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"By Your Side"
Rating: R (for mature themes and sexual situations) “Vardee.” Sista stirred, turning her head. She moved closer to Malcolm, smiling when she felt his hand slide to a rest on her stomach. “Vardee!” Sista opened her eyes, looking back at Malcolm. He was sleeping soundly at her side. She turned her head, finding a dark form crouched beside the bed. “What?” Sista whispered. The person reached out, laying a shaking hand on her arm. “I need your help.” Sista moved to the edge of the bed and in the dim light coming through the door she could make out Brila’s pallid face. “Go wait in the other room,” Sista ordered, “I’ll be right out.” Brila moved silently and quickly like the Kathah that half of her DNA had come from. Sista found her discarded nightshirt in the dark and pulled it on. She quietly slipped out of the bedroom into the living room, finding Brila pacing. Sista walked up to her, stepping in Brila’s path. “What is it?” Vardee asked her. “I need to go back to Cauditha.” “Cauditha is three day away, Brila. Why you need go back there?” “I have to go,” Brila whispered, starting to cry. Sista reached up, laying her hands on Brila’s shoulders. Brila’s skin was hot under Sista’s hands. She laid a hand on Brila’s forehead, feeling the Jit’s fever. Brila wrapped her arms tightly around her abdomen and tensed with a soft grunt. “What is it?” Sista asked Brila. “I’m going into heat. I have to go back to Cauditha.” “Why?” “Vardee, please!” “If you in heat, you need Jon. Not planet.” “No. I can’t do that.” Brila shook her head obstinately. “Why?” “Starfleet ordered him to head the delegation. He can’t leave for me.” “You need Jon to help relieve heat.” Brila moved close to Sista. Sista wrapped her arms around Brila, letting her lay her head on her shoulder. “We haven’t…” Brila closed her eyes, letting out a grunt when pain ripped across her abdomen. “Haven’t what?” “We’re waiting.” “Wait—” Sista pushed Brila back, looking in her eyes. “Waiting? I thought… I mean… You slept more than once with him! You not have sex?” “He wants to wait for a year. That’s why I have to go back to Cauditha.” “I no understand.” “There was a man there that was very interested in me. Maybe I can—” “No!” Sista snapped, minding to keep her voice down. “You no do that to Jon, Brila! He care for you.” Brila started crying. “I don’t know what to do.” Sista sighed, pushing Brila’s hair back. “First we help pain. We go ask Phlox help. Ta?” Sista waited for Brila to nod. “I go get clothes and be back.” Brila nodded, hastily wiping her tears away. Sista hurried back into the bedroom. # Doctor Phlox was studying cell samples collected from the last planet when he heard the door open. He leaned around the divider, watching Sista guide Brila to a bio-bed. He quickly ascertained Brila’s visible symptoms: pallid, sweating, weakness, shaking, and she appeared to be suffering abdominal pain. Doctor Phlox picked up a scanner and walked over to the two. “Where does it hurt the most?” Doctor Phlox asked. “She’s in heat,” Sista told him. Doctor Phlox nodded. “Where does it hurt the most, Brila?” “Lower abdomen and groin,” Brila whispered. “How long have you had this fever?” Doctor Phlox ran a scan, studying the readings while he waited for her answer. “A day. It was really bad when I woke up two hours ago.” “Have you begun to forget things?” “No. Not yet.” “I’ll be right back.” Doctor Phlox walked over to a counter to prepare a hypospray. “I want to sleep,” Brila said. Phlox turned, looking at her. “I beg your pardon?” “I want to sleep.” “No, Brila,” Sista told her. “Each time you wake it worse. You know that.” Brila started crying again. “Please.” “No.” Sista looked at Doctor Phlox for support. Doctor Phlox inserted a vial of painkiller and returned to give Brila a dose. “Before I give you a sedative, we have to make some decisions, Brila. Let’s give that a couple minutes to take effect, okay?” Brila nodded, closing her eyes. Phlox walked back to the counter to prepare a hypospray with a sedative. He glanced up when he heard Sista start reciting a prayer in Varlikon. Brila quietly repeated the prayer, resting her forehead against Sista’s. Phlox returned, setting the hypospray down. “You’ve gone through heat before I imagine?” Phlox asked Brila. “Yes,” Brila answered, “and I don’t want Jon to come back. I don’t want him to know about this. I want Vardee to take me back to Cauditha. There’s a man there and I think he can help.” “That’s an option, but are you prepared to explain what happened to Captain Archer when he returns?” Brila looked up at Phlox, trying to answer but unable to find one. “He can’t leave the delegation,” Brila protested. Fresh tears began sliding down her face and she closed her eyes. “I think you should let him decide whether or not to return.” “NO!” Brila growled. She looked at Sista. “Don’t call him away. He has to stay there. He told me how important this is. He can’t leave.” “Bri—” Brila started growling. She tried to get off the bio-bed and the two pushed her back down. She swung her hands at the two with her claws extended. Sista caught her wrists and held them down. “PHLOX!” Sista cried. Doctor Phlox grabbed the hypospray and injected a dose of sedative into Brila’s neck. She let out an angry howling growl as she slipped into sleep. Sista leaned back against the next bed, resting her hands on the edge. “Now what?” Phlox asked her. “What?” Sista looked up at him. “What do you wish to do now?” “Me?” “You are the only other Kathah-Jit aboard Enterprise, Vardee. You’ve heard her wishes. I can administrate medication, but we both know this is only a temporary solution. The hormone is going to build to toxic levels if she doesn’t mate in a couple of days.” “And you think I know?” “You know our Captain and Brila much better than I do, Vardee.” Sista looked at the ceiling. “I don’t know, Phlox.” “We can wait for a day. Go on back to bed, I’ll call for you when she wakes up.” “Promise not call Jon?” “For now.” “Thank you.” Doctor Phlox offered her a smile. Sista slid her hands in her pockets as she walked out of Sickbay. # Sista stared at the table. She gripped the handle of her mug of tea in her right hand and her left hand lay limply in her lap. “May I join you?” Sista looked up at T’Pol. She smiled at the Vulcan, nodding once. T’Pol sat down across from Sista, setting a bowl of vegetables and glass of water on the table. She looked up at Sista while she unfolded her napkin. Sista was looking back down at the table. “What troubles you?” Sista looked at her. “Mm?” “You look troubled. Do you wish to discuss it?” Sista looked around the mess hall, her eyes slowly scanning the five other crewmen in the mess hall. Sista asked in Varlikon, “Do you think any of the crew here understands Varlikon?” T’Pol glanced at the crewmen. “No. None of them speak Varlikon.” Sista continued their conversation in Varlikon. “Brila went into heat yesterday, and it’s getting worse. Just like the last four times she’s gone into heat.” Sista looked back at the table. “I know what I want to do, but what I want is the opposite of what she asked of me.” “Which is?” “She needs to mate and I feel I should at least tell Jon. Brila doesn’t even want that. She’s being very adamant about it and I can’t change her mind.” “Why does she not wish him to be contacted?” “She said he told her this delegation was very important to trade agreements with Earth, which she is correct, and that Starfleet ordered Jon to lead the delegation in the interest of Earth,” Sista leaned on the table, looking at T’Pol, “and that she and Jon have never mated before because he wanted to wait. Brila is very determined to respect his wish. She feels such admiration and love when she talks about it.” “Perhaps it was pre-judging, but I was led to believe they had mated as well.” “She says they never have. She says they have napped together but they have never spent the night together and have never mated. She said he told her once that he’s lost a lot of girlfriends because he insists on waiting.” “It is certainly a meaningful way to test a relationship.” “I don’t know how to help her.” “Perhaps you could alert him to her condition, tell him her wishes and allow him to decide.” “I thought about that, but it could get him in trouble. He can’t just leave the delegation.” “No. He cannot.” The two were silent for a long time. T’Pol began eating while she pondered over the situation. She finished a bite before she spoke the thought that came to mind. “Perhaps I could contact Starfleet and ask them to allow me to take his place in the delegation as we’ve had a situation arise on Enterprise that needs the Captain’s immediate attention.” “And if I were Admiral Forrest, my first question would be what’s so important that it has to pull him away from a delegation?” T’Pol thought for a moment, pondering how to word her reply to achieve the desired response. “We have a crewman that has fallen very ill and he must return immediately to make a decision upon how she should be treated.” “And why can’t he do that with a communicator?” “Yes. I would ask that myself.” Sista smiled, standing. “Thanks for listening, T’Pol. Let me know if you can find an answer that they can’t say no to.” “I will. What is your decision on the matter?” “I have none yet.” Sista turned and walked out of the mess hall. T’Pol returned to her meal, pondering over the situation. # “Admiral Forrest, there’s an incoming transmission from Enterprise,” a woman’s voice said on his companel. Admiral Forrest turned and tapped his view monitor. Sub-Commander T’Pol and Lieutenant-Commander Tucker appeared on the screen. “Sub-Commander, Commander.” “Greetings, Admiral Forrest,” T’Pol began, “I am contacting you to request taking Captain Archer’s place in the delegation. We have had an unforeseen incident arise that requires his immediate attention and cannot wait until the delegation ends. Since I briefed him on the attending delegates and their requests, I feel I can adequately carry on negotiations on behalf of Earth.” “There’s already three Vulcan delegates, Sub-Commander, making the Bolians uncomfortable with this delegation as it is. What’s happened?” “We have a really sick crewman and normally we would be able to handle it, sir,” Trip interjected. He leaned on the desk, moving closer to the view screen they were sitting in front of. “But this time it’s different. You have to trust us on this one, Admiral. We need Captain Archer here and there ain’t any other way we can get around this. Between me, T’Pol, Doctor Phlox and Vardee, we’ve racked our brains for some way around this, but there’s no doing it. He has to come back to the ship now. Today. If he doesn’t…well… We may be returning with a crewman for murder if he doesn’t come back, Admiral. She is very ill and becoming more delirious as the illness progresses.” “I don’t understand why this is isn’t something Doctor Phlox can’t handle. And why does Captain Archer have to be there to help with an ill crewman?” Trip put his hand over his mouth for a second and then asked, “How much have you read up on the Jit, Admiral?” “Not much. Who did Navta bite?” “It ain’t got nothin’ to do with Navta, sir. What I’m about to tell you is really personal and it’s about Brila.” “She’s Captain Archer’s girlfriend, correct?” “Yes, sir.” Trip heaved a sigh and began explaining the situation to Admiral Forrest. # Archer smiled, waiting for the Bolian delegate to finish talking. He glanced past him and saw Sista and T’Pol standing by the door. The two women were waiting patiently with their hands held behind their backs. “Will you excuse me for a moment?” Archer asked the delegate. “Certainly,” the Bolian replied. Archer walked around him, approaching the two. “What’s wrong?” he asked them. “T’Pol take your place on the delegation. We talk going to the shuttle pod. We need hurry.” “Wh—” “Don’t ask question. Just come.” Archer glanced back at the Bolian waiting for him to return. “I will handle the situation,” T’Pol said, “What were the two of you discussing?” “The unfair requests of the Vulcan High Command, T’Pol.” “I would have to agree with him. You have been granted permission by Admiral Forrest to return. Please do so immediately.” T’Pol walked over to the Bolian delegate and began speaking with him. “What the hell is going on?” “Not here, Jon,” Vardee told him. “This not good discussed here. Please. Come now.” Archer followed her out of the building and onto the sidewalk. Sista started talking when they had left the crowd behind. “Malcolm tell you about when I went into heat?” “Not really. He requested the week off. That’s all I remember. Why?” “You know I Kathah-Jit, yes?” “Yes.” “You know Brila Kathah-Jit?” “Yes. She’s in heat?” “Yes.” “So why am I being pulled away from a delegation that could mean millions in latinum for Earth?” “Because Brila really need you. She not well.” Archer pulled his communicator out, changed it to translate Varlikon and asked, “What’s wrong with her?” “Brila went into heat four days ago, Jon. She’s getting really bad and we have to make a decision today what to do for her.” Sista stopped at a landing pad gate, turning to face Archer. “She told me that you two have decided to wait to…mmm…mate. Have you two?” “That’s none of your business!” “Jon.” “We may be friends, Vardee, but that’s none of your business.” “Brila could die, Jon. Answer me.” “Not until you explain this better. You didn’t have problems when you went into heat.” “I had Malcolm and we were married.” “How can she die from being heat?” “When a Kathah-Jit, male or female, goes into heat, they produce a hormone that heightens their senses so they can find a healthy and compatible mate. The Kathah did the same thing, but that’s where everything stops for us. A Kathah’s immune system can break down the hormone and the body will extricate it. In Jit, it continues to build in us until it becomes toxic. A genetic flaw so-to-speak that the Varlikon used to regulate us and get just one more use out of the Kathah-Jit because the hormone can only be released through mating. You can smell it when you get near a Kathah-Jit in heat. It has a very sweet smell to it like roses. If the hormone continues to build, then they will die. They will go into…” Sista looked down thinking. “Doctor Phlox called it…” “Toxic shock,” Archer answered. Sista looked up at Archer. “Yes. How did you know?” “A guess. So you came to get me to go back so I could mate with Brila?” “That’s for you to decide, Jon.” “So are you flying me back or should I fly myself?” Archer motioned to the shuttle pod sitting on the landing pad. Sista turned and walked on to the shuttle pod without another word. # Archer heard Brila’s yowling as soon as he stepped off the lift. He didn’t greet any crewmen as he passed them and none made an attempt to welcome him back. The yowling grew louder when the Sickbay doors opened. Sista led him back to the decon room, stopping him out of Brila’s sight. Brila was pacing back and fourth, yowling and hissing at Doctor Phlox standing by the window. Doctor Phlox was writing on the PADD in his hand, occasionally glancing at her. “Don’t go closer.” Sista looked up at Archer. “If she catches a strong whiff of your scent she’ll go ballistic.” Phlox looked back at the two. He sat the PADD in his hands down and walked up to them. “Captain.” “Seems I’ve got a bit of a problem.” “You could say that. The question is what do you want to do about it?” Archer looked at Brila. “Can I go in there?” “If you go in there, we’ll all get to see you naked,” Doctor Phlox warned, “She’s reacting to primal instincts, I’m afraid. She only knows she has to mate right now. We have to decide what to do to help her, Captain.” “I’m going to help her.” “I can sedate her one last time and we can transport her to a more private location, but you can’t leave. You have to stay with her for the next four days until she’s out of heat.” “You can use the captain’s quarters on the Diedra,” Sista offered, “There is a replicator and facilities in there so you won’t have to leave her.” Archer shook his head with a faint smile. “You both knew I’d say yes, didn’t you two?” “We were hoping. The alternatives were rather undesirable to say the least,” Doctor Phlox replied. “We can wait until later tonight to transporter her so no one sees you.” “Can’t we use the transporter?” Archer asked Sista. “Yes. But I—” “Vardee, you went to all the trouble to get me back here to help her. Let’s not waste time.” “I’ll go get combadges. Be right back.” “Wait here, Captain,” Phlox told Archer. Archer nodded. Doctor Phlox prepared a hypospray and entered the room. Brila spun to face him, growling and hissing at him. Archer could see Phlox talking to her and imagined the soothing voice he was using on her. Doctor Phlox moved fast suddenly and the two disappeared from view. When he came back up his cheek was bleeding from a claw mark. Phlox stood watching Brila for a couple of minutes and then left Decon. Archer tensed when he saw she had clawed through the right arm of Doctor Phlox’s shirt and left a bleeding gash. Down the front of his shirt was another long set of claw marks. “You can stay with her,” Phlox told Archer. “As the hormone builds so does her resistance to sedatives, so she’s only partially sedated.” “Will she know who I am?” “Not by name, but she will recognize your scent and respond to that. You’re safe until she comes off the sedative, but you’ll be on the Diedra by then.” Archer walked into decon. Brila lay on the floor panting. Archer sat down next to her and she lifted her head to look at him with unfocused eyes. Archer reached out and stroked her cheek. “Hi baby,” Archer whispered to her. Brila began purring, trying to pull herself to him. Archer gently picked her up and pulled her into his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder. “I love you, did you know that?” Archer asked her, watching her eyes watch his face. She lifted a trembling hand to his lips, whispering something in Varlikon that he couldn’t understand. Archer smiled, taking her hand in his and pressing it to his cheek. “Here,” Sista said, trotting up to Archer. She handed him a combadge and pushed one onto Brila’s shoulder. “When she wakes up next morning, it may take few minutes for all come back to her. It always does me.” Archer nodded, smiling at Brila. “I hate transporters, honey, know that?” “Be sure to lock the Diedra down once you get aboard,” Sista told him. Archer nodded. “Okay. See you in a few days.” Sista reached down and tapped Archer’s badge. “Diedra, two to transport.” There was a soft beep and the two transported out of the decon room. # Archer woke from his doze, feeling Brila stir beside him. Her arm slid around his waist and she nestled her head on his shoulder with a content sigh. “Morning,” Brila whispered. Archer smiled. “You mean night. You slept all day.” “I did? How’d you get them to let you have a whole day off with me?” Archer pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. “Tell me what you remember, sweetheart.” Brila started to stretch and stopped. She looked down, lifting the sheet and blanket. She looked up at Archer’s face. “We’re—” “What do you remember? Think back.” Brila looked away, starting to cry. “She said she wouldn’t bring you back. I didn’t want her to. I wanted to wait. Damn her!” Archer pushed himself up in the bed and sat back against the headboard. Brila sat up on her knees and Archer had to force his thoughts to the conversation at hand when the covers fell away from her body. He forced his eyes back to her face and away from the firm and flowing lines of her body. Brila closed her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Jon.” “Don’t be.” Brila looked into his eyes. “You’re upset though.” Archer chuckled warmly. He reached out and gently brushed her jaw with his fingers. “Yeah. I am. I have a feeling I came close to losing you. I would have been devastated if I had, Brila. I love you.” A smile brightened her face. “You love me?” Archer nodded. “Really?” “Yes.” “I love you Jonathan Archer!” Brila laughed, throwing her arms around him and kissing him. Brila rested her forehead against his, looking into his eyes. Archer pushed his hands into her black hair, smiling at her. “What now, Brila?” Brila bit down on her bottom lip for a second. “Make love to me.” Brila pulled herself into his arms, pressing her body to his. Archer laid her back on the bed, fulfilling her request. The next short story is Hado Venceres Tradición The next Tweens story is Oopsy Daisies |
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