The Final...-Pt. 14

The Final Mission

Part Fourteen

by Aquila

Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Paramount owns the Star Trek universe.
Summary: A sequel to Starfleet Engineering
Category: Alternate Universe

==

The conference had ended with a standing ovation following Trip’s acceptance of the position of emissary. Anya Annickova kept one eye on the celebrity du jour as she bade farewell to the Board members. Her duties were completed when she spied an opening in the crowd that surrounded her quarry. She took advantage of it.

“You are a natural,” she whispered in his ear, her hand on the sleeve of his jacket.

Trip tilted his head to give her access to one ear, as he continued to shake hands and thank his well wishers.

“A natural what?”

She leaned toward the proffered ear. “Politician. You are the right Terran to lead the negotiations.”

After one last, “Thanks for your support” and a squeeze of a hand, he turned toward her. “You did all the backroom lobbying.”

“My job was easy, once you agreed to accept the position.” She ran her hand down his jacket sleeve, sliding her fingers between his. “Do you have time for a drink?” She flicked her small finger against the palm of his hand.

Trip shivered, which brought a smug smile to the face of his companion. As politely as he could he removed his hand from hers.

“How long have we been flirtin’ at conferences and meetin’s, Anya?” He kept his voice low and his expression neutral.

“Nearly twenty years, give or take a sabbatical or two, darling.” The endearment dripped with innuendo.

“I turned ya down politely every time, didn’t I?”

She stepped in for the kill, “Yes, much to my disappointment.” Her hand slipped under his jacket to rest over his heart.

“What makes ya think this time would be any different?” It was different this time, but he thought he had concealed his struggle with temptation.

“Because this is the first time I’ve flirted with Gerard Knightley.”

==

Ami had given him a passkey for her condominium with a patio that overlooked the sea. He had booked in under Knightley’s name, his new identity another gift from Ami. The deception appealed to Anya, who played the seductress for the lobby staff.

“Gerard, darling, I can trust you to be a gentleman, can’t I?” She winked at the desk clerk, who blushed, when she made sure he got an eyeful of décolletage.

To Trip she whispered, “Couldn’t you have chosen a more interesting name than Gerard for an alias?”

The elevator doors opened. Trip rushed her inside. “This was a mistake.” He pushed the “door open” button.

“I promise to behave.” Anya slapped the “door close” button at the same time as she devoured his mouth.

==

The aroma of food caused Trip to turn. He had been leaning on the balcony railing looking at the view of the sea. To his disappointment when they had closed the door on the world, Anya set aside her attempts at seduction to prepare an omelette.

They dined in companionable silence at a small bistro table on the patio. Trip kept their wine glasses filled with cool Chardonnay. They were on their third glass when Annickova broke the silence.

“Who is she?”

Trip paused in mid sip, “Who is who?”

“Who keeps you on a short leash and why has she left you alone on Risa of all places?” Anya pursed her lips. “Big mistake, if she expects to get you back – shall we say – prepared to obey?”

Anya watching the play of emotions across his face immediately regretted the question.

“Trip, I’m so sorry.” She moved from her seat to his side, slipping an arm around his shoulder. “I didn’t know.”

“No one ever will.”

Trip finished his drink looking over the rim of his glass. Anya was an enticing combination of free spirit and respected colleague. Gerard Knightley would not hesitate to find solace in her arms, but he wasn’t Gerard Knightley.

==

They were dancing under the stars. Annickova had found the entertainment unit and turned it on. She had turned off the lights. Only the moon lit the patio. Trip had been reluctant when she first tugged at his hand, but acquiesced as a form of apology for his distance.

“Although we never knew who she was, we envied her.” Anya pushed a lock of hair that had fallen into his eye out of the way. “Did you know how we talked about you, when we got together after the sessions?”

She rested her head on his shoulder, “For twenty years we wondered what she was like, the woman who kept Trip Tucker on the straight and narrow.”

Trip rested his cheek on her head.

“You came to Risa to forget, and ran into me. Then I hijack your plans without asking if you wanted to be hijacked.” She halted. “Forgive me.”

Trip roared with laughter, “Anya, females have been hijacking my plans without askin’ all my life. My wife, before she passed, without consultin’ me, arranged for her replacement. What is more, she was right. Ma new woman hijacked my plans the minute I laid eyes on her.”

The laughter turned to sobs, “I was my wife’s husband for so long. Now that she’s gone I don’t recognize the man she left behind. Where did I go, Anya?”

Anya pulled his head down so that it rested on her shoulder.

“I get to Risa thinkin’ that maybe I could find the man I was before I married her. How can I make a commitment to my new woman, when I don’t know who I am anymore?”

He laughed again, “Before I could take one step off the straight and narra’ ya hijacked me into changin’ the world.”

He lifted his head. “I’m sorry, Anya. You don’t deserve my anger.”

“Why Gerard honey, whateva do ya mean? We agreed to a little fun and laughter - to pass the time in the moonlight as men and women do, and if the occasion moves us, under the sheets in the oldest dance of all? No commitments and no regrets.”

==

“No commitments and no regrets,” whispered Anya as she kissed the top of his head.

She pulled a sheet over his naked form then tip toed across the floor, with her sandals in her hands. At the door, she paused to look back. His skin was aglow with the red rays of dawn. She blew him a kiss as a tear slipped down her cheek.

“No commitments,” she promised as she turned away.

End of Part Fourteen

Continue to Part 15 - The End

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Two folks have made comments

You have me completely baffled. I can believe Trip, without T'Pol is lost. I can't imagine where you are taking this story! Keep going!

You have me on a merry-go-round. Can we trust Anya? I can't decide. And Trip is apparently hooked on Ami ("ma new woman"). Indeed! Usually merry-go-rounds make me nauseous - with this one, I can't seem to get off. And thanks for the quick posting of new chapters. I anxiously await Ch 15.