Chivalry is Dead, Chapter 9

Chivalry Is Dead, Chapter 9

By Peter Simons

Author's Note: I am sorry I kept you waiting for so long; I just hope the wait has been worth it. I think it will have been, though, because the story was actually Coconut's idea, not mine. So think of her as being half responsible for the turn of events that will unfold below. The other half of the responsibility carries Triplover, who proofread and edited this chapter. ;-)

»Report.« Archer commanded the instant he entered the bridge.

Travis pointed at the view screen: »Captain, the Bird of Prey just materialized right in front of us.«

»I noticed.« Archer said more to himself. The ship's sudden maneuvering had almost knocked him off his feet in his quarters. »Any idea what they want?«

»We are being hailed.« Hoshi reported.

»Put it on the screen.«

Archer walked over to his command chair and sat down. A moment later, he could see the image of a tall Nausicaan, who was clad entirely in black leather and grinned at him with an unnerving expression on his face.

»Greetings, Human. Do you have any idea how lucky you are?« the Nausicaan said.

»I beg your pardon?« Archer replied with a puzzled look on his face. What was a Nausicaan doing on a Klingon ship?

»You realize that our ship outguns yours something like five-to-one, right?«

»That makes us lucky?«

The Nausicaan's grin grew even wider. »Yes, because otherwise we would kill you all and take your ship instead.«

Archer just looked at the huge male, and wondered how he could possible reply to that.

»Wait a second,« he said at last, »don't I know you?«

»Of course you do! We almost destroyed you a few days ago.«

»Right.« Archer replied weakly. Now he remembered, and the memory of their first meeting made him rather uncomfortable now.

»Don't be concerned, Human.« the Nausicaan assured him, apparently guessing what he thought. »As I said before: You are lucky. I am in an exceptionally good mood today. I'd like to apologize for the trouble we caused. I hope you won't hold that against us? It was just a job — nothing personal.«

»That's reassuring.«

»Did you manage to rescue the crew of the Vulcan ship?«

»Why are you curious about that?«

»I figured we should use the opportunity to make up. As it happens, our old ship is drifting unused in space a few light-years from here. We recently upgraded. Maybe the Vulcan crew would like to take that one as a replacement for the ship that was destroyed?«

»You're serious?«

»Of course! There is a bit of a mess in the cargo bay, but other than that the ship is in fine condition. Are you interested?«

Archer studied the tall Nausicaan for a moment and tried to decide how he felt about this offer. He didn't trust the Nausicaan, obviously, but if he was speaking the truth, then the chance was too good to pass up on.

»Well, thank you for the offer. Yes, we are interested.«

»Great. It feels wonderful to do a good deed! I'll have her coordinates transmitted to you — give me a moment.«

On the screen they could see the Nausicaan turn around and give a short order to one of his crewmen, but they couldn't understand what exactly he said. Instinctively Archer tensed up, uncertain what to expect. To his profound relief, Hoshi spoke up a moment later: »We have received a set of coordinates, Captain.«

Archer sighed and relaxed.

»Again, thank you. I am sure the Vulcan crew will appreciate the gesture.«

»Don't mention it; it's the least we could do.«

When he heard a soft swoosh in the back of the bridge, Archer turned around to see Lieutenant Reed and Subcommander T'Pol step out of the turbo lift. He raised his hand in a reassuring gesture to signal them that everything was alright.

»One question, Captain,« Archer said while turning back to the view screen, »the reason why you abandoned your old ship wouldn't be that the Klingons are looking for it, would it?«

»Not at all, Captain. The Klingons never knew what hit them.«

Archer had invited Captain Venek to join the discussion with his senior officers. According to the data they had received, the Nausicaan's ship could accommodate all 42 Vulcan crew members … after a bit of work. At warp 4, they would reach the designated coordinates in approximately 17 hours. The Nausicaans had even offered to escort them back to the location and to help the Vulcans getting the ship's systems online!

It sounded too good to be true, Archer thought, and Lieutenant Reed wholeheartedly agreed with him.

»With all due respect, Captain Venek, I don't think we should trust those people. We have no idea what their true intentions are, and the coordinates they gave us are in the borderland between Klingon and Orion space. The area is known to be dangerous.«

»I understand your concerns, Lieutenant.« Venek replied calmly. »However, it is illogical to assume they would want to lure us into a trap. A Bird of Prey does outgun your ship significantly; if they wanted to destroy us, they could do it right here.«

»Especially,« T'Pol added, »taking the vessel's cloaking technology into account. If they hadn't revealed their presence, we would have never known they were here.«

»They revealed their presence by setting a collision course!« Reed reminded everyone.

Venek nodded briefly to concede the Lieutenant's point, and then turned to Archer.

»Captain, for my crew the alternative to going to those coordinates is to return to Vulcan. That is something all of us would prefer to avoid. The perspective of finding a replacement for the SURAK'S PATH is very appealing. My crew would be willing to take this risk.«

»I understand that.« Archer replied; and then he was quiet for a moment to consider his options. At last he turned to Travis.

»You know more about Nausicaans than any of us do, Travis. What you do you think?«

»My experience is that you can trust them — unless you have something they want.«

»In other words: if we have something they want, they'll try to take it no matter what we do; and if they don't want anything from us, then we can trust them?«

»That's my experience.«

Archer was silent for another moment, before he seemed to shrug and said: »In that case, I don't see what we'd have to lose. Travis, set a course to the coordinates they gave us.«

»Aye, Captain.«

»Hoshi, please inform the Nausicaan captain that we'll gladly accept their offer to escort us. I'd much rather have them somewhere where I can see them.«

»Aye, Captain.«

»Lieutenant, keep the hull plating online at all times.«

»Aye, Captain.«

Captain Thornbow leaned back in his command chair and relaxed.

»Keep the transporter locked on the female crew. Can you pick out the Vulcan females?«

His first officer handled his console, and quickly confirmed it: »We can.«

»Good. Select 10 Vulcan females, and transport them into Cargo Bay on my command.«

»Why the Vulcans?«

Thornbow grinned at the other man.

»They are darn valuable.«

»In that case, shouldn't we take more? Cargo Bay is pretty large—«

But Thornbow interrupted his first officer by shaking his head vigorously.

»No way. We'll be lucky if we can handle 10 of them. Why do you think they are so darn expensive?«

After her shift was over, T'Pol headed straight for her quarters. She needed time for herself because the kiss had unsettled her. Or more accurately: her response to it had. The way she had responded made it pointless to deny an emotional involvement any longer. In a way, an entire building of denial had literally collapsed in that moment.

Now she truly understood that she had denied her feelings all along — and the result was a disaster. She had suffered, her sister had suffered, and Trip had been hurt most of all because of it.

She had been given a second chance. Trip hadn't been angry at her, he had kissed her. No logic could fathom the way the Human thought! There had been so much affection in his gesture, so much intimacy, that it had just overwhelmed her.

She wanted to feel like this again.

When T'Pol arrived at her quarters, she quickly entered the room and went straight to her usual mediation spot. She settled down without bothering to lighten the candles — she knew she wouldn't find peace anyway. Her mind buzzed with activity.

Just thinking about Trip now had an intoxicating effect on her. They had a chance to start over, to start truly exploring each other. How could that be against her principles?

She would do it. She wanted to experience what she felt in his presence. No matter what the consequences were, she could handle them. They could handle them together. Seri had proven that being emotional did not equal being irrational. In fact, Seri had been far more rational than she had been!

In this moment T'Pol decided to learn from her sister's example. She would trust her instincts tonight.

She blinked, and suddenly her mind was calm. The answer was so simple! In wonder she shook her head and at last closed her eyes and found the quiet she needed to meditate.

Trip stood in front of his bathroom mirror and studied his body. It looked like a battlefield. His right shoulder was still dark and blue with bruises, and so were his legs. His entire body was covered with small cuts that still healed. Taking a shower had been a thoroughly painful experience. Phlox had only released him from Sickbay after a lengthy debate. Before he had agreed, the doctor had made Trip promise that he would be in bed early tonight.

For the millionth time since his accident he tried to recall what had happened in those caves, but all he achieved was that his face looked back at him with a blank expression. He just couldn't remember anything.

An hour ago, he had realized there was lot more that he hadn't known than just the exact circumstances of the explosion. In a way, an entire world view had collapsed. He had known Vulcans most of his adult life; he had known T'Pol for almost one and a half years, but only now had he understood how little he had known.

Vulcans suppressed the display of emotion, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't feel anything. Why had it taken him so long to see that? Of course T'Pol had moods; she was surprised, she acted spontaneously, and she definitely had a sense of humor. She was an emotional being; she just never showed it or admitted it.

Two nights ago, when she had stood by his bed in the middle of the night, he had mistaken her for Seri because he had been unable to imagine that T'Pol would ever cry, let alone in his presence. He wouldn't have thought it was possible! Now he knew it was. Now he wondered what T'Pol must have felt in that moment, when he had mistaken her for her sister, and his face turned dark red in shame. His words must have hurt her deeply — yet she had never mentioned it, nor had she stopped caring about him because of it. That was how great T'Pol's heart really was.

Looking back at the events, the worst part was that he should have realized all this the instant he had met Seri. She was the living proof that Vulcans did feel emotions; and she was her sister, for crying out loud. That should have told him to not give up on T'Pol. And what had he done?

Instead of giving T'Pol time to adjust to the enormous differences between them, he had just pushed her aside.

For a long time Trip continued to stare at himself in the bathroom mirror. He was disappointed by what he saw. It looked like a grown adult, but sometimes he wondered how grown up he really was.

At last he shook it off and limped into his living room, where he had lain out his civilian clothes. He sat down on the couch, grabbed his pants, and struggled to get into them without putting any pressure or strain on his legs, hips, ribs, shoulders, or arms. The effort was moderately successful.

After an awkward and somewhat demeaning procedure, Trip managed to get dressed and looked over to his desk, where his clock stood. It was 1921 hours; he had a bit over half an hour before they would meet.

She had invited him for dinner. And more importantly: they had kissed. Trip shivered involuntarily because of the memory. Slowly he sunk down backwards to lie on the couch, and drifted in thoughts.

This kiss had felt different than any other physical intimacy they had shared before. For one instant he had gotten a glimpse at the true T'Pol; the kiss had been like a promise. Just thinking about it now was arousing. Thinking about her was arousing!

Against all odds, despite all mistakes — maybe they would get it right this time? It felt like they would.

T'Pol stood in front of her bathroom mirror and compared the effects the different colors had on her body. The blue ones or the red ones? T'Pol was uncertain. She liked the red undergarments best herself, but the blue ones had had an encouraging effect on Trip the last time she had worn them.

She pondered the question until her gaze fell on the clock set in the wall behind her; she could see it in the mirror. He would arrive in less 7.3 minutes!

T'Pol calmly put the red garments aside, then bowed and stepped into the blue panties.

She had to be honest with herself.

Trip arrived at her quarters right on time. He was proud of himself, particularly for making it here without the crutches. The closer he had come to her quarters, the less pain he had felt. Instead, he felt a wild mixture of anxiety, excitement, and arousal now.

»Calm down.« he said to himself, breathed deeply, and reached for the doorbell. He could hear the soft chime through the door. With an enormous effort he forced himself to stand still.

Captain Thornbow slowly, but certainly grew impatient. He sat in his command chair and subconsciously drummed his fingertips on the armrest in boredom. What was taking so long?

His first officer had said he would take care of the problem, but by now they had flown around uselessly with the Earth ship for hours! He had waited long enough.

Thornbow erected himself in the chair and looked for the correct button to open a comm link to the transporter room. The damn inscriptions were still in Klingon, and he hadn't paid much attention when the chief engineer had explained them to him.

Was it that one?

»Transporter room? Can you hear me?«

After a short moment his first officer answered.

»Yes, Captain?«

»Why are we still en-route to our old ship? What is taking so long?«

»There is a problem with the transporter, Captain. I am almost done with the adjust—«

»Nagrath, I have heard that before! What is the problem?«

»We haven't yet found the right phasing symmetry to get through their shielding, but the tests are alm—«

»Their shields are the problem?«

»Well, yes.«

»So if they would lower their shielding we would have no problem, right?«

»Um, no, then the transporter would work fine of course.«

»We've drifted in space for hours because of that problem? Nagrath, you should have told me this detail long ago! I would have taken their shields down and we would have been on our way to Orion already!«

Thornbow had to let out a short roar because of his anger.

»But Captain …«

The voice of his first officer just trailed off.

Mess Hall was so silent that you could have heard a needle hit the floor. The Nausicaan pirates had been engaged in lively chatter when the PA system suddenly went on. At first they hadn't really paid attention because the transmission wasn't directed at them, but bit by bit the room had become quiet.

Now, some of the tall, brutal men were gnawing on their fingernails because of the tension.

»Nagrath, why haven't you told me all this earlier?«

»I don't know … I was trying to fix it, and I didn't want to bother you with the details.«

»Bother me? I am the captain! I am responsible for this ship and the profitability of its operations.«

All pirates held their breath now. Nagrath had disappointed the Captain. They all agreed that he should have told Thornbow earlier. It was irresponsible to get lost in a technical detail instead of seeing the big picture. It was so unlike Nagrath! He was the first officer because the Captain could rely on him 100 percent.

The Nausicaan pirates stared at the small set of speakers mounted under the ceiling.

»I am sorry, Captain. It was just … I said that I would take care of it, and then it didn't work! I just really wanted to solve this myself without needing your help all the time, and … I am really sorry I disappointed you.«

That did it. The tall pirates lost all control and cried. The poor Nagrath! Being first officer sucked. The Captain always made the decisions, he got all the glory, and Nagrath always stood in his shadow and carried out his orders. How was that supposed to make a pirate feel valuable? How could he be proud of what he did if he didn't even have the chance to make mistakes?

»I don't understand it, Nagrath. Why did you want to solve this yourself? What is the point?«

The pirates were shocked! How could the Captain not understand that? That was so unlike him!

»I don't know … I just wanted to keep my word and show that I can handle this problem.«

»Nagrath, what are you talking about? You don't have to show anything. You are the meanest and most dangerous bad-ass pirate I have ever known! Why do you think I wanted you to be first officer? Everybody knows that you run the ship, this entire operation wouldn't be worth jack squat if you weren't there to make sure things work the way they're supposed to.«

»I …«

»Look, I just sit around and talk while you do all the work, and I feel bad because of it. I want to be useful too! So if there is something that I can do, please give me the chance … I just want to help!«

The Nausicaan pirates all over the ship had long lost all composture.

»Nagrath?«

»Yes, Captain?«

»I am sorry for the way I reacted. I don't understand it either. I always think of the ship and the mission and the plans … and suddenly I realize there are moments where I have lost touch with you and the others.«

»I know how you feel, Captain. It is a sense of isolation, I know it well.«

»We can't have that happening, Nagrath. Not on our pirate ship! I'll take care of the shields, you'll get the females into Cargo Bay, and then we'll have an impromptu celebration in Mess Hall and relax. What do you think?«

»I love the idea.«

The PA system went silent, and the pirates were wrecked with guilt. The entire day they just sat around and did nothing, all the while Thornbow and Nagrath took care of the decisions, made plans, and handled the paperwork — the senior officers carried all the responsibility for them. The crew had utterly failed in showing their appreciation for what these two great pirates did for them. They were ashamed of themselves.

»You know,« one of the pirates croaked at last, his voice thick with tears, »we should really do something nice for Nagrath and the Captain.«

»That's a great idea,« another pirate fell in, »maybe we can build them some bad-ass gadgets for their coats?«

Thornbow could hardly see anything because of the tears. Embarrassed as hell, he pawed for the switch that would deactivate the comm. Then he sighed, blinked forcefully several times, and wiped over his eyes with the back of his hand. The embarrassment, however, exploded into unknown heights when Thornbow realized that he was on the bridge! In shock he looked into the face of his armory officer, who stood by the weapons console and returned his gaze with wide eyes.

»Damn it!« Thornbow thought. He had made one large fool out of himself by losing it like that — on the bridge while sitting in the command chair, no less! Fortunately Kalom, their armory officer, was a mean pirate. He was tough as a rock! He would just ignore the emotional display and pretend it never happened. Thornbow prayed that he would.

At last Kalom spoke: »What are your orders, Sir?«

Thornbow relaxed immediately. Phew. He looked at his armory officer with relief and began to wonder how they should take the Earth vessel's shields down.

»And Sir, …« Kalom continued after a moment of silence, but trailed off. He looked away and reached for his face quickly. Thornbow could see that he fought for control, but just an instant later Kalom had regained his composture. The other Nausicaan straightened his back, looked into Thornbow's eyes with intensity, and spoke on.

»Sir, I believe I speak for the entire crew if I say that whatever your orders are,« — his voice trembled slightly as he went on — »we will follow you until death.« And then the mean pirate had to look away again.

Thornbow was deeply touched and instantly found himself fighting against the tears again. »Thank you, Kalom.« was all he could reply. He knew his voice would break. Thornbow quickly turned the command chair around, so that he faced the view screen again. It showed the ENTERPRISE flying close to them at high warp.

»What does he want to speak about?« Archer asked, but Hoshi just shrugged.

»He didn't say anything, just that he wanted to talk to you.«

»Fine, let's find out what he wants. Put it on the screen.«

The bridge was quiet because most of the crew were having dinner right now. In fact, Archer had been about to have dinner as well. Captain Venek had offered to use the last Theris herb to make a tea this time, and he looked forward to spending the evening with the Vulcan. It was curious, he realized, how people often turned out to be different than you expect. He knew that he would never be able to look at a Vulcan the same way he used to before he had met Venek. They had become friends, and that had changed his perception of Vulcans radically.

»Curious.« Archer said to himself and shook his head. Then he looked up and was greeted by the image of the Nausicaan captain on the view screen. He looked different this time: his unnerving grin was gone. He appeared solemn.

»Good evening, Captain.« the Nausicaan addressed him politely. »I hope I am not disturbing?«

»Not at all, Captain. You wanted to speak with me?«

»Yes, as a matter of fact I wondered what you'd think about having dinner together? We will be flying the same route for a few more hours, so it might be nice to meet and talk.«

»Oh?«

»Yes. I have never talked to a Human before. I am curious to learn more while we have the chance. Have you ever met a Nausicaan?«

»Only briefly, Captain … I am sorry, I don't even know your name.«

»Thornbow. My name is Thornbow. And you are …«

»Jonathan Archer.«

»Pleased to meet you, Captain Archer. What do you think? When we boarded the Klingon ship, we found a fairly large collection of beverages which are surprisingly good. I could select a bottle or two for the visit.«

Archer chuckled. »My experience with alien beverages has taught me to be careful … but if you'd like to come over without them, then you could also get to know Captain Venek, the captain of the Vulcan ship. You could join us for dinner?«

The Nausicaan smiled warmly. »I like the idea. Shall I transport over to your transport site?«

»Just a moment, I'll have my armory officer lower the hull plating.« As he said that, Archer hesitated for a moment and studied the Nausicaan's face.

The other man just smiled warmly. »Don't be concerned, Captain Archer, we don't want to fire at you. If we wanted, our weapons could penetrate your shielding anyway.«

»Very funny, Captain Thornbow.« Archer replied, taking the remark with good humor. He knew the Nausicaan was right. He reached for the comm and called Lieutenant Reed.

»Reed here, Sir.«

»Lieutenant, we are expecting the Nausicaan captain as a guest on board. Please welcome Captain Thornbow in the transporter room and show him to my quarters.«

»Aye, Captain.«

It took only two minutes before Reed reported back.

»I am ready, Captain.«

»We'll transport on your command, Captain Archer.« the Nausicaan said.

»Lieutenant, please lower the hull plating and give the command.« He didn't have to tell Reed to bring the hull plating back online immediately after the transport.

»Aye, Captain.« There was a short delay. »Engage transporter … now.«

Archer looked at the view screen and watched the Nausicaan sit in his chair. The other man looked back at him calmly. He didn't disappear.

»There was a transport beam, Captain, but no-one arrived.« Reed reported.

The Nausicaan captain turned in his command chair and talked to someone in the back of the bridge.

»Did it work?« — »It did.«

»Captain Archer, it didn't work. We have a problem with the transporter. I am really annoyed about that, so I'll go and have a word with my first officer right away. Let's postpone the dinner.«

Archer instantly understood what had happened.

»You bastard! What did you do to my ship a moment ago?«

»You'll figure it out. Don't give up finding our old vessel, she really is at those coordinates. All things considered, I think this is still a good deed. Bye Captain!«

»All stations report!« Archer yelled into the comm even before the Klingon Bird of Prey vanished from their sensors and broke the transmission off.

Trip had rang three times, but nothing had happened. He couldn't even hear footsteps. T'Pol being late? That was difficult to imagine. She would have notified him.

Maybe something was wrong? She hadn't been herself lately, so much was obvious. Maybe she was sick? He didn't like that idea at all.

Trip hesitated to enter the override code. T'Pol was a private person, and entering her quarters just like that felt like a breach of trust. What if it turned out she had just been delayed?

His worries were stronger though, so he opened the door with his command code and entered. Once inside, he felt a bit like Alice must have felt when she had entered Wonderland. The lights were out, but T'Pol had lightened dozens of candles spread all over the living area. On the floor, two cushions were laid down and between them stood a low table. Their dinner was already served. In awe he stepped closer and looked at the plate. It was all Vulcan food; several small servings of different dishes, it appeared. Trip involuntarily grinned. On Earth, you would call it finger-food.

Trip took another moment to draw in the atmosphere of the room. It was intensely intimate. The candles stood at different heights, and the ceiling reflected their light back in even softer rays than before. He couldn't help but wonder what T'Pol's face would look like when they sat opposite of each other in the center of the room. He could almost imagine her dark eyes looking at him out of a sea of candles.

»T'Pol?« he asked into the room, and looked around for signs of her. When he found the bathroom door open, he stepped closer hurriedly and looked inside. Nothing. He switched on the lights, but the only thing of interest he noticed was …

Trip grinned real wide now. He just wished she would wear this red underwear again some day. He would have to tell her about it, tonight was as good a chance as any. The only ensemble that he liked even better was the blue one. The panties! If she was wearing that tonight, then he could guarantee for nothing.

Now the only missing piece was T'Pol! He switched the lights off and returned to her living room.

»Commander Tucker, respond!«

He gasped in surprise! It was Jonathan's voice, and he hadn't been pleased. Trip limped over to the comm station.

»Tucker here.«

»Are you fit for duty, Trip? We really need you now.«

»What's the problem?«

»The Nausicaans have kidnapped 9 of the Vulcan crew and escaped, Trip. They took only females.«

»Darn it! You better be kidding me!«

»They also took T'Pol, Trip. We really—«

Trip couldn't hear the rest of what Jonathan said.

Mess Hall was very crowded tonight, Thornbow thought. Everybody was so warm and so friendly that at last he managed to shake off the pressure of work and relax. A few pints of Blood Beer had helped too. He and Nagrath had joked around mostly. There were a few minor things to be taken care of before they could get really drunk. They needed to make sure the Vulcans were secured.

He had sent their youngest pirate to take care of the job; Nagrath and he just waited for him to report back so that they could get it on with the party.

»Did you find out what the button does, by the way?«

Nagrath was puzzled. He was 2 pints ahead.

»Which one?«

»The one which probably vents all atmosphere?«

His first officer chuckled. »No, haven't gotten to it. It might as well raise the room temperature a degree, for all I know.«

»Maybe we should try it?«

»Ask me again after a few more pints.«

They were interrupted when Benjamin arrived. The young Nausicaan stood at attention in front of his captain and politely made his presence known officially.

»Captain?«

The two older pirates just looked at each other and chuckled. Benjamin really was still very young. They had agreed to take him aboard despite his youth because he had shown so much promise. He had been a prize fighter on the darkest and most miserable outpost of the galaxy, and he had never lost. His name had been given to him after a particularly gruesome fight. He had fought a Krekanistan Bloodlust Mulch, and the beast had 10 heads! He had strangled them sequentially, one after another; all the while the mulch had bitten him with the other heads and had torn his flesh off his body. After a short while, the mulch had run out of heads though, and then the fight was over. Hence the name Benjamin, which in the ancient tongue of Nausicaan prize fighters meant he who massacred ten men in one fight.

Now he was responsible for ship security as a Junior Pirate in Kalom's department.

»Are the Vulcan females secured, Benjamin?«

»They are, Sir. The Cargo Bay is closed and locked. Nothing can get in or out.«

»Has anybody entered the Cargo Bay?«

»No, Sir.«

»Good. What else?«

»I posted two guards in front of the door, just to be sure.«

Thornbow looked at Nagrath and they chuckled again. Benjamin really had a lot to learn.

»Benjamin, two guards are not enough. Place at least two groups of two more guards in the adjacent corridors as well. Have someone monitor the status of the Cargo Bay on sensors regularly. Lock down all escape doors. Make sure everybody is armed.«

The young Nausicaan looked slightly defensive now, so Thornbow smiled at him to calm him down. »Get it done, come back and sit down with us, and then we'll tell you a few stories about Vulcans. Trust me, we don't want to take any risks with them, particularly not with the females.«

Trip paced the bridge like a cornered animal. The pain of his injuries was forgotten. In fact, he wished he could have that pain back.

»There is no ion trail.« Venek said and shook his head. He looked up from the sensor display, over to Archer who paced another part of the bridge than Trip did.

»A warp trail?«

»No trail at all, none that we can detect, Captain.«

»Damn it.« Trip could be heard from the other side.

They were all rather drunk now. You could say about the Klingons whatever you wanted, but the beer wasn't bad. The taste was to the point, a very effective beverage. Thornbow had only slight difficulties sitting down again after he had come back from refilling their pints.

Kalom, who had relaxed significantly after 7 pints, was just telling Benjamin about the Vulcans. A group of pirates had joined the round and listened intently. Not much was known about them, and only few Nausicaans had seen a Vulcan and lived to tell it. Although Kalom himself had never met a Vulcan either, his brother had. Just now he made a dramatic gesture to reinforce the significance of how long Vulcans had been at war before they discovered logic.

»In effect, they had to learn how to suppress all their emotions just so that they could stop killing each other. That is how violent Vulcans are.«

The young Nausicaan swallowed.

»How many of those beasts do we have in the Cargo Bay?«

»10. All females.«

»Holy shit. I'll post another few guards right after this pint!«

The other Nausicaans just grinned as he gulped down half of his glass at once.

After a short moment of silence, Kalom added: »There is more.«

Benjamin was clearly shocked. »More?«

»They also have freaky PSI powers.«

The young Nausicaan tried a mock smile, but the way he held on to his pint gave him away.

»You are pulling my leg now, Kalom. No way!«

»Absolutely. Captain, am I right?«

»He is right.« Thornbow added.

»What kind of powers?«

Kalom just leaned back in his chair, sipped from his Blood Beer, and looked at Thornbow. »Why don't you tell the kid, Captain?«

»About the PSI powers? Maybe it's better to not tell him, Kalom.«

»I want to know!« Benjamin blurted out instantly.

»It's your choice, kid.« Thornbow chuckled and took a good sip of beer.

»Essentially, they mess with your mind. They can read your thoughts or know how you feel, they can make you see images or hear sounds as they please, all they need to do is to touch your face.«

Benjamin gulped down the rest of his beer at once and looked at Thornbow wide-eyed.

»You are kidding, right?«

»Or, if you have angered them in any way, they might as well do this …« Thornbow slowly rose from his chair and stood upright at the table. The Nausicaan pirates around him skipped a bit to the side with their chairs, to make room for him. They knew what was coming.

»They reach for your face …« Thornbow spoke in a low voice and raised his right hand slowly and dramatically to his own face. »… and once they have managed to touch it, you are their slave, Benjamin. They own your mind and control your thoughts, especially the females.«

Benjamin nodded, understanding.

»Now, in case their violent nature takes over, in case you have angered them in any way, then they will grab your mind and suffocate it with their powers.«

His own fingers began to apply pressure to his face. Thornbow shook his head left and right in mock attempts to get rid of it, pulled at his wrist with his other hand desperately, and at last yelled out with a coarse voice: »And then, when your mind is weak and almost dying, they rip your soul out of your body and send your undead spirit into the underworld!«

With an unexpectedly violent gesture Thornbow mimicked the movement. His fingernails dug into his face and then he ripped his hand away! He stood there with outspread arms for an instant, and just collapsed.

The Nausicaans roared with laughter.

»Very funny, Captain.« Benjamin sulked. He watched his Captain's body lie on the floor and waited for him to get up. Naturally, the Captain kept lying on the floor, but Benjamin wouldn't be fooled twice. Opponents in the ring had tried pretending to be dead before, he knew what it looked like when a man was really dead.

His resolve wavered, however, when the Captain wouldn't move for quite a while. One after another his shipmates stopped laughing and looked at the body on the floor with concern.

»Captain?« several of them asked almost simultaneously.

»Fuck!« Nagrath shouted. »I knew Cargo Bay wouldn't be shielded enough to protect against the Vulcan's PSI shit! We are in big trouble now.«

Out of the sudden one of the Nausicaan pirates jumped up from his chair, grunted, and jerked around violently with his hands pressed over his ears. Then »Aaaaah!« he yelled, and collapsed on the floor next to the Captain.

»Har, har, har!«

Benjamin didn't think this was funny at all.

»Come on,« Thornbow comforted, put another beer down in front of him, and laughed; »this will help to deal with the shock. Relax, nobody will lose his soul to a Vulcan under my command. I certainly won't. Cheers.«

»But it wasn't just all a joke, Captain, right? They are dangerous.«

»Not while they suppress their emotions.«

»And if the emotions break through?«

Thornbow took another sip of beer before answering.

»Don't let them touch your face.«

The three men had almost given up. They had retreated into the captain's ready room to continue their fruitless discussion without unsettling the bridge crew.

»Our entire approach is wrong.« Venek said in this moment.

»What do you mean?«

Venek looked at Trip and suddenly his face brightened up.

»We should look at it from the other side! If you were a Nausicaan pirate, why would you capture a group of females?«

»Duh, to sell them as slaves, of course.«

»Right, and where would you do that?«

»What do I know about slavery? I'd guess the Orion Syndicate would be a good place to start.«

»Wait a second.« Archer interrupted them. He looked at Venek and went on: »I know what you are getting at. The coordinates they gave us are in the borderland between Orion and Klingon space …«

Trip picked up the thought. »That's where they were before they stole the Klingon vessel …«

Venek looked at each of the men, then said: »Going to those coordinates might be a good idea after all. Wherever they are headed, maybe it is somewhere they have been before.«

»The borderland.«

»The odds that it is this region of space are rather high.«

Archer wasn't quite convinced. »We just head to their old ship?«

»What else can we do?«

»You could stay here and wait 48 hours, Gentlemen.«

All three men groaned when the PVC-clad human suddenly stood in the room.

»Go away, Daniels.« Archer told the man. The last time he had followed his advice, his Chief Engineer had almost been killed!

»Captain, this time it really is serious. You have my word: Nothing will happen to the Vulcans. The Nausicaans will be back here in precisely 45 hours 12 minutes and will return them unharmed.«

»So you say.« Trip spat. Daniels just ignored him and spoke to Archer with an intense, imploring look on his face.

»If you follow the Klingon ship, on the other hand, you will get drawn into a battle with the Klingons which will spur a war between them and Earth; which will devastate your planet; which will erase you, Captain Archer, from all history books and your mission from the memory of mankind. The founding of the Federation will be delayed and all I have worked for will have been in vain, Captain.«

Archer didn't believe a word.

»I've heard that all before, Daniels. Just get lost, we are pretty busy right now.«

»Captain, please believe me. A lot is at stake for you personally too! Have you ever heard the name James Tiberius Kirk?«

»No.«

»And you never will, just stay here. Trust me on this one.«

Archer threw his hands up in frustration. »Fine! We will wait here and do nothing for two days, Daniels. I promise.«

»I have your word?«

»Yes.«

»Today you have shown what a great leader you will become, Captain Archer. I will return with the knowledge that the future of mankind is in capable hands. Goodbye!«

Only an instant later, Daniels was gone.

»Where were we?« Archer asked.

»On our way to the Nausicaan ship?« Trip and Venek proposed simultaneously.

»Right. Let's get to work.«

Continue to Chapter 10

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