Chivalry- Ch 6

Chivalry Is Dead, Chapter 6

By Peter Simons

Author's Note: I would like to thank Triplover for proof-reading this text and for offering her valued opinion on how to improve it. Thank you!

T'Pol found it difficult to focus. And the presence of another person in the room did not help matters. She had expected the worst, but fortunately her guest, V'Tan, turned out to be quiet and calm. Unlike her. She was in great unrest. Something had gone wrong. Why was Commander Tucker not here right now? Why had he rejected her proposal?

She sat on her bunk with crossed legs and stared at the meditation candle in front of her. The light flickered unpleasantly. It was difficult to focus.

She gave up.

She unfolded her legs, and stretched her arms and shoulders. She was tense, she noticed. She just could not shake off the thought that the reason why things had gone wrong … was her!

That was unexpected.

She, since she was a perfectly logical being, could not err. Logic simply could not! So why had things gone wrong? Had she made incorrect assumptions?

She wondered what Commander Tucker and her sister would do at this very moment.

Commander Tucker, being the undisciplined, irrational, impulsive, passionate, horribly attractive person that he was, probably wouldn't hesitate for a second to take advantage of the situation!

To say the situation was awkward would be the understatement of the year. Her sister. Why of all things had it to be her sister? She would remind him of T'Pol constantly! And not only that, he would somehow have to manage not to do anything embarrassing while they shared a—

»Commander Tucker?«

»What?«

»Are you certain it is no inconvenience?«

»No! No, absolutely not. I was just … um. So, it's pretty late already. I think we should—«

»I am not at all tired, Commander Tucker. I was wondering, since this arrangement has been proposed in order to further cultural exchange, perhaps you could show me something from Human culture?«

»What would you like to know?«

»What does your species do for leisure?«

She could not understand it. Her presence was so beneficial for Commander Tucker! Why could he not see that? She would be calm and perfectly rational. He could rely on her. She was faithful, in good health, her physical appearance did not differ significantly from the females of his own species, by their aesthetical standards she could be considered attractive, and their children would greatly benefit from the diversity of their respective genome. But no. He had to spend his time with her sister, who had NONE of those benefits!

»This is an intriguing idea, Commander. I would like to try it. But we would need rather sophisticated equipment for the procedure?«

»We'd have to experiment a bit, but who can make it work if not two engineers, right?«

»We could cannibalize the remaining parts from the science laboratory of the SURAK'S PATH.«

»Let's see what we can find.«

T'Pol stretched her shoulders and upper body painfully again. Her muscles ached from the tension.

She could not think about this matter anymore. It was too difficult. Whatever the answer was, it was far too complicated. Commander Tucker was emotional. How could she possibly understand that? She had her emotions under control. So she simply could not grasp what motivated him to waste his time with her sister. Of all persons, why did it have to be her SISTER?

Seri had always interfered in T'Pol's matters. She had always been the disciplined one and had lectured her, and corrected her homework even though she was younger! And had her parents told her to stop it? OF COURSE NOT. It made no sense. What did Commander Tucker see in this righteous Vulcan?

»We'll need a lot of power to drive this thing appropriately, Seri.«

»No, no, it is not that much. I know this system. Your ship's main power grid can easily accommodate it.«

»We'd have to patch through to the main power grid? Are you certain it is worth all this effort?«

»You said it would heighten the sensation?«

»It would, but …«

»Then it is worth the effort, Commander. When I was raised, my parents always told me: If you do something, do it right.«

No matter how inane the reasons for Trip's incredibly dumb decision were, there was only one way to handle the situation: She had to accept it.

Fine!

What did the well-being of Commander Tucker matter to her?

It didn't.

Bah. Emotions.

She fell down on her bed, closed her eyes, and lay awake.

»What else do we need, Trip?«

»We should make sure to room is sound-proof.«

»Hmmm. A simple sonic wave breaker could achieve that.«

»There is one installed in the Mess Hall! We could borrow it.«

T'Pol could see images of them.

It was disturbing. She could see them sitting in his quarters. They knelt on the floor in front of each other. The room had a quiet, private atmosphere — it was lit with candles. She would have chosen their locations carefully, so that they accentuated the other one with their light without blinding the eyes. His pupils would be wide open then, and she would look into his face and see these wonderful blue eyes looking back at her.

She would wear something he perceived as exciting. She had learned quite a bit in this regard. Her blue undergarments seemed to have an encouraging effect on him. Although she liked the red ones best herself. Dark-red gave her an air of passion, she thought.

The first kiss would be hesitant. Careful. And his taste would be unexpected, it would touch something deep inside of her and wake it up. She would desire more of his taste, more of his touch. They would wrap their arms around each other, press their bodies together in their embrace. Trip would feel hot and rough on her skin. He would make her skin itch with his touch.

She longed for his touch!

The room had a quiet atmosphere. It suddenly felt comfortable. Intimate. There was an air of mischief to it. They looked at each other. He studied her face in the candle light. Her pupils were wide open. Two beautiful dark eyes radiated back at him. It was mesmerizing.

She looked so different from T'Pol. He could see the resemblance, but she was, well, softer than T'Pol was. More feminine. He smiled at her.

»You look so different from T'Pol. She is so uptight!«

»Yes, my sister seems to believe a body is only there to be exercised. She does not understand the concept of pleasure. Like I do, Trip.«

And then she smiled at him! It was mind-blowing.

They kissed each other passionately. Her kiss was full of enthusiasm, she was curious, and he could taste her excitement. She tasted like sin. His hands stroked along the sides of her body. She was warm and soft. When his fingers passed by her breasts, she moaned softly.

»It is so wonderful to be with you, Seri. You do not control your reactions, like T'Pol does.«

»No, Trip. I will not waste my energy fighting down a moan or suppressing my urge to touch you, I will enjoy the wonderful warmth and intimacy I feel when I do.«

T'Pol sat up violently. She could not control it any longer. She had lost Trip! In shock she held her breath and quickly surveyed the room. V'Tan seemed to sleep. At least she hadn't yelled out in her nightmare!

She was crushed. T'Pol fell back on the bed and drew her legs up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them and stayed like this for an eternity.

She had lost him.

»All set?«

»Not quite, Trip. This angle is not right. We must move the device 12.4 centimeters to the left.«

»Why is that?«

»I assume we will be on the bed?«

»Of course.«

»Then the sound waves should hit us frontal, Trip. It will heighten the sensation. And as it is, the angle is not right.«

She could not accept that, T'Pol realized. She just could not. She had known Trip so long. She had a far more intimate relationship to him than Seri had. It was illogical to assume that she could not compete. She couldn't just give up!

She realized she had made a mistake. She would have to adjust to become a suitable mate for Trip. And she would. It bothered her, of course, but if there was no other way than to give in to her emotions every now and then, then it was the logical choice, because otherwise she would lose him.

If it had to be necessary to have wild and passionate sex, then so be it! She would do that for him. She would allow herself to feel happy in his company, every now and then. She had always been a rebel. Trip was everything she had fantasized about: he was passionate, he would protect her, he would allow her to be any way she wanted to be and love her the way she was. She didn't have to suppress anything in his company, she felt wonderful in his company!

She would not give up. She wanted that man for herself. And once he knew how much she appreciated him, he would realize that she was a suitable mate. He simply had to.

There was only one problem …

Hmmmm.

She would have to make it look like an accident.

Travis smiled happily at the tall Vulcan women who had been assigned to his quarters.

»I have to say, Travis, I am impressed. I thought I had seen a lot of the galaxy, but you sure have been around.«

She returned his smile. Clearly she didn't have much practice smiling, and it looked the more attractive because of it. As if she were shy. She was impossibly cute.

»S'Vera, you wouldn't believe what some of those planets I've been to were like. Incredibly dangerous places.«

»Were you ever attacked?«

Travis laughed in a warm and friendly tone.

»Of course!«

»Doctor Phlox, I am impressed by your studies. There really is a great benefit to interspecies medical exchange.«

»Oh, you could say that. What is your specialty, Doctor?«

»Neurology.«

»Really? What exactly do you do?«

»I research the effects of intense emotional stimulation on the Vulcan brain.«

»That is uncommon.«

»Yes, my work was outlawed on Vulcan. So I left and decided to perform the necessary experiments on myself.«

T'Pol thought long and hard. At last she concluded: Killing her sister was not an option.

She shook her head no silently while lying on her bed. The risk was too great.

It might upset Trip.

Hoshi was pleasantly surprised. As she had hoped, there was far more beyond Malcolm's controlled surface. He had been a very generous and attentive lover. There was something in the way he treated her that she loved about him. He did have the potential to become someone great. He did have confidence and leadership ability. He was an alpha male.

She studied his face for a moment while they lay naked on the bed. She felt very comfortable around him. She realized, this might turn out to be something more for her than just fun. She liked him.

But it would be difficult to reach him. He was unaccustomed to strong women. Hmmmm. He probably had a very dominant father. A military man who ran the family by the same rules he lived under. So the only female role-model he knew was a woman who accepted orders from her husband.

But that was not what he wanted. Hmmm. He would have to realize that she was his equal. She could not allow herself to fall into the inferior role because then she would remind him of his mother! And that was the last thing she wanted to do. She wanted the relationship to last.

Perhaps the best way to get to him was to show him that a confident woman — like her — came with certain benefits? She would have to break through his fixation at his mother, establish her leadership abilities, and make a connotation to a pleasurable experience at the same time. That should do the trick. Then he would see her with different eyes.

She knew exactly what to do. And it suited her just fine.

CLICK

»Hoshi? What are you doing?«

She giggled with mischief and smiled at him while fiddling with the other pair of handcuffs.

»Let's play a game!«

»What game?« he asked with a tingle of fear in his voice.

She grabbed his other arm and snapped the cuff shut.

CLICK

»You'll see, Malcolm.«

Then she attached his wrists firmly to the bedframe.

CLICK

Malcolm swallowed.

In very slow and sensuous movements Hoshi changed her position on the bed. He lay flat on his back, defenseless, and she sat down on his crotch and playfully shifted her weight.

He groaned.

»I will ask you a couple of questions now, Malcolm.«

She pushed her groin into his with a sudden movement and he jerked in surprise. It hurt his wrists!

»Let's begin with something simple. Do you think T'Pol is more attractive than I am?«

T'Pol was desperate. If killing her rival was not an option, what else could she do?

Then it began to dawn on her.

It was even more radical. But perhaps she really had no other choice?

Deep, deep sadness washed over her. She fought hard not to make any sound, but she could feel a single tear wetting her eye.

Once more she wondered what Trip and Seri were doing right now.

Trip hadn't been so relaxed and happy since … he couldn't even remember! Seri was a pleasure to be with. She was witty, enthusiastic about what she did, she had humor, and she had no problem displaying her emotions every now and then. Her subdued manners had a calming effect on him.

He smiled happily. He noticed how carelessly they lay on the bed on their stomachs, next to each other. It felt comfortable being close to her. He could feel the side of her body stroke along his when she breathed. It felt good.

She had been correct. Every bit of effort they had put into the installation had paid off. He was proud of what they had built. They were two fabulous engineers, he thought smugly. This installation made Movie Night at the Mess Hall look like child's play.

They had a 16:9 anamorphic picture, naturally; the sound system carried several mega-watts, that drove a high-performance speaker system, all precisely configured to get the right octaphonic effect. And on top of it all, they had one giant sub-woofer right in front of the—

»Yes!«

Her yell had interrupted his thoughts. He looked at the Vulcan next to him. Her hands were clasped together with tension.

»Dodge this.«

The sub-woofer rippled through them with a bang when the female lead pulled the trigger.

»Yes!«

»You really like the movie, Seri, don't you?«

»It is spectacular. The agents represent the Vulcan High-Command, of course! They are uncreative, purely logical machines who fear diversity. And they suppress us with their limitations. But NOW, we — the SURAK'S PATH — have come to whip their butts with our more evolved reasoning!«

Trip laughed out loud at her enthusiastic display. »Which character would you like to be?«

»Duh, Trinity, of course. I appreciate the way she dresses.«

»It wouldn't have anything to do with the protagonist, would it?« Trip asked her with a grin.

»No.« she replied and looked at him. Then she smiled. She looked genuinely happy in this moment, and Trip was moved by seeing a Vulcan like this.

»No,« she repeated, »he is too thin for my taste. And I also prefer blond males.«

T'Pol sat on her bed and breathed deeply. She prepared herself for the drastic measures that lay before her. By now, she had calmed down as well as she could under the circumstances. She had dealt with the unfortunate reality. There really was no other choice.

She would have to be nice to him.

The next morning.

T'Pol sat in the Mess Hall and waited for Commander Tucker to arrive. She had waited 3.75 hours already. She had been here rather early. But she didn't want to take any foolish risks and miss him.

Several of the other crewmen had shown up for breakfast by now. Most of them appeared to be rather relaxed. The Humans smiled a lot. Some of them were accompanied by their respective guests and spent their meal with the Vulcan crew engaged in lively chatter. It drove her mad.

She couldn't help but notice that there was a lot of unnecessary physical contact between them. Without a doubt S'Vera didn't need to lean on Ensign Mayweather's shoulder when sitting down next to him. She couldn't be that weak, could she? And spoon-feeding her with chocolate pudding certainly wasn't necessary either. For breakfast! This ship was a mess.

She sat at her table with a growing sense of unease. Perhaps she hadn't been here early enough? What if she had missed Trip already?

But then, to her profound relief, he entered the mess hall at last. And what was even better: He was alone!

T'Pol braced herself for what was about to commence.

She watched him intensely while he studied the breakfast selection. When he had selected something to eat, he turned around and surveyed the room for an empty table, found one, and headed into its direction.

»Commander?« T'Pol asked into the room.

Trip looked at her with surprise showing clearly on his face. He hadn't even noticed her!

T'Pol tried her best to ignore the painful knot in her stomach. It had hurt continuously for almost 16 hours by now, and she found it increasingly difficult to deal with it.

»Why don't you join me for breakfast?«

Trip studied her for a moment, then seemed to shrug, and changed his direction towards her table.

After he had sat down, T'Pol closed her eyes for a moment and focused. Being emotionally accommodating to him would require every bit of logic she had in her.

»How was your night? Did you sleep well?«

»Like a baby, actually.«

»I am pleased to hear the presence of your Vulcan guest doesn't disturb you.«

»On the contrary, your sister is easy to be around. She doesn't disturb me in the least.«

T'Pol jerked slightly because of the blow. But she recovered quickly.

»You and Seri get along well?«

»Oh, we do.«

In the name of Surak, why did he have to smile like that when answering the question? T'Pol's resolve wavered. Maybe she really could not compete?

»Unfortunately, my sister and I didn't always get along so well.«

»I have noticed, T'Pol.«

»I suspect it is because we are too similar to each other.«

Now he looked at her with his eyes wide-open.

»Too similar?«

»Yes.«

»I haven't noticed that.«

»You will. You know her only for a few days, Commander. It is only logical to assume that you can't yet fully appreciate her.«

»Uh huh.«

»But you know me so much better, Commander! How long have we served together?«

»I would assume you knew that even better than I do, T'Pol.«

»540 days, Commander. That is almost one and a half years!«

»I see.«

»Do you have any siblings, Commander?«

»Yes, as a matter of fact I do.«

»Then you surely know how difficult it is to get along with them.«

»Actually, I don't remember ever arguing with Lizzie. We adored each other when we were kids.« He looked past her with an unfocused expression on his face for a moment. Then chuckled. »I still adore her.«

He turned his attention back to his breakfast.

T'Pol grew more desperate by the minute.

»The last few days must have been exhausting for you.«

»No, I thought it—«

»All this work and effort you've put into trying to repair the Vulcan ship! And then it was all for nothing in the end.«

»Well, we saved the crew, so I don't think it was—«

»I understand Humans relieve the tension they have been under by performing rituals meant to relax and pleasure them?«

Now he eyed her suspiciously.

»Yes?«

»Vulcans do the same! I bet you wouldn't have guessed that.«

»No, but Seri told me yester—«

»There is a technique my species uses to calm and relax ourselves. It is called neuro-pressure. If you would like to, I could perform the procedure on you. It should help to make you feel more comfortable.«

»Neuro-pressure?«

»Yes. It is a rather intimate procedure, though. I wouldn't offer it to just anybody, Commander. But in the best interest of the ship and the crew … I think it would be beneficial.«

»Vulcans do neuro-pressure for leisure?«

»Well, maybe not exactly for leisure, Commander. But I suspect it could have that effect on a Human.«

»That sounds interesting, T'Pol.«

»If you'd like, I could rearrange my schedule for tonight to show you.«

»Oh, that won't be necessary. I don't want to inconvenience you, Subcommander. I'll ask Seri about it.«

T'Pol could have combust with pain. She averted her eyes to hide the helpless rage she felt. Fortunately, they were distracted by a deep, male voice laughing out loud at a nearby table.

They both turned their heads to see Malcolm Reed lunged comfortably in his chair, sitting a table with four female crewmen.

»… so Trip and I wanted to pick up some exotic aliens, and the next thing we knew, we were tied up in our underwear in some dark cellar — and the aliens turned out to be male! You wouldn't believe our faces.«

His companions giggled and laughed heartily while looking at him with wide eyes.

»Oh my, it's 9am already! I better head to the bridge.«

»Lieutenant, you haven't even finished your breakfast! Surely nobody will mind if you arrive a minute later.«

»Ladies,« he chided them with a firm voice, »the most important thing for the discipline on a starship is to keep business and pleasure strictly separated. You cannot let your private affairs interfere with your work!«

They muttered some inaudible words which seemed to convey both agreement and disappointment.

T'Pol forced herself to ignore the unusual display and to focus on Trip again. It was easier that she would have thought.

»Commander, I doubt Seri is qualified to perform the procedure. She has lived among Vulcans who gave up their heritage for so long, she surely doesn't even remember how to do it!«

»Good morning, Trip. Oh, good morning to you, too, Sister.«

T'Pol leaned back in her chair with frustration. Why did she have to appear out of the sudden? And now this. She leaned on Trip's shoulder while sitting down! Without even asking whether she was disturbing. And the most frightening aspect was: he didn't seem to mind!

»You sure took a long shower.« Trip said to her with a smile.

»Yes, and I am hungry!«

»Here, try the pecan pie. It's my favorite dessert, actually.«

Without hesitation Seri took his fork, pinched off a small piece of pie, and tried it.

»The taste is interesting, Trip. Very sweet. I can see why it would be your favorite dish.«

All T'Pol thought was: »Give me a lirpa!«

»T'Pol just made an interesting suggestion what we could do tonight. Do you remember a procedure called neuro-pressure?«

Seri looked at her sister with obvious surprise. But she quickly turned her face back to the Commander. Trip apparently had completely forgotten T'Pol.

»Of course I know how to perform neuro-pressure, Trip. I have to warn you, though. It is a very intimate procedure.«

T'Pol's gaze was glued to his face. With growing despair she noticed his raised eyebrows.

»Well, so is watching The Matrix together.«

Then they both grinned wide. T'Pol had no idea what was going on.

»Trip, I met Lieutenant Hess on my way here. There seems to be a problem with the injectors. I think we should look at it rather soon.«

»Right.« he answered, put his dishes aside and got up from the table. Then they left the Mess Hall together. Without looking back.

T'Pol lay in her bed and fought hard to keep the images out of her mind. She couldn't bear it any longer. She knew it would drive her insane. The pain came in waves. And every time it hit her, she whimpered slightly and hugged her legs under her chin even more forcefully than before.

Suddenly she became aware of another person standing right next to her bed. She jerked her head to the left and looked at V'Tan. The older Vulcan wore an empathic expression on her face and slowly reached out to place her hand over T'Pol's cheek. She stroked her face carefully and looked at her with sadness.

»My dear, what is the matter? Are you all right?«

»No.« T'Pol could only whisper her reply. She knew her voice would break if she spoke any louder. »I am not right at all.«

And then she couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

Continue to Chapter 7

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

Another great chapter. I loved the angst T'Pol is feeling. Boy is she in denial or what! Hopefully V-Tan can help her!

Great! Gee Trip isnt to smart! Hanging a women who will use him and leave him when he's got T'pol practiacaly throughing her self at him by Vulcan standared's. Hope he comes to his sences in the next chapter! Poor T'pol I always hate the part of any storey were she is in pain!

Whew!! I practically held my breath throughout this installment. Great chapter!!!

This was a very amusing chapter. I was grinning through most of it. I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

Loved this chapter. T'Pol's dream was hilarious!

T'pol derserves it.

Ah, I was eagerly awaiting this chapter! Very nice and I love the anguish T'Pol feels. And her little "plan" came back to bite her nice bum, heh? Please continue...

YAYYY!!! Another chapter. As always Peter, I loved it! Especially T'Pol's rants. And that dream was hilarious.

Yay! Another chapter!!!
Really great! This teaches T'Pol a lesson what happens if she neclects Trip!
Love her rants (give me a lirpa!) LOL!!!
Don't make us wait too long for the next chapter!

Man, I'm so glad you decided to continue this story, because IMO the idea is simply great.
Something tells me it is finally time for T'Pol to humiliate herself a little in order to regain what she has so foolishly lost. :-)

"If it had to be necessary to have wild and passionate sex, then so be it! She would do that for him. She would allow herself to feel happy in his company, every now and then."

Oh the sacrifices T'Pol is prepared to make. What a heroine!

PLease update soon, can't wait for another chapter.