Ragnarok - part 2

Star Trek—The Continuing Voyages of the Enterprise

Ragnarok

By ginamr

Rating: PG-13 (For Implied Violence and Adult Language)
Disclaimer: Only new characters and the new plots are mine. The original characters belong to Paramount. I receive no monetary reward for my work; my only reward is the joy of creating.

Possible spoilers: Broken Bow through Terra Prime

Author’s Note: Some names of the Briliarins taken from Nurse mythology. And just so you all don’t think I’m stealing, I did read a ST: Enterprise fanfiction story about a culture similar to the Briliarins but the Briliarin queen is a bit more open than the monarch in that story. Plus, this story moves in a different direction than that one…Plus that one was an A/T’P pairing…this one is T/T’P.

Last time on Star Trek: Enterprise… Ragnarok Part 1

Part Two

Play Intro.

A half hour later…

“High orbit, Travis.”

“Aye, sir.”

Archer turned to Hoshi. “Channel open, Captain,” she replied to his unasked question.

He nodded and cleared his throat. “I’m Captain Jonathon Archer of the Earth starship Enterprise. We come on a mission to explore other cultures, and we’d like to learn about your people.”

Silence permeated the air for a few moments before a response came through. It took the Universal Translator a few moments to adjust to the syntax, but it finally locked on.

“…Repeat…this is Layetta of the Ca’vaen House…you may address me as House Mistress Layetta or as House Mistress.”

“Well, House Mistress, I was hoping for the opportunity to speak with an individual or group of individuals that represent your people.”

“Her Majesty has instructed that I arrange for you to speak with her in person.”

Archer looked at T’Pol and she met his gaze, her features neutral with the exception of a raised eyebrow. He then returned his attention to the conversation at hand, smiling broadly. “When would she like to meet with us?”

“I am sending you the coordinates now. Her Majesty has also requested that you come dressed in civilian clothing. With the coordinates is some information concerning our customs and our history.”

Archer nodded. “I look forward to it.”

“As does her Majesty.” With this, the comm. was cut.

“Sir…there are some things in this that I think the away team should be aware of.”

Archer nodded. “T’Pol, Lieutenant Reed…I’d like you on the away team. Hoshi, I’ll need you there in case something goes wrong with the UT.”

“Sir, it seems the Briliarins have a superstition about odd numbers…it’s more comfortable for them.”

“Perhaps Commander Tucker?” T’Pol suggested.

Archer nodded. “Stop by Engineering. We’ll meet in the Command Center for a quick briefing.”

The others nodded and one by one made their way towards their destinations.

**********

“The Captain wants me on the away team?”

“It was my suggestion. It seems that this race is more comfortable with odd numbers.

Trip frowned. “Hmm. That’s strange.”

T’Pol nodded. “Indeed it is.”

********

Command Center, a few minutes later…

Archer smiled as Trip and T’Pol entered the room. “Nice of you to join us.”

Neither said anything, moving towards the others. Hoshi cleared her throat. “Something that is very important for us to remember is that this is a matriarchal society.”

“Well, it looks like the Orion men aren’t the only ones who are slaves to their women,” Reed muttered.

Trip chuckled softly shaking his head. “Sounds like your kind of people, huh Malcolm?”

“Another thing that I think is especially important for the men to know is that the women of this society aren’t at all modest and wear very little. The one with the most clothing is the monarch. She is the most covered in order to protect her from male visitors who would take advantage of her.”

“Lieutenant, Commander…I’d like to make it clear that simply because they aren’t modest that doesn’t mean they’re to be taken advantage of. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” both replied.

“Another thing to note is that they’re big on rank. Males are usually lower in rank than females…with the exception of the monarch’s misters.”

Trip’s eyebrows shot up. “Misters? As in more than one?”

Hoshi nodded. “I was just getting to that. Unlike Humans, the Briliarins have multiple partners. The monarch has the most partners, who are the highest ranking males in their society. Usually, they sit at the monarch’s side ready to get anything she needs.”

“Sounds like the women have it pretty damn good here.”

“Captain, since we’re meeting with a matriarchal society, I think it would be best if Commander T’Pol did all of the talking.” Archer nodded. “And there’s something else, sir. You may not like it…but men are considered property.” Hoshi bit her lower lip. “While we’re on the surface, you’ll have to…”

“I believe what Ensign Sato is trying to say is that while on the surface, you will need to act…”

“Like a stud service,” Trip finished, grimacing.

T’Pol looked at him curiously. “That is an accurate comparison.” She turned to Hoshi. “Am I to assume that Mr. Reed will act as your escort?”

Hoshi nodded unblushingly while Reed frowned, looking quite disgruntled. “And sir…I’d recommend that we dress like the Briliarins to blend in better,” she stated, now looking acutely uncomfortable.

To the women’s surprise, the men said nothing. Trip simply stood there torn between amusement and awkward embarrassment while Archer stood stiff. Reed’s embarrassment and discomfort were obvious, letting the others know exactly what he thought of that idea.

“It could help first contact go more smoothly…”

Archer sighed. “All right, Ensign…in the interest of first contact…”

Hoshi nodded. “I’ll see if I can get the Quartermaster to put something together.” With this, she left the Command Center.

“Looks like this is goin’ ta be an interestin’ first contact.”

**********

A few hours later on the surface…

Trip frowned as he fingered the writing on his clothes. “What’s this?”

“Markings. Basically, it says ‘property of House Mistress T’Pol’.” Trip opened this mouth to protest, but Hoshi cut him off. “It’s for your protection, sir. Unless you’d like to ‘entertain’ whatever woman claims you.” Trip frowned, muttering under his breath. “The Captain’s markings say the same and the Lieutenant’s…”

“Say ‘property of Second House Mistress Hoshi’,” Reed finished.

It soothed Trip’s bristled ego to know that he wasn’t the only male who was ‘marked’. The five approached the entrance with T’Pol in front, Archer and Trip on either side of her and Hoshi following behind, her arm hooked into Reed’s. They walked through the doorway and were greeted by a surprising sight.

There before them were several eloquent, cat-like creatures. Though their physiques were similar, there were several distinct trait differences such as height, fur color, spot patterns, eye color, and tail length. The men also noticed very human-like noses and fur-covered breasts which were hard to miss considering that the materials covering them were so thin.

As the queen approached, the men did as was custom and dropped to one knee, avoiding looking at the queen until she instructed them to rise. She looked very much the part of a snow leopard, minus the spots. The cat-like slits of her eyes were a tempting shade of ocean blue, her human-like nose and lips fierce beauty to her tame features, pointed cat ears rose on the top of her head, enticing the imagination along with her mane of wavy black hair, which fell adoringly over her shoulders. Her clothing revealed a flat stomach with a jewel colored differently than those in her hair replacing her belly button. She wore a silky, filmy cover above her hips colored a light, sensual orange.

“Your Majesty, I am First House Mistress T’Pol of the Earthship Enterprise. This is my First, Charles, whom prefers Trip…” T’Pol began, placing her hand on Trip’s right shoulder. “…and this is my second, Jonathon. Behind me is Second House Mistress Hoshi with her First, Malcolm.”

The queen smiled warmly. “I welcome you. May I introduce the First Royal Mistress, Mist…” The woman with a purple tint to her fur and hair, the strands of her hair easily brushing her shoulders, smiled a cat-like smile, her eyes locking with Reed’s. “…the Second Royal Mistress, Hlathguth…”

Trip stared at the tallest of the three women with a coat of gold, a mane of black hair, eyes of grassy green, and clothes of navy blue, who smiled sensually, licking her lips. “Trip,” T’Pol warned softly, an edge of uncharacteristic agitation sharpening her unstated warning. Trip swallowed roughly, returning his attention to the queen.

“…and the Third Royal Mistress, Hrist.” The woman with blue fur and short pixie-like hair, colored an almost shock blue, eyed Reed lustily, as did her twin sister, Mist. It seemed that neither minded challenging the mistress whom was lower in rank. Hoshi grabbed Reed’s arm, snarling fiercely. The two women snarled in return, not backing down. The queen said nothing, returning her attention to T’Pol.

“Come. I have had a feast prepared in your honor.”

T’Pol nodded, turning to Archer. “Jonathon, if you would escort her Majesty.” She then turned to the queen. “It is custom for the visiting House Mistress to offer one of her men as an escort in an indication of good will, is it not?”

The queen nodded, smiling a cat-like smile, extending a hand, palm down, to Archer who took it as was his duty as the offered escort. “You may all call me Freyja. Formality is something I find too stiff to encourage true friendship.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Trip saw Hlathguth stiffen, a scowl crossing her face, which portrayed her disgust with her queen’s request. “Your Majesty…” she began, but Freyja’s sudden departure into the dining hall with her arm hooked into Archer’s halted the gold-furred woman’s protest.

The others followed Archer and Freyja into the room, which contained a long, rectangular table filled with spectacularly odd-looking dishes. Freyja sat at the head of the table with Archer on her left and T’Pol on her right. Trip sat to T’Pol’s right and across from him sat Hoshi. Hlathguth sat on Trip’s right eyeing him as though she were oblivious of T’Pol. To Hoshi’s right sat Reed, whom was trying to ignore the hand on his arm from Mist on his right and the foot moving up and down his leg from Hrist diagonal from him. “Ladies, please!” he protested.

The queen narrowed her eyes at him and Hoshi shook her head. “Malcolm, pet, settle down,” she said patting his arm. She then turned to the queen. “I apologize, your Majesty. He doesn’t get this much attention from other women at home.”

“And where is home exactly?”

“A little place called Earth.”

Hoshi’s head fell to her chest. Trip! She sighed. “Our culture is different than yours, your Majesty. I apologize for the deception, but we felt it would be more suitable to follow you customs until you learned more about us.”

Freyja’s face softened and she sighed. “You are not the first.” She paused. “Please…I’d enjoy hearing more about your culture.”

“Men and women in our society are equal. As far as mating, Humans are monogamous,” Archer explained.

“My people, from Vulcan, are very much similar in these respects,” T’Pol added.

“Intriguing…and what of your leadership?”

“Both sexes can be leaders. Captain Archer is our leader. I am his first officer; my companion, Trip is third-in-command; Mr. Reed is fourth-in-command; and Ensign Sato is fifth-in-command.”

“How does your rank system work?”

“Although my people use slightly different ranks, they can be correlated to Starfleet’s. The ranks begin with Ensign then proceeding to Lieutenant Junior Grade, Lieutenant Full Grade, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain, and Admiral. Jonathon holds the rank of Captain, Trip and I hold the rank of Commander; Mr. Reed is a Lieutenant; and Hoshi is an Ensign.”

“I see. So if your ranks are not based on gender, what are they based on?”

“Ability and performance of duties.”

“What is your relationship to Commander Trip?” Hlathguth asked.

“He is my mate and the father of our daughter.”

Trip coughed, not sure whether to be shocked at T’Pol’s blunt fib or to laugh at the look of surprise on the other woman’s face. However, the gold-furred woman didn’t back off. Trip cleared his throat, removing her hand as gently as possible. “I don’ mean ta offend ya, ma’am, but I’m married man. My mama raised me ta respect the institution of marriage.”

“Do not women on your homeworld wear jewelry to indicate their status?” Hlathguth asked, obviously looking for a way to show the marriage false.

“Vulcans do not wear jewelry.”

Hlathguth frowned, her attempt failed. However, as the others continued talking and eating, she formulated a plan to seduce Commander Trip.

**********

Later that evening in Trip’s temporary quarters…

Trip sat alone on the sofa, reading Archer’s copy of The Teachings of Surak, which he’d borrowed upon Archer’s recommendation. At first, he’d had a difficult time staying focused; but now, several pages in, it was holding his interest.

He heard a soft knock on the door and looked up. Thinking it was T’Pol, he marked his place and set the book down. There was another soft knock, although more urgent this time. “I’m comin’.” When he opened the door, he was shocked to see the gold-furred woman enter and shut the door behind her looking frantic.

“Please hide me! He’s going to hurt me again!”

“Who’s goin’ to hurt you?”

“My First, Lvor. I told him that I wouldn’t service him tonight and he bit me,” she said, indicating the bloody wound on her neck.

Trip frowned, looking confused. “I thought…”

“He threatened to kill me if I told anyone!”

Trip’s protector instincts kicked in and he hugged the woman tightly as she cried into his shoulder. “Shh. Everythin’s goin’ to be all right.”

********

Not realizing he’d closed his eyes, Trip opened them, regretting it instantly as his head pounded furiously. He clutched at it, taking his surroundings. He looked down to see that he was utterly naked. He stood slowly, bending over to pick up his blues, slipping them on.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tail, which caused him to turn his head sharply. His eyes widened in shock at the sight before him. There lay the gold-furred woman, still as sand, her eyes open wide with a glazed look, a large burn on her chest similar to that caused by a phase pistol, a pool of blood gathering between her legs. Near Trip’s right foot lay a phase pistol set to kill.

Before Trip could analyze the situation any further, two guards rushed in to restrain him. They were followed closely by Freyja, Archer, and T’Pol, the former two who looked from the corpse to Trip in obvious shock.

“Commander Trip, you are under arrest for the murder and rape of the Second Royal Mistress. You will be taken to the dungeons to await your trial.”

“I didn’, Captain! I swear I didn’!” he shouted as the guards dragged him from the room.

“I believe him, Captain,” T’Pol stated.

Archer sighed, not sure what to think. “If not him, who? Malcolm was the only other person with a phase pistol and he was with us.”

T’Pol nodded before turning to Freyja. “I assume we are permitted the opportunity to prove Trip’s innocence.”

Freyja nodded. “I can give you one week.”

T’Pol nodded. “That should be sufficient. May I see him?”

“Under normal circumstances, that would not be permitted. However, I agree that these are unique circumstances. Lvor will show you the way.”

The man called Lvor stepped forward, inclining his head before exiting the room with T’Pol following.

There was a moment of silence before Archer spoke. “If my first officer believes him…so do I.”

Freyja sighed. “In the interests of further diplomatic relations between our worlds, I hope you are right.”

“So do I,” Archer replied. “For Trip’s sake, too, so do I.”

**********

A few minutes later in the dungeons…

“Here,” Lvor said, shoving Trip’s clothes into T’Pol’s hands.

T’Pol raised an eyebrow, curious about the man’s attitude as he stormed toward the control panel releasing the forcefield. He closed the door between them, leaving T’Pol alone with Trip, whose face was in his hands. “You do believe me, don’ ya?”

T’Pol moved into the cell laying a hand on Trip’s shoulder causing him to look up. “Of course I do, Trip. We have no secrets. If you had been responsible I would have known.”

Trip smiled weakly. “Don’ think that’ll be good enough for them, though.”

“What do you remember?”

Trip sighed running his hands through his hair. “Th’ last thing I remember, she was beggin’ me to protect her from one of the males. She said he was goin’ ta kill her.”

“Did anyone enter the room while you were consoling her?”

Trip shrugged. “My back was ta the door.”

T’Pol nodded solemnly. “Then it is possible that someone attacked you from behind and then proceeded to rape and murder Hlathguth, implicating you in these crimes.”

Trip looked at her in shock. “Now why in the hell would someone do that?”

T’Pol’s eyebrows shot up even higher. “It seems that the male who was attempting to murder her is the most logical suspect.”

Trip nodded. “I caught a glimpse of him at dinner. He didn’ seem too happy about all the attention she was givin’ me.”

“If he was jealous, would he not try to kill you instead of her?”

Trip shrugged. “Maybe he thought I was dead and decided to make it look like a murder-suicide.”

“Perhaps…but this would mean he made a mistake. And it is logical to conclude that he would also wish to make it appear that you had raped her before ‘committing suicide’.”

“I think it’s goin’ ta take more than a theory to save my neck, though.”

“Then we’ll simply need to find concrete evidence to prove your innocence.”

**********

Later in Archer’s temporary quarters…

“After speaking to Trip, I am even more certain that he has been falsely accused.”

Archer nodded. “Any ideas on what happened.”

“While we are uncertain as to the person’s motives, we suspect that Lvor, whom had threatened to kill her is the one who murdered and raped her, then attempting to implicate Trip.”

“Why would anyone murder her in the first place?”

“According to Trip, Lvor, her First, seemed upset by the attention she was paying to him, which indicates the act was done out of jealousy.”

“So if he was jealous of Trip, why kill her?”

“Trip has suggested an attempt to make the scene look like a murder-rape-suicide…although Trip was not killed, indicating an error and a worried murderer-rapist.”

“We should have Doctor Phlox and Malcolm take a closer look at the body…if the Briliarins will permit it.”

“I am certain that they cooperate fully. Her Majesty’s willingness to let me see Trip indicates that she, like us, doesn’t believe that he has as strong of a motive for murder and rape as others here.”

Archer nodded. “The sooner we prove Trip’s innocence, the sooner we can get back to first contact.”

“Agreed.”

Archer paused. “T’Pol, why don’t you sit down.” T’Pol did as she was asked, acting uncertain. He sighed. “I know it hasn’t exactly been easy for you after what happened with your mother and…Elizabeth. I’m sorry that I haven’t been there.”

Both of T’Pol’s eyebrows shot up, a semblance of the old T’Pol coming through for a moment. “I have been able to manage adequately.”

Archer shook his head. “I’m still sorry I haven’t been there.” Archer paused. “Did I miss something?”

“Sir?”

“You seem more…concerned…about Trip lately than you used to be.”

“Commander Tucker and I have formed a close friendship over the last several years.”

“Some things point to it being a lot more than that.”

T’Pol said nothing. Instead, she sat looking at her hands. “We have become very close,” she amended.

Archer smiled slightly and nodded. There were a few moments of silence before T’Pol rose. “I need to meditate. Good night, Captain.”

Archer nodded and watched as T’Pol slipped into the corridor. There was something different about her. At first, he’d attributed it to her getting used to life among humans. But now that he looked more closely, it couldn’t have been just that.

He’d been so occupied with the mission in the Expanse that he’d missed an opportunity…an opportunity Trip had also been given. But Trip hadn’t passed it by because of brooding. Trip had confided in T’Pol about his sister. He’d let T’Pol help him. If only Archer had talked to T’Pol about his feelings concerning the mission instead of pushing her and the rest of the crew away. He sighed, wishing he’d noticed it a long time ago. Maybe then she would have turned to him.

Part 3

Return to Part 1

Back to Fan Fiction Main Menu

Have a comment to make about this story? Do so in the Trip Fan Fiction forum at the HoTBBS!

Four of you have made comments

I think there's a piece of the story missing. This part doesn't make sense:

“A little place called Earth.”

Hoshi’s head fell to her chest. Trip! She sighed. “Our culture is different than yours, your Majesty. I apologize for the deception, but we felt it would be more suitable to follow you customs until you learned more about us.”

Freyja’s face softened and she sighed. “You are not the first.” She paused. “Please…I’d enjoy hearing more about your culture.”

Interesting culture... and a departure from Star Trek tradition to make them less humanoid. I like it.

Interesting chapter.

I think what's going on there is Trip answers the question with "A little place called Earth."

Hoshi is frustrated that Trip forgot he wasn't to speak unless spoken to and the question was clearly not directed at him.

::Grins:: Yay! Someone understands me!!! Anyway, I'm also posting this series at Fanfiction.net. There will be edited versions of these chapters there. Thx. and tell your friends!!