Chivalry is Dead- Chapter 10

Chivalry Is Dead, Chapter 10

By Peter Simons

Author's Note: I would like to thank Coconut for (a) coming up with the idea for this story in the first place, for (b) proofreading the mess I made out of that idea, and for (c) writing several chunks of this text. I would also like to thank Triplover. No particular reason, just thought it would be odd not to thank her. What else? Right, I would like to dedicate this chapter to you, Rocky Lane, to express my sincerest gratitude for all the nice comments and feedback I have gotten from you for almost everything I have written. Please know that it means a lot me. And now, 60KB worth of honest drama. I hope you guys like this chapter.

Thornbow had overslept. Although he seemed to recall hearing the alarm earlier, he apparently hadn't woken up. »How many blood beers did I have?« he wondered, and massaged his temples forcefully while slowly getting up from the bed.

He had a decision to make. He could hurry and arrive flustered but on time, or he could be late but appear in-control.

Thornbow opted for the second alternative, and headed for the shower. Appearances were everything in the pirate business. Particularly, if you were about to face 10 angry Vulcan females.

A part of him had welcomed the convenient excuse for putting off their meeting the night before. The impromptu celebration had been important for ship morale — these things had to take precedence. Anyway, now there was no more excuse. In ten minutes, he would have to enter that cargo bay and face the women they had captured to be sold into slavery.

Now he regretted his actions deeply.

He definitely shouldn't have drunken so many blood beers last night. His reflexes were essentially still asleep. His knees were weak and his head was spinning, or maybe it was the room. He just couldn't seem to get his eyes to focus — he was a disaster. If any of those beasts attacked him, his career would be over for good.

Thornbow winced slightly when he stepped into the sonic shower booth and turned on the waves. The subtle vibrations always had a soothing effect, it felt as if your body throbbed with life because of the high-pitched sounds racing over the skin. In his current state however, the sensation was rather painful. At first, it only served to accentuate the anger in his temples, but then the dull ache slowly subsided into a primal contentedness with his physical self. He just stood there and hummed softly to himself with his eyes closed.

After about three minutes, Thornbow stepped out of the booth a new Nausicaan. He couldn't believe that a few moments ago he had been worried because of 10 Vulcan females.

His men greeted him by the Cargo Bay entrance. Most of them at least. It looked like he wasn't the only pirate on board who had had trouble getting up this morning.

»Good morning, pirates.«

»Good morning, Captain.« they replied without the least bit of enthusiasm. Most pirates leaned against the walls of the corridor for support.

»Did everybody enjoy getting up as much as I did?«

Nagrath groaned slightly.

»The blood beer is as mean as the Klingons are, I've found out so much.«

Thornbow nodded in agreement. »Let's get this over with.« he said more to himself than to his men, and began to walk over to the door that lead into Cargo Bay.

»What's the plan?« Kalom enquired.

»Plan for what?«

»For dealing with the Vulcans?«

»I don't know. We'll go in, tell them how it is, and then we'll have breakfast.«

»You think that's gonna work?«

»Why shouldn't it?«

»I reckon they might not like it how it is.«

»They neither like nor dislike how it is, Kalom. Vulcans control their feelings.«

»So there is no danger at all?«

»Right.«

»Oh, good. Then it probably won't be necessary that we all go in there, right?«

»Kalom, I can't believe it! We are talking about ten Vulcans. We are pirates, god-dammit. They are our hostages, not the other way round.«

Benjamin spoke up from the side.

»The least we should do is go in there with full armor. They might have claws or fangs or other devilry. There's no point in risking—«

Thornbow threw up his hands in frustration. He gave the other Nausicaans a perplexed, disappointed look as if to say that he couldn't comprehend their cowardice, and then he reached for the door handle, pulled the door open, and turned to step in.

»Forget it,« he uttered with an air of resignation, »I'll handle them.«

His men relaxed instantaneously.

»What's the plan?« Thornbow wondered while pulling the Cargo Bay door shut behind him as silently as possible. The most important thing was to gain the initiative. He had to assert his authority. There was nothing worse than hostages who felt that they could make all kind of demands!

Thornbow paused to breathe deeply. At last he turned around, away from the door, and looked into the Cargo Bay.

»Holy shit!« he thought. They had re-arranged everything. Entire shelves that had stood only five meters away from the entrance were now gone. What had been a working area with all kinds of tools had been cleared out. The spare parts lying around everywhere — they were all gone!

With wide open eyes he stumbled through the room, looking left and right as if he were disoriented.

Where was everything? The room suddenly felt huge and spacious. There had never been so much empty space in here before. How was that possible? At last he spotted some of the tools which used to be in the working area. They were hung on the wall at shoulder height, grouped by what seemed to be functionality and purpose.

The entire Cargo Bay was brightly lit and everything emitted a distinct sense of orderliness and neatness.

At last he saw the Vulcan females sitting in a corner of the room, where they had apparently built a living area for themselves. He recognized immediately that what had once been his favorite antique machine gun was now part of a lamp.

»What have you done to my Cargo Bay?« Thornbow yelled out in bewilderment.

The Vulcans barely acknowledged his presence. Two or three women momentarily cast him a disinterested look, as if a loud child had distracted them for an instant, but then they looked back down at whatever they were doing. Two other females were busy constructing something that looked suspiciously like a long-range communications device.

After a prolonged moment, a dark-haired Vulcan female got up and began to walk toward him. Thornbow couldn't help but swallow. She looked him straight in the eyes while she slowly approached. She wore nothing but hardly there baby blue underwear. The panties! Oh boy, she was in good shape.

With some reluctance he brought his gaze back up to meet her eyes. You didn't have to be an expert in Vulcan non-verbal communication to see that the Vulcans control their emotions nonsense was all crap. This woman was pissed.

Her slow stride came to a halt only an arm's reach away from him. The Vulcan female straightened herself and somehow managed to tower over him even though she was half a meter smaller than he was.

»What have you done to my Cargo Bay?« Thornbow repeated weakly.

The woman just raised her right eyebrow and studied him for a moment. She appeared to be gauging the chances of him still breathing ten seconds from now.

»What is your name?« she demanded.

»Um, Thornbow. Captain Thornbow.«

»The arrangement of the furniture was exceedingly inefficient, Captain Thornbow. 17.34 percent of the space could not be reached or was just barely lit. Two light sources were entirely wasted to light a part of the room that was used for storage! It is no wonder you have to resort to piracy. With logistic abilities like these, you wouldn't be a cadet on the ENTERPRISE.«

Thornbow just stood there, watched her cautiously, and wondered how to react.

»I love it!« he exclaimed. »Amazing what you've done with the place. So where do I start … Look, you'll be spending the journey in here, so it's just fine that you make yourselves comfortable—«

»Why have you abducted us?«

»Duh, we are pirates. I mean, please don't take it personally—«

»You will turn the ship around and head back to ENTERPRISE immediately. We will not cooperate with any other course of action.«

»Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. What is your name if I may ask?«

»T'Pol.«

Thornbow hardly heard her. A strange sight had distracted him.

»Excuse me for a moment.« he muttered, and walked straight past the Vulcan towards another corner of the room. A Vulcan female sat there alone behind a box filled with spare parts, so that she was barely visible to the rest of the room. Now that Thornbow was coming closer, he could see how she looked listlessly at the floor. Her whole demeanor was strangely devoid of life or energy. She looked like the saddest person he had ever seen.

When he reached her, Thornbow crouched down in front of the Vulcan. He leveled his face with hers, but stayed at a safe distance. The Vulcan didn't seem to register his presence at all.

»Hey … are you all right?« he asked her softly.

That made her lift her face so that she could look past him.

»Are you injured?« he asked, visibly concerned.

Why would she sit away from the others? Why didn't her fate seem to concern her in the least? Shouldn't she be building a weapon, or trying to escape or something?

»She is not of your concern!« the voice of the other Vulcan woman came from behind him.

»What is wrong with her?«

»Nothing. She is simply meditating.« the Vulcan replied through clenched teeth.

The Nausicaan pirate studied the female sitting on the floor in front of him one more time. He quietly nodded, got back up, and walked over to the other Vulcan again.

»Where were we?«

»You will turn this ship around and return us to—«

»That's illogical. Why would we capture you only to return you back to your ship a few hours later?«

»We will not cooperate with any other course of action.«

»Fine, but we don't really need your cooperation, do we?«

The dark-haired Vulcan considered his words for an instant, then she leaned threateningly closer to him. Her voice was perfectly calm.

»We will see.«

With that she turned around on her heel and calmly walked back to the living area, to the other 8 females. Her ass was spectacular!

Thornbow swallowed once more and stood in the Cargo Bay, uncertain what to do. Was he dismissed?

After he had shut and locked the Cargo Bay door, Thornbow closed his eyes, and sighed. He rested against the wall of the corridor, deep in thought.

»What happened?« a bewildered voice asked.

Thornbow opened his eyes and studied his men, momentarily puzzled.

»What are they like?« Nagrath wanted to know with an imploring look on his face.

Thornbow turned slightly so that his back leaned against the safety of the steel walls. He only now noticed how exhausted he was.

»They are bad-ass.« he brought out at last.

All pirates had assembled in Mess Hall to listen to the Captain's account of what had happened. When they had seen him step out of Cargo Bay, they had known instinctively that the situation was serious. They needed a plan.

Besides, they needed a pint of blood beer to get rid of the hangover.

»What did they say? Were they angry?«

»No, not at all. They minded their own business and just ignored me.«

»Awesome.« some Nausicaans breathed.

»All but one.« Thornbow took a good sip of beer to calm down his nerves. »Their leader. Her name is T'Pol.«

»T'Pol? Doesn't sound so dangerous.« Benjamin joked.

»Appearances can be deceiving.« Thornbow chided the younger Nausicaan. »She looks docile, all right, but she doesn't suppress her emotions like the others do.«

»She was angry?«

»You bet.«

»Oh shit. What did she do?«

»She threatened me. Told me to turn the ship around.«

»What did you say?«

»Duh, I said no, of course. For a moment I thought she'd kill me right where I stood, but then she just walked away and left me standing there.«

The mean pirates were at a loss what to say to this.

»Sounds like the situation is pretty serious.« Kalom offered after a while.

But Thornbow shook his head, unwilling to give up so easily.

»All we need to do is calm them down.«

»How do you propose we do that?«

»I know!« Benjamin exclaimed happily. The other pirates were stunned for a moment and watched him expectantly.

»They are females, right? Females are simple creatures. We just increase the room temperature a few degrees, feed them properly, and then they'll be distracted.«

The other pirates were speechless for one more moment.

»That's brilliant!« several of them erupted. Benjamin beamed with pride.

The kitchen on a Klingon ship was surprisingly spacious, probably because it was essentially a house of slaughter. Now the large room buzzed with the activity of a dozen tall Nausicaan pirates cooking dinner as if their lives depended on it.

Nagrath knew a stew recipe that had been passed down the male side of his family for generations. On two or three occasions, he had prepared the meal, and some said that Thornbow had declared him first officer mostly because he had hoped Nagrath would make another stew to celebrate the promotion. It was simply delicious.

Kalom on the other hand was famous for his baking skills. Most of the sweets he made involved large amounts of honey. They were so substantially sweet that you could only eat two or three of those cookies at most. At the same time you yearned to eat just one more, even though you knew your stomach wouldn't take it. Kalom hadn't made those cookies for years after his brother had almost died tragically because of his baking. Kalom had given his younger brother a large bowl of cookies for his birthday, and the poor Nausicaan had eaten them all. He had been sick for weeks. But all the while he had been in hospital, he never regretted doing it. Kalom had been furious and had chided his younger brother earnestly, but the other Nausicaan had just insisted that he now knew what sin tasted like.

»How are we gonna serve it?« Benjamin asked his captain in this moment. Thornbow didn't exactly appreciate the interruption while he was cutting thin slices of meat with a giant Klingon knife. »What do you mean?« he asked, obviously irritated.

»We can't really invite them to Mess Hall, can we, Captain?«

»Who said we would?«

»That's why I asked. Are we gonna serve all that in the Cargo Bay?«

»Not we, Benjamin, you will. It was your idea, you should be the one to witness their gratitude.«

»You are kidding, right?«

The Nausicaans had settled down for dinner in the Mess Hall. The table almost bent with the weight of the food before them. Just the smell was rousing. Even though they had taken care to give the best parts of the animal to the Vulcans, it still was an impressive meal. Benjamin was on his way to Cargo Bay now, delivering the plates to their hostages. Thornbow had decorated them beautifully, making sure the dishes conveyed all the attention that had been invested into the food.

The mean pirates were in a really good mood. Only a few hours ago, the situation had looked grim! There was no way the women wouldn't be calmed down by a meal like that. Some of the braver pirates even envied Benjamin because he had the chance to see the Vulcans face to face when delivering it.

»You know what, Captain?« Nagrath spoke up, »maybe — if the food is well received — maybe the Vulcans will be calm enough so that we all could visit them? I sure would like to see one.«

Thornbow just shrugged. »I don't know.«

»You think she would still be angry?«

»I don't know.«

»Seriously, Captain, no sentient being can remain angry after eating a single one of Kalom's cookies.«

»You never know.« Kalom said darkly without looking up from his plate. For a moment they were silent. The pirates knew how difficult this still was for Kalom.

But then lively chatter took over and the atmosphere once again became light.

Until Benjamin returned.

»The Vulcans won't eat the food.«

»WHAT?«

»They say they are vegetarians. Didn't touch anything.«

»Vegetarians?«

»Yes. Their leader sniffed at the soup for an instant and looked physically sick.«

»What did you do?«

»I got out of there as fast as possible, of course.«

»Good.« Thornbow was deeply concerned. »We need a new plan.«

The Nausicaans loved it down on the surface. At first they had been reserved about the idea. Visiting the next M-class planet was a serious detour, and making that detour meant it would take longer to reach the slave station. But now that they were down here and wandering through the vast vegetation of the third continent, all their troubles just fell off them.

»We really need to get out more often, Captain.« Nagrath said happily as knelt down to collect several exotic fruit which hung bright red on a bush before him.

»Absolutely.« Kalom agreed. »Look at these, Captain.« He waived his hand in the direction of the tall Nausicaan to draw his attention to the lentils he had discovered. »These are real protein bombs.«

»I have been thinking,« Thornbow wondered out loud in this moment, »being a vegetarian is pretty bad-ass.«

»What do you mean?«

»Just think about it. We live off animal flesh as if we were still animals ourselves! That's not particularly evolved, don't you think?«

»So what? Nausicaans have always eaten meat. We're supposed to consume the flesh of the animals.«

»So what? You do what you are supposed to? The Vulcans don't give a shit what they are supposed to do. They don't feast — like we do —, they live a diet. They take care of themselves.«

Kalom remained sceptical.

»I don't like that thought. If you think this through, you'd have to pass on the pies and the beer too.«

»Precisely. If the Vulcans wanted, they could kick our ass anytime. They aren't hung over in the morning, or become too fat to fight. They display some bad-ass discipline. And that's why we are down here picking up their food while they sit in the cargo bay.«

»I don't know. What do you say Benjamin?«

»The Captain is absolutely right. We poison ourselves with unnutritious food and alcohol. Just look at this salad.« The young Nausicaan held out the juicy, green salad he had found earlier. »This stuff will make you lean and mean. The stomach can digest it much faster than meat. You can eat vast amount of vegetables and just snap into action, instead of sitting around uselessly because you're too tired to move.«

»Besides,« Thornbow added, »have you ever met anyone who put on weight from eating fruits, salads, and vegetables? Just think about it: these outfits could still fit ten years from now.«

Kalom's face lit up brightly. »I'm convinced.«

The Nausicaans sang happy songs and fooled around while preparing the vegetarian meal. Before doing anything else, they had cleansed the kitchen in earnest to get rid of the stench. Frankly, after days of living off semi-fresh meat and blood beer, they literally hungered for the vitamins that would make them even meaner pirates than they already were.

»Benjamin, why don't you tell us more about T'Pol?« one of the pirates asked into the room when the singing had paused.

The young pirate just shrugged as if seeing her face to face wouldn't be a big deal. He turned to Thornbow and shared a knowing look with him. They were the only two who understood who they were talking about.

»T'Pol …« he mumbled, seemingly deep in thought. All Nausicaans were quiet now. Benjamin had talked about his visit to the Cargo Bay before, but never in great detail.

»She is … It is really hard to describe. You see her, and she is tiny and delicate. She has pointed ears like an elf, and dark eyes. She moves with grace and purpose — but not to show off, she just is that way.«

The washing, cutting, and decorating had almost entirely stopped.

»My first thought was: she doesn't look so dangerous. I was careful, of course, but there really was no sense of danger at all around her.«

»But then something happened?«

»You bet. The very second I was about to relax and let my guard down, she looked straight into my face and her left eye twitched for an instant. It was barely visible, but the message was clear: I. See. You. Sucker.«

»You can tell that from a twitch?«

»Then she moved her fingers just a little bit, and you could see the muscles appear instantly all the way up to her shoulder. Suddenly, I realized she was standing perfectly straight, very alert. She was always looking at me, always keeping her balance; almost ready to erupt.«

»Like a fighter!«

»Exactly. The real good fighters can maintain that focus for 15 rounds. But T'Pol — I swear it is true — she just walked around in this state. She did it so effortlessly you wouldn't have even noticed she's ready to attack. This woman doesn't just know how to fight, she was born to fight.«

The Nausicaans were silent for a long time, until they renewed their efforts with the salads, fruits, and vegetables.

The tension was unbearable. The mean pirates had assembled in Mess Hall only to find themselves longing and yearning for the various quiches, salads, fruit bowls, and juices. They had sent Benjamin off to deliver the plates, but he had made them promise not to start before he had returned. He had picked up the mood and had been worried nothing would be left until then!

So they shifted around in their seats and waited. Although a certain element of uncertainty remained, they knew in their hearts that everything would turn out good this time.

Thornbow forced himself to sit still. A huge watermelon right in from of him was literally taunting him to be eaten.

For ages they waited without speaking a word.

When Benjamin returned at last, the good mood disappeared the moment he stepped through the door.

»The Vulcans won't eat the food.«

»WHAT?«

»They say they are on hunger strike.«

»Alright.« Thornbow roared. »That does it.«

He sprung to his feet and shot an extraordinarily mad look at his men. Without saying another word the Captain stormed out of the room, seemingly in the direction of Cargo Bay.

The remaining crew was devastated. They had put so much effort into the meal. It didn't feel fair at all.

»What do we do now?« Kalom asked after a while.

Nagrath just shrugged. »What can we do? We secure the bridge and wait.«

Thornbow threw the Cargo Bay door open and marched into the room. He would draw the line here. This charade had to end. He would assert his authority now and forever.

The females sat in their living area and watched him dispassionately. Dozens of plates and salad bowls stood untouched on the floor, only a few meters away. They hadn't even bothered to try anything!

»Listen, T'Pol,« he addressed their leader, »this is not just illogical, this is outright mean. We've gone through quiet a bit of effort to put this meal together. It is pointless to not eat it.«

Thornbow steamed. Even more so, when T'Pol didn't react for several moments before she finally turned her attention to him. Not that she would get up from the couch, of course.

»I told you we would not cooperate.«

The Nausicaan just stared at her with wide open eyes.

»I beg your pardon?«

»Turn the ship around.«

»Let me get this straight … you're threatening me that unless I turn the ship around you won't eat anything?«

»I didn't threaten.«

»Good, because if you had, it wouldn't be much of a threat, would it? I don't care. Starve, if that is what you want.«

Thornbow paused for a moment.

»You are only 9.«

»Excuse me?«

The Nausicaan captain turned his head into the direction of the other corner, where the lone female had sat earlier, but she was no longer there. He searched the entire room with his gaze — no trace of her. To be really sure he walked over to the corner, so that he could see past the box of spare parts. And indeed, she still sat at the exact same spot, only she had pulled her legs up to her chest now.

Thornbow had the strangest feeling about this woman. When he had reached her, he crouched down in front of her without thinking. »Will you eat something, please?«

He was relieved to see her react this time!

»No.«

Thornbow couldn't take it anymore. He looked back at T'Pol, who had gotten up at last. She stood awkwardly in the room and seemed to be waiting for him to return.

»Fine!« Thornbow spat out as got back up on his feet, and walked over to T'Pol. What the hell. »We'll do whatever you want, but please eat something. At least make her eat something. Can't you see the girl is sick?«

»Turn the ship around.«

»Be reasonable, T'Pol. That's the one thing I can't do. How about this: If you eat the food, then you all will be free to walk the ship as you please.«

The Vulcan considered his offer.

»There is one condition, though.« Thornbow added.

»I'm listening.«

»You have to promise not to attack us.«

She thought about his offer for one more moment.

»I agree.« she said at last, and the weight of a mountain fell off Thornbow! But he wasn't quite satisfied yet.

»You have to say I promise, T'Pol.«

»I promise.«

She sounded perfectly sincere. Thornbow exhaled, and relaxed. He wasn't quite sure what exactly he had achieved right now, but at least the food wouldn't have been wasted.

He just reached for his brow to wipe the sweat off it, when the Vulcan opposite of him made a strange gesture. She had been holding her hands clasped behind her back, but now she slowly raised her right hand upwards for him to see. The way she held her hand suggested it was a symbolic ritual — maybe a gesture of peace?

»I had my fingers split behind my back.« she informed him.

Thornbow was uncertain what to expect. He just stared at her blankly. A second later, though, the Nausicaan jerked his head to the right in surprise only to find her foot racing towards his face in an explosive martial arts kick. Before he knew what hit him, it already had; her leg snapped against his head with force. The Nausicaan had barely begun to tumble when she had already placed her foot back on floor. She calmly watched him struggle for balance, and land flat on his back at last.

Thornbow was utterly disoriented for a while. His head spun with pain. With a great effort he forced his eyes open, and looked into T'Pol's face from a short distance. It was no reassuring sight. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw her reach for his face. Naked panic set in — he immediately struggled for his life! But the Vulcan just put her knee down on his chest and crushed the air out of him.

»Nooo!« he cried when she reached for his face again. She didn't touch his face, however, she touched his collar bone. It felt odd.

T'Pol walked through the ship's corridors alone, searching for the bridge. She looked for computer terminals or other means of obtaining information, but there were none. She paused, and tried to remember the schematics of the Bird of Prey she had visited years ago, but her problem was that she didn't know where she was on the ship.

Without the slightest idea where it lead to, she just followed the corridor she had turned into after leaving the Cargo Bay. In truth, it didn't even matter much where the corridor lead to as long as it lead away from the Cargo Bay. The other females had been driving her nuts!

For over 30 hours, she had been imprisoned with a group of Vulcans without logic. It had been a nightmare. For the entire time, the females had talked about nothing but sexual intercourse and the male and female reproductive organs involved. They would discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the various penises they had encountered. How shape, size, and width contributed or hindered an orgasm. How lubrication was an effective tool that served several purposes. Then they proceeded to list these purposes. How anal beads could enhance pleasure. Which species produced males with the largest falluses. There were no boundaries these women would not explore in this conversation.

T'Pol had wanted to strangle them. How could any living being in this universe be so insensitive? Were they blind? Could they not see what a sore spot this topic was for her right now?

When she had tried to broach the subject of formulating an escape plan, they simply leveled her with a cool, even glare and agreed to go along with whatever she had cooking up.

T'Pol followed the corridor to arrive at a junction.

Left or right?

She stood there for a moment, uncertain what to do. She realized she had no idea where she was, she had no idea where she was headed to, and even if she would find the bridge before the remaining pirates shot her, even then there was not much she could do anyway!

Suddenly she began to shiver in her underwear. She was so cold that goose bumps appeared on her skin. The shivering only increased tenfold when it dawned on her how alone and helpless she really was. She could not stop shivering, no matter how much she fought to compose herself. It was too much. It was just too much for her.

She momentarily resigned into her fate and slumped down into a near corner, where it was dark. She pulled her legs to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and rested her chin on her knees. Not much later, her vision became blurred with tears.

For her entire life, T'Pol had been disciplined. She hadn't allowed herself any weakness, no matter how dire circumstances she had found herself in. She had stood her ground against alien foes, against her own society, against her mother, and against everybody else who didn't approve of her the way she was. She had never given in!

Now that she found herself sitting in a dark corridor of this alien pirate ship, however, she had no strength left.

She understood life wasn't meant to be fair in any way, shape, or from. It were all just coincidences. There was no deeper meaning or greater purpose to anything. Nonetheless, after the recent events she couldn't but help but wonder why she had the impression that life had been particularly unfair to her.

She wasn't supposed to be here. She was supposed to be lying in Trip's arms right now, instead of freezing in a dark corridor. Or was she the only being in this logic-forsaken universe who wasn't entitled to the tiniest bit of luck?

The blue undergarments she wore only reinforced the painful sensations of loss. Her mind drifted back to one of the many occasions on which Trip had visited her in her quarters late at night. She found no comfort in the memory, however, because she remembered with vicious clarity how she had thrown him out afterwards. She had felt threatened by the power he had over her. His presence made her lose control.

Now she would give everything to have him here. She knew, technically it wouldn't change her situation much, but she also knew that it would make a world of a difference for her to see his face now, to smell him close to her. If Trip were here right now, in this very moment, she would throw all caution to the wind and ask him to hold her — just for one minute. That was all she would ask for.

Strains of tears rolled down her cheeks while she cowered in the dark, but she found no relief in them. On the contrary, she was disgusted with herself!

To make matters worse, she could suddenly hear footsteps.

Benjamin had mixed emotions about being sent on patrol through the dark, empty corridors. Although he appreciated the faith his fellow pirates put in him and his ability to return to the bridge alive, he couldn't help but wonder why he had to leave the safety of the bridge. Frankly, being a Junior Pirate sucked sometimes.

He hadn't found anything or anyone. The ship was so quiet and empty that Benjamin wondered whether the Vulcans had already left! Wherever their assault force was, apparently they wanted the battle to be a surprise when it broke loose.

Benjamin stood for a moment, and wondered whether he should go directly to Cargo Bay. He had avoided the greater area so far, of course. He wasn't stupid! The truth was, however, that those beasts could be anywhere. There was no safe spot on this ship anymore.

With a sigh he turned left at the next junction, into the corridor that would lead to Cargo Bay.

He had barely taken five steps, when a noise he heard made him freeze on the spot. The young pirate looked around, nervously surveying the corridors, but there was nothing. He looked again, and then he saw the silhouette of a tiny, delicate person cowering in a dark corner right next to him.

»T'Pol?« he inquired, deeply unsettled.

When she didn't respond, Benjamin snapped into his combat stance and eyed her suspiciously.

No reaction.

T'Pol stared at the Nausicaan pirate helplessly. He towered over her, carrying a menacing collection of knifes, guns, and phase rifles in his belt. Then he took another step closer to her; close enough so that she could see his face in the semi-lit corridor. His expression was mean and dangerous, she thought.

»The quiche is amazing! S'Vera, you must try this.«

»I can't eat anything further, T'Nisi. I already had … I dunno … three kilos of salad or so.«

»You don't mind if I have the rest?«

»No.« T'Nisi replied, and reached for the carafe that contained the last bit of fruit juice they had left. On any given day, she would happily trade a mountain of quiche for a single glass of that fruit juice!

Disappointment clearly showed on her face once she had emptied her glass. »Do you think the pirates have some more?« She gestured towards the tall Nausicaan lying unconscious on his back in the middle of the room. »What would the life of their captain be worth to them? Ten, maybe twenty liters?«

S'Vera thought about this for moment, then her right eyebrow arched as an idea played around in her mind.

»I wonder if Naussicaans are a well endowed species.«

Catching her thought process, T'Nisi began to smile slightly with a devilish glint in her eyes. »Well, he is tall.« she ventured. »It has been my experience that taller species tend to exhibit larger tendencies.«

»Unfortunately, this is a generality and cannot be used as a rule.« S'Vera said with a knowing smile. »For example, Ensign Maywheather is tall and muscular, however he was not as I would have expected.«

»State your reasoning.« T'Nisi put forth.

»He was neither overly large nor drastically small. He was what one might call average. The fault lie in the manner in which he used his penis.«

S'Vera paused to consider her next words, but T'Nisi quickly became impatient. »Go on.«

»He lacked the discipline and focus to ensure a satisfying sexual encounter. But this is the case with most males.«

»Indeed.« T'Nisi confirmed, and then both females sighed deeply together.

For the longest time they sat together in comfortable silence, each of them drifting in their own thoughts. Benjamin appreciated the spirituality of the moment. True fighters were alike, he realized, no matter which species they belonged to.

When he had seen her tears, had found her so vulnerable in this dark corner of the ship, he had immediately understood what she was doing. T'Pol was unloading her weakness. She was preparing herself for the slaughter and bloodshed about to commence. He had gone through this ritual more often than he could count, but the intensity of his feelings paled in comparison to the despair and sadness she could emote.

Just sitting next to her was a deeply humbling experience. This was a fighter's most private moment, and sharing it with someone was practically unheard of. If you did, it was a gift. But two opponents sharing it before the final confrontation … that was poetry.

»Have you seen the Captain?« he asked her at last, speaking as gently as he could to avoid disturbing her focus.

»I overpowered him a few moments ago.« she replied, absently minded.

Benjamin nodded. »I figured you would.«

He took a moment to remember the proud Nausicaan fondly.

»So what is next?« he wondered, knowing perfectly well what is was.

»I do not know.« the Vulcan said. »First of all, I have to find the bridge.«

Benjamin nodded once more.

»Don't worry, I'll show you the way.«

»Thank you.«

They were silent for another while, before T'Pol went on.

»Not that there is much I can accomplish on that bridge.«

»Why is that?«

»How many Nausicaans are there right now?«

»All of us. Except Thornbow and me, obviously.«

»Armed, I assume?«

»Heavily.«

The Vulcan female seemed to shrug with resignation.

Benjamin thought long and hard what to say to this. He was touched to learn that the Vulcan actually considered losing the battle. He understood, of course, that this was just part of a ritual, and that she knew as well as he did that each and every Nausicaan on this ship would be dead soon, but still the gesture was very powerful.

Tears formed in his eyes, and he had to blink forcefully several times.

»When I was very young,« he croaked after a while, »my mother took me to see a fight together with her. Mum had been a heavyweight champion herself, and she never went to see other people's fights. She thought it was boring.«

»What was different about this one?«

»This fight marked the return of the great champion Mu'hammad into the ring. He had been retired for several years, but then a new fighter arrived on the scene who was generally considered unbeatable. He was a huge Nausicaan, and exceptionally powerful. He had disposed of all prior opponents so brutally, that nobody wanted to fight him!«

»I see.«

»After weeks of searching for a new contender, the great Mu'hammad stepped in front of the press, and just said: I'll do it. Needless to say that the entire planet stood practically still for the next six months!«

»This was the fight your mother took you to?«

»Yes, and to this day it is called The Fight on my home world. The great Mu'hammad stood in the ring utterly unimpressed by the other man, who was two heads taller than he was, ten years younger than he was, and much stronger than he was.«

»What happened?«

»Mu'hammad attacked fiercely, but at 30 seconds into the first round it had become blindingly obvious that he didn't stand the slightest chance. The younger champion slapped him around the ring as he pleased; it was a terrible mismatch.«

»So he lost?«

»He did. The fight lasted thirteen rounds. Mu'hammad was knocked down dozens of times. By the fifth round he had lost all eyesight, after the eight round his right arm had been ripped out of his torso, but still he kept attacking five more rounds before he finally collapsed dead in the ring.«

»I'm not certain whether I see your point.«

»The point is that Mu'hammad is considered to be the greatest fighter ever to live, T'Pol. And I bet, right now, every single Nausicaan on the bridge thinks about the great Mu'hammad while they wait for you to come.«

Benjamin didn't have to add that the chances of any of them surviving the battle were about as non-existent as the chances of the great Mu'hammad had been.

T'Pol was deeply moved. This was the kindest thing anyone had said to her in years. It was amazing, she thought, how this Nausicaan had known her much better than she had known herself only moments before. Her one, singularly distinguishing feature was that she never gave up. She was Mu'hammad!

She was far too rational to fool herself into thinking that there was anything she could achieve by walking onto that bridge … other than getting herself killed. It was fundamentally illogical to even try, but the thought that the Nausicaans appreciated her attempt for its futility was deeply satisfying.

The Nausicaans were right. The question wasn't what the chances of success were, the question was what the stakes were. And the stakes couldn't possibly be any higher for her. For so long she had secretly longed for acceptance, for appreciation, for affection even, and she had been TEN MINUTES away from finding it when these bastards had abducted her.

Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits when T'Pol made up her mind. She knew exactly what she would do. She swore it in the name of Surak right now: she would either walk onto the bridge and turn this ship around, or she would die trying.

Effortlessly she sprung to her feet in one fluid motion, then turned and offered her hand to the Nausicaan to help him up. When he came to a stand, he grinned wide and happily at her.

»Are you ready?« he asked.

»Let's go to the bridge.«

»Intriguing,« T'Nisi exclaimed, »there does not appear to be a manner in which to remove his trousers! What does he do when he has to urinate?«

»Perhaps his penis is in an entirely different location?« S'Vera wondered.

The two females considered each other for a moment, seriously contemplating the viability of this assertion. Then T'Nisi just grabbed his crotch with her right hand.

»No, it is here.«

Another voice from across the room broke into their conversation. »Is this investigation of the alien's personal space entirely necessary?«

The two females spun around in surprise. This was the first time Seri had spoken to them ever since they had found themselves in this Cargo Bay! T'Nisi looked at S'Vera with an amused expression.

»It appears young Seri would like to join us in our exploration of the Nausicaan captain. Do not be concerned, Seri, you will have ample opportunity with him.«

For the first time in over 30 hours, Seri stood and walked over to the two Vulcans.

»That is not what I meant.« she released with a little more frustration than she had intended. »This may come as a shock, T'Nisi, but not every Vulcan's life revolves around males. Some of us have other things on their mind too, you see?«

»Such as?«

»Such as, escaping from this ship, for example!« Seri countered forcefully.

»Indeed. As I recall, you remained quite silent when your sister broached the same subject. You did not offer any suggestions then. Why the renewed interest in the topic?«

»That's none of your concern.« Seri brought out through clenched teeth.

T'Nisi stopped for a moment to throw a subtle grin to S'Vera. »Could it have anything to do with a certain Chief Engineer?«

Seri studied her fellow Vulcans with contempt. She raised her chin haughtily and cut them down to size with a piercing glare. »This is our prisoner, not your toy!« she bit at them accusingly. »If you cannot grasp the seriousness of our situation, then I pity you and your obvious lack of intelligence.«

With that she knelt down, easily picked up the unconscious Nausicaan, and threw his lifeless body over her shoulder. She looked at the other females one more time, and then she calmly carried him out of the Cargo Bay, away from them.

»This is it.« Benjamin said to the Vulcan female. They stood in front of the bridge, but hesitated to enter for a moment.

»Thank you for showing me the way.« T'Pol said.

»Ah,« the Nausicaan pirate made a dismissive gesture, »don't mention it.«

There was another long silence.

»Well …« T'Pol began.

»Well …« the Nausicaan said.

The moment was odd.

»I guess, I better go in then.« T'Pol offered at last.

»Would you like me to go in first?«

»Why?«

»So that everybody is prepared when you enter.«

»Do you think that's wise? I mean, shouldn't I rather try to surprise them?«

»Does it make any difference?«

T'Pol shrugged. »Probably not.«

For another long moment they looked at each other. Finally Benjamin reached out and offered his hand to her.

»It's been a honor, T'Pol.«

T'Pol took his hand and shook it. Her own hand looked ridiculously small in his paws.

»I don't even know your name.« she said.

»Benjamin. I'm called Benjamin.«

»Thank you for what you said back in the corridor, Benjamin. I would not be here without you.«

The mean Nausicaan pirate just nodded, deeply touched.

»I guess, I better go in then.« he said.

»How long shall I wait?«

»You'll know when we're ready, T'Pol.«

»Good. I'll wait for your signal then.«

»Good.«

They looked at each other one more moment before they let go of each others' hands. Then Benjamin turned, and entered the bridge.

The mean Nausicaan pirates had waited impatiently for something to happen. They were so wound-up that each and everyone of them jumped to their feet when the main door to the bridge opened and Benjamin stepped in.

»Have you seen the Captain?« Nagrath asked instantly when he saw the wide and happy grin on the younger pirate's face.

»The Captain is dead.«

»Figures. Any sign of the Vulcans?«

The young pirate's grin grew even wider.

»T'Pol is waiting outside.«

»She has come alone?« Kalom asked in utter disbelief.

Benjamin nodded. »Of course.«

»How is she armed?«

»Not at all.«

»No weapons?«

Benjamin shook his head no.

The Nausicaans were completely silent for over a minute as they struggled with the implications. At last Nagrath regained his composture.

»God-dammit, she is bad-ass!« he brought out.

T'Pol waited patiently in front of the bridge.

Her sensitive hearing picked up heated discussions in the room, but she couldn't understand most of it. Not that you had to be a genius to know what they were doing. She recognized the sound of large ammunition coils being moved around.

»Alright. Point the sentry device directly at the door. How many shots can it fire?«

»17,000.«

»That's all?«

»Per minute.«

Nagrath shook his head in resignation.

»It will have to do. Maybe we can wound her before she reaches us.« Then he turned to Kalom. »Can we construct a barricade somehow?«

»What good will that do?«

»It might slow her down, maybe win us a few seconds.«

Kalom looked around on the bridge. »I don't know. The furniture can't withstand much. She'll probably just catch a splinter when walking through it, and then we are in deep shit.«

Nagrath thought about that. »Maybe you are right.«

What was taking them so long? T'Pol decided to knock on the door.

»Can I come in now?« she shouted.

»Just one more minute …«

»Hurry, god-dammit. She is growing impatient.«

»Do we have a lighter?«

»What?«

»The flame thrower … I can't light my flame thrower.«

»You are a fool, Kalom. Vulcan is an extremely hot desert planet. How do you think they survive there? Vulcans are immune to fire.«

»Oh.«

The gun-shots had worried her for an instant, but then she realized they weren't shooting at her. She pressed her pointed ear against the bridge door so that she could better hear what was going on. The bridge was ominously silent now, not a single sound could be heard.

T'Pol furrowed her brow for a moment, but then she could hear them again. The Nausicaans began to roar, and yell, and shout on the bridge. Then they broke into a loud song, which was interrupted by more gunfire every now and then.

The spectacle lasted 2.27 minutes, and then they were silent again.

»You can come in now.«

T'Pol pushed the button next to the door, and it slid open with a soft swoosh. At least a dozen Nausicaan pirates stood on the bridge, waiting calmly for her. They all wore black leather suits; long, black leather coats; and dark sunglasses that hid their faces almost entirely. They stood so still that the room seemed devoid of even the slightest movement of air. T'Pol mustered every little bit of control to suppress an involuntary shiver when she saw them. She could have sworn the temperature had dropped at least ten degrees the moment the door had opened.

She was shocked.

The Nausicaans carried an utterly insane amount of weaponry. There were so many guns pointed at her that she didn't even bother to count them.

Now T'Pol wondered what she had been thinking! She realized this in all likelihood was the dumbest thing she had ever done, and this time there would be no way out of it. She was dead.

She wondered what Trip would do without her.

Would he mourn for her? Would he still think about her decades from now — like she would have, if she had lost him instead? She knew Humans were less dedicated to their mates than Vulcans were. For all she knew, Trip had never even considered her a mate. Suddenly she realized that she had absolutely no idea what she had been for him! They had spent over two and a half years living side by side with each other, yet she had no idea what he felt for her, because she had denied that there was anything to discuss, or anything to wonder about. Now she regretted her foolishness deeply.

Even more so, because she had never told him what he meant to her either. He had no idea!

T'Pol made another vow in this moment. She vowed that in case she miraculously survived this encounter, in case fate meant for Trip and her to meet again, then she would tell him everything — even if it were just for one minute. She owed him that.

Not that the chances of this ever happening were very good, T'Pol thought with bitterness.

She looked at the Nausicaan pirates waiting for her on the bridge. How long had she been standing here? She couldn't tell.

»I am Mu'hammad.« she reminded herself. »I never give up.«

And she wouldn't.

The mean Nausicaan pirates were shocked out of their minds — with the possible exception of Benjamin, who had been somewhat prepared for the sight of T'Pol.

They could NOT believe it. They had several thousand bullets with her name on it pointed at the Vulcan, but she didn't even flinch. She didn't even register them! For all they knew, she was composing a laundry list in her thoughts while she watched them. The Nausicaans had thought that they had the disinterested, somewhat pitiful expression down cold, but this Vulcan … holy shit, she looked as if she regretted that she had to kill them now!

For the longest time the Vulcan female didn't react in the least, but then she seemed to snap out of her trance and calmly walked onto the bridge.

She was wearing nasty combat attire in baby blue, obviously designed to distract her opponents. The panties! They had to admit, her outfit really kicked ass. Of course, you could only wear an ensemble like that if you didn't need a single weapon to slaughter a dozen Nausicaan pirates, because there sure as hell was no place where she could hide it. It was an intimidating sight.

The Vulcan female came to a stand about 10 meters afar from them, right in front of the command chair that had belonged to Thornbow before she had dealt with him.

When she raised her voice to speak, all Nausicaans held their breath.

»Greetings.« she said. »My name is T'Pol. I have taken command of this vessel. Obey my orders, and you will be treated well.«

T'Pol had decided that a bluff would be the best course of action. Or rather, the only course of action she had right now.

At last the Nausicaans showed some reaction, and it was not good. They looked at her utterly perplexed, as if they could not believe how stupid she was.

With growing despair, she watched the Nausicaans exchange looks and fiddle with their weapons.

For a moment, the mean pirates had been at a loss how to deal with the situation. They missed Thornbow badly right now, he had always known how to handle things like this.

However, the longer they stood there and watched the tiny, unarmed, half-naked female right in front of them, the more obvious the answer became. Until it became so bloody apparent that they wondered what had taken them so long.

This was their chance of immortality. Their one chance to achieve something worthy of song and remembrance.

Her fate was sealed, T'Pol decided. The Nausicaans stood even more erect than they had before. She had not thought it was possible. They towered opposite of her, a dozen huge men armed to their teeth, and began to roar. They made a deep, guttural sound in their throats that grew louder and louder like a storm racing towards her. It became so loud that it was physically painful for her ears.

T'Pol closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

Just as she was about to cover her ears with her hands to escape the thoroughly piercing noise, the room went dead silent. T'Pol could hear them breathe in, and then a dozen deep, male voices thundered through the bridge like one.

»We will follow you until death, T'Pol!«

Continue to Chapter 11

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A whole mess of folks have made comments

This is hilarious! Don't keep us waiting so long again!

OMG, this was funny... can't stop laughing...

This is completely nuts! :-)))) And I LOVE the mean pirates and especially T`Pol!!! Please bring her back to Trip soon!

yea T'Pol--you go girl!
Oh, and what did poor Travis do for you to be so mean to him?? :o(

This is so incredibly entertaining! I've agonized with Trip and T'Pol and then laughed my head off at the Nausicaans, especially their opinion of T'Pol ("her combat attire" - hilarious!). PLEASE don't be long in getting up Chapter 11! Waiting eagerly!

Love this story! It's hilarious!

Thank you for the laughs! More soon please.

Wow. Great chapter Peter. And I feel honored that you dedicated it to me! Your version of T'Pol is a slightly different refreshing alternative to other interpretations. And you have a gift for humour that plays out well in your writing.
I am curious to see how you will write T'Pol and Trip's next meeting. I can just imagine Trip's surprise and jealousy of seeing a half naked T'Pol show up on the Enterprise viewscreen (surrounded by loyal Naussicans!!).

A great twist in the story... and I particularly like the fact that at least some vulcans are sexually promiscuous.

My prediction: You will have Seri take over as Captain of the ship with a harem of Naussican men?? Bah.

Great stuff.

This is the funniest story! I LOVE IT!! I can't wait for the next chapter.

The Naussicans are great. Man, I can't stop laughing! I'm glad that you're still working on this story... It helps keep the sadness from the fact that the show is ending away.

Thank you! I'll be waiting anxiously for the next installment!

How could I resist giving a comment to you, Peter! You had me laughing like crazy! Damn you for being so funny! Me thinks Seri and Thornbow will be getting a little closer in the near future eh? She seems oddly protective of him, and he of her! Go Seri! If you can't have Trip, there's always the next guy that comes along and kidnaps you! I finally get the chance to look at some fan fic after a while and I see another chapter of Chivalry is Dead... so guys... what'd I miss? LOL

Can't wait to see Chapter 11, Peter! Trip is SO in for a surprise!!!!!!!!!!

You did a fantastic job with this chapter Peter (and the story in general). I laughed my ass off when I read this. Thank you for letting me help out. Can't wait for the next chapter ;-)

This story is outright crazy.. I LOVE IT!

Please don't let us wait any longfer for the next chapter. Great work!!!

We are waiting patiently for the next chapter Peter!!

I feel really bad for letting you guys wait so long every time. I am sorry. The problem with writing arty high-concept fiction like this particular story is that it cannot be forced in any way. You have NO IDEA how difficult it is to write one of those chapters. I can't go into details, for legal reasons, but it involves an entire weekend at a time, lots of mushrooms, virgin blood, and two cats. Plus, the cats have to be in the right mood or it won't work at all.

Anyway, the good news is that Chapter 11 is almost done. I sent it to Coconut for her opinion 45 minutes ago, but she STILL hasn't responded yet. So I say: she is to blame.

Just a few more days. I promise, once you've read the chapter, you'll wish you hadn't waited for it. Um, wait, did that come out right?