Questionable Morality - Chapter 9
Questionable Morality
Chapter Nine
Hoshi opened her eyes, the sound of no sound waking her from
a fitful sleep. It truly was pitch black in the room, not even the glow of the
computer terminal showed. Her thoughts traveled to her time aboard Intrepid and
to its captain. She knew little of him except his habits. She peered into the
darkness, fooling herself that she could magically see through it. For some odd
reason, the dark always made her think of him.
The dark made her yearn for him. She prayed he had rescued
her crew and they were all safe. She prayed she would make it back to them �
and him. She puzzled at that thought and wondered where it had come from. Truth
of the matter, Hoshi wanted to hate him, but knew she didn't � she couldn�t.
Soon Archer would be arrested and brought up on charges and the E.C.S
conglomerates won't have to worry about the disappearances. Her family would be
safe.
Footsteps fell outside the cabin and she held her breath.
She reached under the pillow for the phase pistol and met with empty space. It
wasn't there. Her mind flashed back to the most recent encounter and she
remembered Travis placing it somewhere on his desk near the door. She heard a
scraping noise at the door panel and got out of the bed, feeling her way along
the wall toward the desk. The door cracked open and amber light flooded into
the room, Hoshi's heart pounding wildly in her chest.
A male voice grunted with the strain of manually pushing the
door open.
She continued to search frantically along the wall,
stumbling on a chair.
Archer pushed the door open and the amber lighting from the
hall spotlighted her movements. The metal of the phase pistol glistened in the
light and beckoned to Hoshi. Archer's body blocked the light and she lost sight
of the pistol, but she lunged for it anyway.
He knocked her down easily. "Give me the code!" he
shouted as he pulled her head back by her hair.
She whimpered and reached for the gun as he twisted her head
at an awkward angle and started lifting her by her hair. It was a blur. Her
hand fumbling with the metal of the gun, she said a silent prayer and hoped it
was pointing the right way. She squeezed the handle and dropped to the floor
right along Archer's stunned form.
Other footsteps came running down the hall, Travis' voice yelling
for her.
"Please, God!" he stood in the door and peered
into his quarters.
"I'm okay," she whispered shakily.
--
Hoshi answered the Denobulan's questions with the patience
of a saint. Travis had ferried her into sickbay and left, stating he had
unfinished business.
The doctor administered a hypospray. "You may
experience some nausea. I administered a counteragent to the Bronlox compound
in your system.
"Huh?" Hoshi had never heard the word before.
"The Andorian neuro-chemical that's in your system. I'm
assuming we have you to thank for our liberation," the doctor added.
"Oh! The tracking chemical," she nodded.
"Yes," Phlox agreed. "Although it is harmless
in humans, they do develop side effects over time. I'm assuming you wished to
have it neutralized."
Their conversation was sidetracked as unfamiliar crewmen ran
by sickbay. Other crewmen escorted members of Enterprise into sickbay under
guard. Hoshi scooted off the biobed and made to leave when one of the security detail
stopped her.
"Ma'am, the ship is not yet completely secured. Please
remain in sick bay until Commander Mayweather comes for you," the man
stated plainly.
Hoshi nodded her acquiescence and sat back down.
"If they resist further, shoot to kill," the man
instructed those under his command and turned to leave.
"Wait!" she shouted. "What ship are you
from?"
"The Kennedy!" he shouted back over his shoulder.
Hoshi approached the other crewmen, her hopes of finally
finding out about her crew quickly building. "Can we send a message to the
Intrepid?"
A young ensign with sandy colored hair shook his head no.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but the communications are still out. The Kennedy and
the Grissom are on complete communication's black outs due to the sensitive
nature of this operation."
Sato cursed in a way only the doctor understood.
"I didn't know dogs could do that," Phlox stated
amusedly.
--
Mukai stretched out on the familiar cot in the brig. Space
on Intrepid was at a premium as the shuttles ferried freed slaves from the Constitution
and other E.C.S. ships from both mines. Lindsey and Bishop were already fast
asleep on the cot below her. The guys were in the cell next to her, playing
cards with some fellow E.C.S. crewmembers that had been found on the planet.
Some of the Constitution crewmembers were across the hall from her. They were
doubled up on bunks as well. There were even cots in the hall of the brig.
The door to the brig opened and an unfamiliar Starfleet
officer walked in with a young teenage boy. "Arthur Freeman!" a
familiar Southern drawl called out.
Mukai bolted strait up in her cot, banging her head on the
ceiling.
"Here!" replied a voice at the poker table.
Mukai jumped down from the cot and walked to the door
watching Captain Tucker, now fully clothed and without beard. His hair was
still on the unruly side, but his smile was brilliant. "See Jimmy, I told ya
we'd find your dad."
"Thanks, Captain Tucker," the boy stated gladly,
as he ran to his father.
Trip nodded and turned to Lita, who was leaning against the
doorframe of her cell and rubbing her head. "You really need to get a bed
where the ceiling isn't so close. You'll knock yourself out one of these days
waking up," he teased.
She smiled and pointed at him. "You've shaved."
He smiled back. "Yeah, I haven't gotten 'round to the
haircut yet. I can hardly wait to feel like my old self again. The last shuttle
is docking now. Maybe after everybody's settled in, I'll get around to it and
�"
His speech was cut short as Lita leaned in and pressed her
lips to his. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her into his tall
frame and groaned. He felt her hands grab his ass and pull him closer. It was
as though she were trying to climb him.
Trip broke the kiss reluctantly, finally opening his eyes
and looking down at her. He hesitated before he took a quick glance over his
shoulder. "It seems like privacy is non-existent here too," he
whispered in frustration.
Mukai grinned and nipped at his chin. "I hear the
Captain is requesting limiting shower times to five minutes to conserve
water."
Trip waited for a punch line to her comment.
"I was going to take a shower, if you cared to join
me," she suggested shyly.
Trip chuckled and hugged her, the top of her head coming up
to the bottom of his chin. When he pulled away he could see a fire in her eyes
and his expression became dark. "Are you sure, Lita? I've been without for
too long. I � I don't think I can be gentle," he whispered huskily,
remembering their first meeting and surmising she had been raped.
She took his hand and tugged on him to follow her. "As
long as you don't mind fraternizing with a lowly engineer's mate, there
shouldn't be any problems," she teased, trying to lighten the mood, and
pressed the button on the panel to the bathroom.
"Engineers hold a place near and dear to my
heart," he laughed heartily, no longer caring as his crew watched him
enter the bathroom with Mukai. Before the door shut behind them in the cramped
room, she was on him, her lips seeking his, her hands stripping his clothing
away.
She pulled his uniform down and he lifted the Henley over
his head. Trip gasped as Lita's tongue swirled over his nipples. He kicked his
boots off as his uniform, along with his shorts, pooled around his ankles. Lita
was merciless as she took his cock in hand and stroked it to its full arousal.
He hissed and tugged on her hair. She was still dressed and he wanted that
remedied. She resisted his pull and kissed his hip, nuzzled the hair at the
juncture of his thighs and tongued the tip of his dick.
She flecked her tongue out to taste the drop of pre-cum and
licked her lips. The pull on her hair was too urgent to ignore and she stood
up, languidly kissing a trail up his body.
He reached out and started tearing at the jumpsuit she wore.
As he did, she kicked her boots off and pulled the Henley over her head.
"I swear to ya, when we get a chance to be alone, I'm going to make love
to ya for weeks on end. I won't even let ya out of my bed," Trip whispered
hotly against her lips before claiming them in a kiss.
Mukai kicked off the last of her restrictive clothing and
gasped when he lifted her and sat her on the edge of the sink, the cold metal
shocking her. Trip kissed a trail down her neck and to her chest, sucking and
licking her nipples alternatively as his hand reached between her legs to test
her readiness. His fingers came back wet and slick and he straightened, looking
into her passionate eyes. He picked her petite form up, turn around and braced
himself on the sink. She wrapped her legs around him, slowly sinking onto his
shaft and letting her body adjust to the intimate invasion of his.
Trip moaned as she started to rock back and forth. The pace
was slow and undemanding. "Lita, aw God, Lita."
She braced herself on his chest and increased the tempo,
moving toward a frantic release, a release that called to the anxiety of this
past week, her capture, the loss of her friend, her imprisonment and her
rescue. Everything came to a head in her union with him. She arched back and
cried out, lost in the sensation of no control.
Trip clutched her hips in his hands and moved her up and
down his shaft, joining her as he came deep inside her.
Spent, she fell against his chest and nuzzled his neck,
nipping at his Adam's apple.
He didn't want to let her go, but the press of cold steel
against his ass would be ignored no longer. Tucker shifted and felt a sense of
loss when she pushed away from him. She gathered her clothes and dressed, her
eyes never leaving his.
"I look forward to a moment of privacy with you,"
she grinned slyly. "I hope you keep your promise." She opened the
hatch enough to go, leaving Tucker to ponder his promise.
--
Sato watched helplessly as more prisoners were brought in
for first aid treatment. She asked questions and received no replies, her
frustration growing. "That's it! I'm out of here!" she announced as
she made her way out of sickbay.
A security guard blocked her way. "I'm sorry, Ma'am. I
can't let you go out there."
She tried to push her way past the man and he shoved her
back.
Hoshi tried again, but this time the guard cracked the butt
of his phase rifle across her face. She fell to the floor, stunned and holding
the tender flesh.
"Was that really necessary?" Phlox admonished and
rushed over to her.
Just then the sickbay door opened and Travis walked in. He
saw Hoshi on the floor and rushed over to her. "What the hell
happened?"
"Sir, she tried to leave sickbay," the guard
informed, standing by and firmly clutching his phase rifle to his chest.
"So, you pistol whipped her?" Travis growled, the
frustration and anger of this assignment finally boiling over. He took the
rifle out of guard's hand and rammed it viciously at the man's head, felling
him in one easy swoop.
"Are you okay?" Travis knelt in front of her.
Tears burned in her eyes as she felt her eye start to swell.
"I've had worse," she wavered and tried to smile.
The door to sickbay opened again and Travis helped Hoshi up
to greet the newcomer. "Captain Zamora," he greeted.
"Commander, I thought you would like to know that the Enterprise
is secure. The high level prisoners are being transferred to the Grissom
and�" Zamora stated, but was unable to finish.
"My crew," Hoshi interrupted. "They were sold
in the Nantellis system. I need to contact the Intrepid and�"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but that isn't possible," Zamora
said with no remorse.
Hoshi turned to Travis, her eyes pleading with him.
"I'm sorry, Hoshi. We are on a communication's black
out until further notice," Travis explained. "We were given strict
orders not to break silence until we get the all clear from Admiral Bryant.
They should have apprehended Forrest by now, but�"
"Can we go to the Nantellis system ourselves
then?" Hoshi pleaded.
Travis could see her desperation and knew reason was one
thing she did not want to hear. He nodded his head no and whispered a quick,
"I'm sorry," before he left the room.
Sato sat down on the nearest bed and bowed her head, praying
Captain Reed had kept his part of the bargain.
--
He walked into his dimly lit quarters; exhaustion clawing at
him but the mission was not yet over. Reed unzipped his uniform and started
unbuttoning the Henley. It had taken two days to recover the survivors, three
hundred and ninety-six people, most of them crewmen from the Constitution.
Archer's fate was sealed. Intrepid's resources were wearing thin and he
couldn't walk down the hall without his staff reminding him that he needed to
send a distress signal, but he couldn't do that just yet. Sato was still out
there. If he tipped his hand now and Enterprise intercepted the message, Archer
wouldn't hesitate to kill her.
His reasoning was flawed. It endangered not only the lives
of his crew, but those of the survivors as well. Medical supplies were
non-existent, water and food were rationed, but most pressing was life support.
The air recyclers were not set up to accommodate this many people. The
situation would be critical in less than a week.
Reed continued undressing and weighing the potential
consequences for his actions. He picked the PADD up and activated it, needing
to see the white light that signaled her whereabouts and life. He flipped
through the screens, searching for the light that wasn't there. He threw the
PADD across the room and activated a stationary monitor, hoping the PADD was
malfunctioning. He quickly entered in his code and stared. He stared at a blank
screen. There was no longer any light there. She was gone.
The com panel on his desk chimed and he pressed the button.
"Reed here," he whispered huskily, his voice wavering with grief.
"Sir." Lieutenant Gomez's voice filled the room.
"We need to send out the distress signal ASAP. Our estimates were off and
we only have about thirty hours of breathable atmosphere left."
He sat there in the darkness, his only companion now,
grieving the loss of her touch.
"Sir?"
"Send out the distress signal, all band widths, all
languages. We'll take help from any species who can give it." He shut the
com link down. He stood up and poured himself a drink.
-----
TBC