked out, Sir," Laxdal
stated.
Archer ran to the back of the bridge and tried to summon the
lift. "God damn admiralty codes." He punched the door then rushed
over to the communications station. "Get me Admiral Forest!"
The ensign tried in vain to unlock the console and bowed his
head. "I'm locked out sir."
Archer shoved the hapless ensign out of the way and sat down
at the station, rapidly punching in codes in the hopes the communications array
would work.
Travis watched him under hooded eyes and sideward glances.
He froze when Archer froze, the other man mumbling under his breath.
Archer stood and approached Mayweather and leaned over his
console. "Give me the code to unlock my ship, lieutenant," Archer
whispered in his ear.
Travis didn't move.
Archer didn't move.
Finally Archer leaned closer like he was going to say
something but pulled back instead. "Lieutenant Laxdal, beat Lieutenant Mayweather
until he gives us the code to unlock the ship. Ensign, follow me and help me
get the lift door open. I'm heading up to B deck to kill the one he's been
protecting all this time.
-----
TBC