Chivalry- Ch. 3

Chivalry Is Dead

By THECURSOR

Rating- NC-17 and I intend to earn it too.
Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 3

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A week had passed and the repair job progressed to the point of a crawl on the Vulcan ship, the crew of the Enterprise found themselves performing a job only a space dock was qualified for and the dissidents, while friendly, were starting to get on the crew’s nerves.

Not that the humans were exactly beloved by all the Vulcans.

“Uncouth barbarians!” Seri growled with frustration as the lights in her room went out for the third time that hour. How was she supposed to meditate in total darkness? Sure, most people would prefer the darkness but she disliked it. It was distracting to her, the cool dark of space. She had found it hampered her ability to think clearly.

And if there was one thing she need more than any other right now, it was clarity.

Clarity to deal with her sister T’Pol, clarity to control the anger she felt towards her.

An unashamed smirk crossed her face in the pitch-black room and Seri slowly realized the sheer irony of that sentence. Seri was a dissident Vulcan practicing the path of forgotten feelings yet she was the one trying to control her emotions in front of her sister.

But that had always been their relationship.

Ever since they had been children together Seri always found herself trying to set a good example for her older sister, something T’Pol had resented fiercely about her.

It really was too bad, Seri had hoped that T’Pol had some how learned to move past their volatile childhood and heartbreaking recent history. But it was apparent things were still the same, maybe it was for the best. After all if she started getting along with T’Pol, she might have to try getting along with her father as well and even she wasn’t going to weather that storm.

It was interesting though, how sisters never turn out the way people expect them too. For example, Seri should have turned out more like T’Pol was now; reserved, respectful, repressed.

In fact she even looked a little like T’Pol, tall and athletic with a shapely body some males found very attractive. Her thin angled face was much like her sister’s and the elegant cheekbones stuck out in such a way that they framed her soft, pouted lips. Even her hair was soft and colored like T’Pol’s, except Seri had purposefully grown hers out into a short bob as a small sign of rebellion. But the similarities in outward appearance meant nothing any longer, for inside Seri was truly a free spirit. She was a child of the stars who roamed freely from planet to planet in search of her own feelings. Not like T’Pol and her heart of cold stone.

Meditating in the dark proved to be just as distracting as ever and the unmistakable feeling of annoyance rolled across Seri’s mind like a dark cloud. What was taking so long to get the light back on? Four more minutes passed by and the lights still hadn’t come back on, Seri growled again. Damnable human engineers were going to blow up the ship before they fixed it.

Obviously they would need assistance from someone who knew what they were doing.

**************************************************************************************

“Enter.”

Archer looked up just in time to see T’Pol graceful glide through the doors of his quarters with a PADD. “I have the scans of the Vulcan ship you asked for.” She said as she leaned over slightly to place them on his desk, her body suit allowing him to a clear look at the flex of every last muscle required to perform the action.

He sighed slightly and forced himself to remember that sexual activity between subordinates and their captains was strictly forbidden by Starfleet Officers Code, Chapter 12, Page 117, Sub Section 4456, and Paragraph 5. Or as Archer had come to know it on the long lonely nights in his quarters, the “Don’t Bang the Hot Vulcan Rule”. Still, who ever wrote that book never had to spend a two and a half year long romantic dry spell right next to the most attractive woman in this part of the Milky Way.

And no matter how many times he reminded his brain that she was off limits…the lower body would defiantly disobey its owner.

He must have been staring because T’Pol raised a single eyebrow and shot him an odd look. “Is something wrong, Captain?”

Archer contemplated getting her out of there before he said or did something else embarrassing but he really did need to talk to her about something else and it would be a shame for her to leave just yet.
“Um…yes actually we need to talk.” He paused, unsure of how to broach the subject without sounding like an asshole. “It’s…about you and your sister.”

T’Pol automatically sat down in the nearest chair, knowing this would be a long conversation.

**************************************************************************************

In a fit of rage, Trip Tucker threw his multi-tool into the wall and heard it bounce down the darkened hallway.

Fucking Vulcan power systems. Every time he thought he solved a problem, two more popped up in its place. It was like he couldn’t win.

Much like his relationship with T’Pol.

One moment they were happy, or at least pretending to be. They would have sex and feel this deep connection to each other. Then five seconds later, it would all fall apart. He’d say something she didn’t like or she’d just ignore him…it was a mess.

But he quickly reminded himself that it wasn’t HIS mess anymore. He broke up with her. Too bad he couldn’t seem to be able to remember that, for some reason he still thought of T’Pol has his.

Not that T’Pol had ever been his in any sense of the word; they never went public with their affair, never went on a single date in the time that they had been together, and not once had she ever bothered to ask how his day had been or if he was feeling okay. It was just sex with her, like he was some kind of joyride and she had no respect for his emotions whatsoever. And for some reason, he couldn’t shake the feelings she brought out in him.

Trip still remembered when he began noticing those feelings. It was the first time he and T’Pol had made love.

“Sir.”

Yeoman Binder’s shrill voice reverberated over the communicator and Tucker was unpleasantly snapped back from reality before he could dive any deeper into that very passionate memory. Trip wanted to reach through the comm and strangle her. “What is it?” He muttered angrily through closed teeth.

“That Vulcan lady I told you about yesterday came back and-“

Tucker snapped at the mention of a ‘Vulcan woman’, his mind still not fully concentrating on the present. “You can tell that pointy eared psycho hose beast that I don’t need her here, I don’t want her here, and frankly I’m getting sick and tired of being reminded that she’s still breathing oxygen.”

“Well,” Seri leaned against the bulkhead closet to where Trip was sitting and squinted at him in the low light of the hallway, “If that’s your professional opinion, then it’s no wonder your repair work is so sloppy.”

Commander Tucker suddenly wanted someone to shoot him.

**************************************************************************************

“So the away team sent in its preliminary report,” Archer said quietly, “We might be here a while.”

T’Pol’s eyebrow raised in curiosity then fell back to rest. “How long?”

“A week more, possibly longer. The Vulcans are lucky to be alive.”

“Is this all you wished to speak with me about?”

Archer fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. His subconscious sexual attractions to the Vulcan forcing him to avoid her direct gaze but also try not to stare at her breasts. Maybe he really did need a shrink. “Uh…no, no it isn’t.”

The eyebrow rose again.

“I wanted to talk to you about your behavior on the Bridge yesterday.”

T’Pol stared a hole through the captain, remembering the events he was referring to. “What behavior are you speaking about?”

Archer’s brow furrowed and his mind snapped into discipline mode. “T’Pol, you know damn well what I’m talking about.”

“If you are referring to my sibling‘s behavior during-“

“No T’Pol,” Archer said as he leaned forward, “I’m referring to YOUR behavior on the Bridge.” Archer crossed his arms in satisfaction when he saw T’Pol’s face switch subtly from anger, to confusion, then back to a blank slate. “For the past week, you and your sister have turned my Bridge upside with your arguments and you haven’t even met face to face yet. Everyday it’s a new argument via viewscreen over the littlest possible things and frankly it’s starting to affect the rest of the crew. ”

“Captain-“

“I’m not finished yet! I realize that you have some kind of family issue to work out, but I refuse turn my ship in to a playground for Vulcan angst.” Jon wearily rubbed his temples before continuing his tirade, “I can’t believe I’m going to tell you of all people this but I want you to cut out this passive aggressive bullshit right now and start acting like a professional!”

Archer was now standing, his chest heaving wildly from not taking breath during his entire speech. He glared T’Pol down and hoped against hope that the desk was hiding his slight arousal.

If T’Pol did notice, she didn’t mention it and stood up from her seat at attention. “Very well captain, your complaint has been noted. “

“Good.”

“Will that be all?”

“Yes, you can go.” Archer said.

When she turned to leave, Jon tried not to stare at T’Pol’s shapely posterior.

A shrink, definitely.

**************************************************************************************

It was a little weird for Trip to hold a conversation with someone who had pretty much remained a voice in the dark and a pair of shapely legs for about a half an hour but he had to admit, it wasn’t all bad.

Who ever his Vulcan mystery woman was, she knew her way around a power conduit.

“Could you hand me that spanner, please?” Seri called out into the hallway from the bulkhead she had her head stuck in. She readjusted the small light source and wrenched at the nearest relay while waiting for the human engineer to hand her the requested instrument. But despite the intricacy of her work Seri couldn’t help but recognize how nice and deep his voice sounded.

“Here yah go.” She glimpsed the strong hand reaching in to hand her the spanner and Seri saw the rough, masculine calluses of a man who took great care in his work.

It was rather attractive.

“So, uh…” Seri heard the pause and imagine his pink human flesh warming in a little blush. “I wanted to say I’m sorry fer what I said earlier.”

She smiled and used the spanner he had just given her to unhinge power circuit 4 from junction 27. “It’s alright, I’m sure you didn’t mean what you said.” Another deft pull and the circuit came loose, “Besides, I’m sure you have heard enough horrible things about me circulating through your ship.”

Tucker chuckled slightly and his next words surprised her. “Actually, I haven’t been on my ship for a whole week so I don’t know anything about you.”

“Nothing? Not even a rumor here or there?”

“Nope, kept my head down in work for a while,” Tucker said uncomfortably, “Sort of had a personal problem I didn’t want to deal with.”

“Well, I can understand what that’s like.”

“I bet you can.”

Another twist with the spanner and the power relay came alive. Soon the lights would be back on and they could both get back to their individual lives. Seri pondered that for a moment. “Perhaps you and I could eat a meal together and we could discuss it.”

“Excuse me?”

“A meal.” Seri said as she extricated herself from the access panel, “I had heard that some meals among humans are rather social. I had hoped that we could have such a meal.”

Tucker suddenly felt very apprehensive. “I don’t know about that…”

“Come now, just one meal.”

Seri’s brow furrowed, why was he so reluctant? A moment passed before Tucker finally agreed. “I guess it would be okay if we had coffee…”

Seri clapped her hands together and smiled happily at the chance to study humans in their own environment. Barbarians, but useful ones it seemed.

Suddenly, the lights came up in the hallway and she saw Commander Tucker clearly for the first time. Seri’s breath caught in her throat. He was…gorgeous.

“The name’s Charles Tucker III.” He extended his hand with a genuinely warm smile, “But my friends call me Trip.”

Seri smiled back in stunned silence and accepted the offered hand with a graceful yet strong grip. “I’ll try to keep that in mind.” She said quietly, still a little in awe at just how attractive this human was. His hair, his eyes, he was perfect.

Perhaps running in to her sister wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

************************************************************************

Alone in her own quarters, T’Pol reviewed the latest astrometric scans from her immaculate desk. She finally decided that the captain’s arguments were valid and that the illogical disagreements she had been having with her sister were not entirely Seri’s fault.

Commander Tucker was blame as well.

Since he ended their sexual activities a week ago, T’Pol had been experiencing emotional flare ups due to unspent hormones still floating through her system. Naturally, she would need to concentrate harder in order to suppress her body’s dependence and control her sudden urges.

Not that she would have to for much longer.

Any moment now, Commander Tucker would burst through the doors of her quarters and tell her how mutually beneficial their arrangement had been and that he simply could not continue functioning at full capacity with out it.

It was simply a matter of time.

The unmistakable singe of hunger signaled that it was time to seek midday sustenance and T’Pol rose from her work to go to the mess hall.

**************************************************************************************

Tucker was having the time of his life.

Seri was witty, well read and a stunning conversationalist. Her interest in quantum theories meant she comprehended every word he said about warp engines. She was just so…well, perfect.

His stomach heaved a little at that thought.

“Alright, now what’s the catch?” Tucker asked a little seriously, his foul mood bringing a sudden halt to Seri’s light tinny laughter.

“What do you mean?”

“No Vulcan is this much fun,” He lowered his head a little and locked his eyes on the table in front of him, “What’s the catch?”

Seri’s eye brow raised but her playful smile remained on her face. “No catch, commander. Just like your company. Surely even a human like you can understand that.” She teased and Trip had to pick his jaw off the floor. It was a first time a Vulcan had openly teased him. Ever.

His own grin returned and he leaned back in his chair, comfortable in her presence. “Well, you still gotta admit, you’re a little too much fun.”

“If it is any comfort,” Seri said, as she took another sip of the coffee Tucker had asked her to try, “When I was a little girl, I was VERY reserved.”

Trip chuckled and was about to respond when T’Pol arrived.

He heard her before he saw her, that steady tap-tap rhythm of VHC issue field dress boots striking Starfleet deck paneling was something he knew far to well to ignore. Trip sighed, she was here.

Seri shifted uncomfortably in her seat, obviously not expecting to see her sister in the flesh so soon. Beside her Tucker seemed to grow a little stiff in his chair and his voice dropped to a polite but slightly cold rumble. “Ah, Sub-Commander T’Pol, I’d like you ta meet-”

“…Dr. Seri, expert in the field of Quantum Physics.” T’Pol finished the sentence with just a hint of venom in her voice and Seri suddenly felt very unwelcome on Enterprise.

Unaware of his newfound friend’s discomfort, Tucker warily continued his conversation with T’Pol; making sure to keep his tone neutral and his voice even but still intrigued that they knew each other. “You’ve met before?”

“Yes, Commander,” It was Seri’s turn to interrupt and the younger woman kept her eyes locked on T’Pol, daring her to say something. “We are sisters.”

And then Seri witnessed something she had was not aware humans were capable of, Commander Tucker’s skin suddenly lost all coloration. “Sisters.”

Seri nodded, her attention suddenly switching from T’Pol to Tucker. “Something wrong, Commander?”

A cold sweat dripped from Tucker’s face as he looked from sister to sister. “I-I have to go.”

TBC

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Eight hardy souls have made comments

Uh oh, *sisters*. This is excellent, I can't wait to see what happens next and I do like T'Pol's sister. Such fun to have a Vulcan with an outgoing personality and obvious sense of humour. The contrast between the two should prove enlightening for Trip and I am sure you have all sorts of surprises up your gifted sleeves. Thanks for a great story, Ali D :~)

Oh yes, I'm liking this very much, now that the impish sister's got her hooks into OMT. T'Pol's little green ears are going to get even greener with jealousy, I predict.

Great stuff.

Love the story - Seri sounds too good to be true, as Tolaris seemed ok at first. Maybe Trip is gonna have his heart broken by both sisters. What happened to estrange the sisters sounds like a interesting/sad event.

I'm really enjoying this story. Very intriguing. I'm looking forward to where you take this story.

Oh very good! You capped it. That was the trick wasn't it Trip!

I'm waiting so desperately for chapter 4. Please feed the muse and hurry up!!!

I'm very desperately waiting for chapter 4 too. Hurry please! I loved how Trip was so shocked!

Like the others... WHERE is chapter 4???????????????????