Faith-Part 21

"FAITH OF THE HEART"
An "Enterprise" story

By Alison M. DOBELL

RATING: NC-17.
ARCHIVE: Yes. Just let me know where.
FEEDBACK: Welcomed
EMAIL: AlisonMDobell@aol.com
SERIES/SEQUEL: Part 21
WEBSITE: http://www.carlajane.50megs.com/Ali00.html

SUMMARY": "When members of the crew go suddenly missing, Captain Archer finds the only witness is unable to tell them anything. Lieutenant Reed takes it upon himself to turn detective."
Disclaimer: The characters and 'Enterprise' belong to Paramount. No
infringement of copyright is intended.

Part 21

* * * * *

Ensign Hoshi Sato made her way to the mess hall with Travis. The whole bridge had been abuzz and judging by the underlying current all over the ship
news had traveled faster than light. The shocking news that the Captain had
interred his Chief Engineer in the brig for thirty days had at first been disbelieved then was slowly accepted with stunned astonishment. Worried looks on subdued faces gradually changed into those of general confusion.
Hoshi hoped her assumption about the Captain relenting had been right. As
they stepped into the mess hall her eyes scanned for the one face she was
hoping to find. Travis slowed his walk to match her strides as she homed in on her target. Lt Reed looked up cautiously from his cereal. Hoshi made a face. Was that *all* he was having? He ignored her look, his expression guarded but glad to see them in his own cautious way.

"Mind if we join you?"

He moved his PADD to make room for them to place their plates on the table. "Of course."

He watched them warily. Hoshi deliberately said nothing for a few moments, cutting into her Caesar Salad and eating the first forkful in silence. Travis took his cue from Hoshi. Lieutenant Reed seemed to relax just a fraction then it was as if Hoshi detected it as a chink in his armour. "What did you mean on the bridge when you said, *so he should*? You sounded annoyed with the Captain."

The lieutenant bit his bottom lip. *Damn. When would he learn to keep his big mouth shut?* "It was nothing."

"So you said." Chipped in Travis biting into his hash browns.

Lieutenant Reed put down his spoon and looked at them. "Look, I was tense and uptight, all right? I didn't like seeing my Captain lose it on the bridge. It was.... embarrassing and more than a little unsettling."

Travis frowned slightly. "Why? You know the Captain is a passionate man."

The Armoury Officer's mouth tightened. Hoshi was watching him carefully
between bites of her salad. Content to let Travis ask the questions so that
she could concentrate on his reactions. "That is beside the point!" He said with a hint of anger. He paused and took a deep breath. Getting upset would just alarm his friends and do no one any good, least of all Commander Tucker. "Captain Archer is not only the Captain of Earth's first star ship
he is the role model for every one aboard this vessel. He leads by *example*. Tell me Travis, what example does he set when he locks his Chief Engineer in the brig for THIRTY DAYS because he cannot control his temper?"

Hoshi decided to speak up. Her voice low but pitched clearly. "The Captain mentioned fraternisation between the Commander and Sub-Commander."

"I know but that was a matter that should have been discussed behind closed doors. Not in front of the entire bridge crew."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "There's more to it isn't there Malcolm?"

"I'm sure the Captain will sort this out, Hoshi. Now if you'll excuse me there are a number of things requiring my attention. All of them urgent."

Realising they would not get him to say anything else unless he chose to, Hoshi nodded and watched him get to his feet, grab his PADD and go. Travis looked at her. "I don't understand why he's so upset. Okay, I know we were
all shocked at the Captain's outburst and I admit I was stunned he would do
that to the Commander but they've fallen out before."

*Yes* Thought Hoshi ruefully. *But never over T'Pol*

* * * * *

Captain Archer stared hard at the Denobulan. "Are you saying that this mating fever could last MONTHS?"

The Denobulan sighed inwardly. Trust the Captain to see it in the most negative of lights. "Captain. This is natural. It is a biological imperative. To try to stop nature would be the worst thing you could do. For the Sub-Commander, the Commander *and* for this vessel."

He frowned, a baffled look on his face. "What does Trip and T'Pol's sex life have to do with this ship?"

Dr Phlox had to remind himself that the Captain was having difficulty with the subject matter for reasons that were becoming alarmingly clear to him as insight clarified his earlier confusion. What he was seeing now was a revelation to him but it explained so much about the Captain's reactions towards the Commander. A connection a lot more complicated than he had first supposed. Did the Commander know? He had the uncomfortable feeling that the Sub-Commander had guessed which meant it would only be a matter of time
before the Commander found out. When the doctor still had not answered his
question the Captain leaned forward and stared hard at the Denobulan.

"Doctor?"

He paused a moment longer to recollect his train of thought. "I was not talking about the mechanics of sexual contact, Captain. I was talking about
emotion. One specific emotion in fact. Love."

"Love?"

The doctor beamed. Felt a warm response in his mind, curling around his
thoughts comfortably as if he were being hugged from the inside out. Fascinating. "Yes, Captain. When people are happy they work more
efficiently as the Sub-Commander might say. Is that not true?"

The Captain's answer was cautious. "Yes, it is true."

"Is it not better to have a happy ship than a miserable one, Captain?"

"So you're saying I should let my crew fraternise without any consideration given to discipline?"

"You are a resourceful man, Captain. There must be ways to maintain iscipline without hitting people over the head with it."

* * * * *

Commander Tucker sighed, inhaling the unique taste and flavour of his
favourite Vulcan. As the kiss broke off he started to sit up but T'Pol wanted him right where he was. He smiled as she eased him back down, her
lips teasing his once more, her deft fingers disrobing him as the kiss deepened. Neither seemed in the least conscious of where they were, their thoughts and attention focused exclusively on each other. Trip felt his body reacting almost violently to her proximity. Heat flooding his loins at her touch. He was perspiring profusely, getting more and more aroused, the heat of his body increasing and sparking off a similar reaction in the Vulcan. The need to conjoin and mate was driving everything else out of their minds. Burning desire consumed them. Their fever rising. T'Pol eased off him only long enough to remove her own clothing, her head dipping down again so she could kiss him, her lips pulling his to hers, his hands sweeping up around her naked back then sliding between them as her mind prompted him. Told him what she wanted. Where she needed to be touched. Kissed. Caressed. Aroused and rammed senseless. The pictures she drew in his mind made the Kama Sutra look like a pathetic child's comic. Her desire washed through him, made him gasp and moan, his need for her becoming painful in response.

She slid on top of him, their slick bodies lubricating the delicious slide of flesh on flesh. She guided his hands with her mind, her own hands performing a sensuous ballet of their own and heightening his sexual arousal. She inhaled his scent, washed her tongue down his neck, chasing the pulse as she stroked him into an erection so hard it was painful. But he would have died for that pain, the urgent throb of rigid flesh filling her hand with the hot rhythm of blood pumping in time to the red rush of passion filling her ears and blinding her to anything but him. With one hand he caressed her breast, thumb and forefinger tightening the nipple into a tight pebble of desire, his other hand sliding down between her legs and sending probing fingers to titillate her sex. Warm juices stirred as he excited the bundle of nerves trembling with fire at his touch. Her body needy. His strung taut as a bow. She could smell his thickening scent, the pheromones a heady wine to her. He could feel her coming against his hand, his fingers slipping and sliding on the flood that spammed against the rhythm of his fingers. Her moan of pleasure making him delirious to be inside her. Her hand like poetry on his penis, flexing and stroking him with such beautiful even precision. Sheathing and unsheathing him as she rode his foreskin to the aching throb of his blood engorged muscle. He was dancing over the abyss, so close to the edge it brought tears to his eyes. Needing her. Wanting her so badly. His control straining every muscle in his body. His mind burning up as if the thoughts in it were exposed wires sizzling with the increasing electrical current passing between them. Still he hung on. The timing *had* to be hers. His gift to her.

Even in her foggy haze of passion she noticed how beautiful he was. How perfect a mate he provided for her and she for him. A great wealth of emotion engulfed her, a love so deep, so high that she could not imagine the
height or depth of it. It was endless. Like her love for him. This strange human creature who had invaded her heart and won her body and soul. This man who had become more precious to her than her own life. It was *his* pulse that beat in her. *His* blood that kept her heart going. *His* presence that made her come alive with a joy so sear it exploded in a never ending burst of concatenations like fireworks going off in her mind and sparkling along her nerve endings at the mere mention of his name. She was so possessive of him now. Protective and devoted to him in a way she had not thought possible to one who was not Vulcan. The strength of their bond delighted her, left her in awe. Filled her with a joy so sweet and
unexpected it made her humble. This was no mistake. No error of judgment. No sleight of hand. This was the one thing that gave her life meaning. Him.
Hers. As she was his. A smug satisfaction crawled up her spine then she
positioned her arching back, looked deep into his equally glazed eyes, and willed him to focus. He struggled to descend momentarily from the dizzy heights and focused on her. A beatific smile curved her lips and gave him joy, then she impaled herself on him with a slow but hard thrust that made him shudder so deep it took his breath away and left him dying with her name upon his lips.

The sweat was dripping off her face and sliding down the glistening plains of his face. Both looked as if they had been dipped in a river, hair sodden and flattened against their heads. Drenched in perspiration but oblivious as they shone. T'Pol held him tight inside her and pressed her hips in a locking manouevre against his excited upward thrusts. He paused. Heart and body aching with the effort to still his instinctive and burning need. Very slowly T'Pol caressed him with her interior muscles, watching his face with an intensity that bound him in stillness like chains. He could not move except by her largesse and the power that gave her added to the intensity of their copulation. She moved almost with stealth, eliciting tiny little moans from him, more sweat pouring and stinging his eyes so that she became a blur. Gently she bent her head and sucked the moisture from his eyes. He stared at her, his eyes thanking her, his body adoring her. Then she kissed him slow and deep, her slow languid kiss being matched by gently rocking hips. Her muscles riding up and down his trapped member while he leaked inside her. His excitement giving his heart a run for its' money. Yet she was gentle with him, knew how far to extend the agony to find the ultimate bliss. Cradled and coaxed, they made love as if in slow motion but with more going on inside than was obvious from the outside. T'Pol placed a hand gently against the side of his face, splaying the fingers to settle on the contact points, rejoicing as she felt his mind open up to her without her asking. A wonderful gift of trust that pricked her eyes with joy.

Love. He loved her. She loved him. And in the building passion of coitus she rode the delicious wash of seminal fluid like a shock wave as she excited him to a slow drawn out orgasm. Her own flood a celebration and greeting rising up to meet him as he came. Like a connoisseur she savoured everything. Her analytical mind able to disseminate the various elements that came together to culminate in the ultimate joining of their two species. The intimacy a rare confection that moved her so deeply. Alike and yet not alike. They complimented each other. Filled in the empty shadows where loneliness had once dwelt. Only together could they ever be complete. He was beginning to relax beneath her now. So completely and utterly spent that his body had lost all rigidity except for his penis which laid trapped snug and warm within the grip of her superior muscles. The blood engorged tissues would normally deflate, their job done, their impetus moving from action to rest. A recovery period necessary for the human male to replace the ejaculate from his now empty sacs. T'Pol knew. It did not hold true here. She controlled the rising and the setting of his lusts. Orchestrated their love making into something erotic and sublime. Her biology superior to him in every way but one. Her smile broadened. His weary eyes kissed hers without touching. His heart hugged her to him as he fought the urge to sleep. So sluggish now. Worn out. Energy depleted. T'Pol had a surprise for him. He caught the fleeting shadow of a mischievous thought and his look sharpened.

*What are ya up to, darlin'?*

Her look became suspiciously innocent. Alarm bells rang in his head but before he could determine what they meant he felt her mind pushing irresistibly against his. A different direction. A subtle mental friction replacing the slide of flesh on flesh. Another level of erotica. One with a more focused feel to it. As if she was making love to his mind now not his body.

*What are ya doing?*

He was not afraid. He trusted her. Hell, if she wanted to kill him he could think of no better way to go but he knew she loved him. Was secure in their feelings for each other. He could be patient. If it was what she wanted then he would want it too. That was when he felt it. His eyes
widened.

*How in hell are ya able to do that?*

She smiled in his mind, enjoying his sense of shock as his testicles began to fill again. His penis stirring slowly inside her. A delicious glint of wickedness refracted in her eyes bathing him with humour and desire. He was stunned. Had not known she could do that or that she could alter his own chemical balance to keep him awake and *active*. She heard his thoughts and laughed in his mind. Tears rolled unbidden from his eyes. T'Pol felt amoment of panic, his thoughts reassured her quickly. His look, like his hands, so gentle. *I'm just so happy, darlin'. I never knew I could be so happy and I owe it all to you*

They came together in a kiss. This time T'Pol let him set the pace. *His* timing not hers. Her gift to him.

* * * * *

Captain Archer was pacing the doctor's side room with growing impatience and more than a little annoyance. He was, after all, the Captain. "This is ridiculous, doctor!"

The doctor could not stop smiling though he managed to keep his voice on a sober level. "We must wait until they have finished, Captain."

The Captain stopped and glared at him. "I can't believe I'm trapped here until Trip and T'Pol finish making love! This is so surreal it can't be happening."

Dr Phlox's eyes twinkled with merriment. "I can assure you Captain, it is definitely happening."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"I would not be Denobulan if I weren't." Responded the perky doctor.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Our ways are somewhat different to yours, Captain. We celebrate the sharing of our feelings with those we love and we honour it when we are gifted to witness it in others."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

The doctor knew what he was thinking but wanted the Captain to spell it out for him. Where was the fun in it otherwise? "That depends on what you think I am saying."

The Captain paused, flicked a glance towards the closed door and sighed. He looked at the doctor. "It sounded as if you were saying that you liked to watch couples making love, but that can't be right."

"Why not? Fornication is the reason we are all here. Without the sexual ension between the sexes leading to copulation and coitus the continuation of our various species would be in terminal decline."

Captain Archer tried to hide his flinch at the Denobulan's cheerful discussion of such an intimate subject. And knowing that his Chief Engineer was engaged in rather extensive sexual relations with his science officer in the next room was doing nothing to belay that discomfort. It made him feel soiled, as if he had been caught with his eye against the keyhole.

"Of course," Said the Denobulan matter-of-factly. "I do like to *ask* a couple's permission to let me watch."

The Captain had gone almost white. Dr Phlox was tempted to reach for a hypospray. "Captain? Are you all right?"

* * * * *

Travis Mayweather was dying with curiosity. He was back on the bridge for his next shift. The amusement on Ensign Hoshi Sato's face was driving
him to despair. Why couldn't she just tell him? Then there was the normally stiff and retiring Lt Reed. His face practically *glowed* with humour. They
acted as if they shared some big secret and he was getting pissed off with
it.

"Why can't you just tell me?"

"You'll see." Smirked Hoshi.

"Patience," Added the lieutenant, his eyes sparkling. "It will be worth it, I promise you."

The boomer shrugged and tried to hide how annoyed he was with their juvenile behaviour. Of course it would not have been juvenile if he had been allowed to join in. It was the exclusion that was killing him. That and a rising curiosity. A few minutes later the Captain came on to the bridge. He
was four hours late for his shift. A fact that was unprecedented. Naturally no one commented on it. Hoshi and Malcolm exchanged a look then pretended to be absorbed in their respective station duties. Travis just stared at the aptain. If anyone had asked him to describe the Captain's appearance he would have said dazed. Slowly he took his seat and stared at the inert viewscreen. Travis could not stand it any longer.

"Captain?"

Captain Archer turned his head to look at him. He looked distracted. "Yes, Travis?"

"Are you all right, sir?"

He thought about that. Was he alright? Did the fact that two of his senior staff could not keep their hands or hormones off each other bother him
that much? He did not want to explore his feelings on that one. Not just yet. He was still coming to terms with what he had seen when his impatience
had overridden the Denoblan concept of common sense and strode out of sickbay. The two people concerned had neither seen him nor noticed as he stood stock still a few feet from Trip's biobed. A biobed that incidentally was made for one. Only now it housed two gently writhing bodies, so closely entwined in their love making that you could hardly see where one body ended and the other began. It had been a surprise. A shock. Then an incredible turn on. He had felt himself hardening in his pants and flushed on realising that the doctor had come to stand beside him and, as well as taking great interest in what Trip and T'Pol were doing, seemed to be aware of the Captain's growing arousal. His embarrassment complete, he had all but fled sickbay leaving behind a bemused doctor and two very busy and preoccupied members of his crew.

"Yes, Travis." He said, with a slight catch in his voice. He tried unsuccessfully to block the images from his mind. Impossibly, they were multiplying as he frantically tried to excise them. *Damn*

Hoshi noticed how flushed he was. Intended to have a little fun. "Are you sure, sir? You look... a little flushed?"

To her amusement the flush deepened. His neck went a deep scarlet. Lieutenant Reed spoke in a polite calm tone. "I cannot help noticing that you appear to be hot, Captain. Do you wish me to have the environmental controls altered on the bridge?"

He snapped his head round too fast and fixed a panicked look on the Armoury Officer. "What?"

Yes. That was definitely a guilty look on his face. How had Hoshi known? Lieutenant Reed watched the Captain carefully as he rephrased his question. "You look hot Captain. Do you wish to have cool air recycled through the bridge?"

He could not answer so just nodded. Without further comment, Lieutenant Reed made the necessary adjustments. As his eyes met Hoshi's again, it took him all his control not to burst out laughing.

* * * * *

Far away a Suliban ship dropped out of warp and settled in normal space.
It was on its' way home. Back to the helix. On board, Silik twisted his coarse grainy face into a look of dissatisfaction. Why had he heard no word? The operation had been flawlessly planned. He should have received word about the success of the mission but there had been nothing. He was impatient but essentially a coward at heart. That was why he had been so easily manipulated by the lure of the future. He wanted to bet on a sure thing not waste his energy and resources with a lost cause.

Biting his lip he made a decision and left the bridge. When he reached the chamber he looked across to where his mentor was wont to semi-materialise. A shadow of the future that struck fear and intense loyalty in him. After all. Who better to lead his quest than the one being who already knew the answers? He waited patiently until the chamber flickered and the bipedal shadow registered to his enhanced sight.

"Why have you called me?"

"There has been no word from my operatives about their success with the earth vessel. I cannot contact them."

A pause. The voice seemed deeper. A flat emotionless response that almost denoted disappointment. "They failed."

Silik was alarmed. "Failed? How?"

"They must have been detected."

Silik was confused. "Enterprise does not have that level of technology."

Several minutes dragged out in silence between them. Silik felt a tremor of nervousness which he carefully hid. "What should we do?"

"Make no more mistakes."

He was about to ask him for something more definite. A plan even. omething he could implement without thinking but even as he formed the words he realised he would be talking to himself. The chamber was already empty.

* * * * *

Continue to Part 22

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Four of you have made comments

oh my poor jon! NOT!!! I love Phlox's take on lovemaking.

Hoshi got'em!

Well done.

Tracy

It just keeps getting better and better. I'm hoping this story/stories never end, because I so look forward to each and every chapter. Thanks.

Oh, thank you, another GRREATTT chapter. Loved it.

Ugh, can I slap the Captain already? Please?

This is of course, a terrific story and all of your characters are wonderful.

It just gets better and better.