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"Payment" - Part Thirteen
Rating: R (Violence, Strong Language, Adult Situations, Brutality) Note: Vulcan terms used in this story were taken from the online Vulcan Language Dictionary, the Vulcan Language Institute, or I made them up myself. Part Fifteen: The door hissed open to reveal Anna Hess wearing a robe and a hollow-eyed look. She swallowed and stepped back without a word to let Tucker enter her quarters. He gave the area a quick glance, naturally. No obvious signs of traps. The 'tricorder' he carried had insisted that she was alone inside. Tucker had taken the precaution of activating the weapon dampening field over her quarters before visiting – something he was not sure that Hess or Rostov even knew about. He was sure that no one else aboard was aware that Defiant had such capabilities. Most particularly not her gracious majesty. As the door closed Tucker turned to face Anna and saw her blinking rapidly. "Thank you for coming yourself," she told him softly. "Whatever you decided, I wouldn't want to hear it from anyone else." Tucker heaved an exasperated sigh. "You got any coffee around here, Anna?" he wanted to know in a normal voice. She gave him a tremulous smile and made a beeline for the replicator. "Coffee. Columbian. Double strength. Hot." The cover slid up to reveal a tall mug. Anna scooped it up eagerly and carried it back to Tucker with quick steps. "Here. Do you want some sugar this time?" "Nah. I got a little sleep last night," he told her. Tucker took a healthy swig of the thick brew while never taking his eyes off her. Anna's blond hair was uncombed and fell around her shoulders in a tangled waterfall. The dark circles under her eyes, pale cheeks, and trembling hands told him that she certainly hadn't done any sleeping the night before. That much was certain. "Let's sit down and talk." She stood still for an instant, then nodded with a jerk. Tucker settled into her desk chair and Anna perched nervously on the edge of her bunk. Bed rather, Tucker reflected. These bunks on Defiant were twice as wide as the ones on the NX class ships. He pushed the memories of last night to the back of his mind. "Anna," he began, "You're the best I have, technically. By far. I meant what I said the other day. Rostov is close, but even he can't match you yet. But there is a lot more to ramrodding a department than just knowing the tech stuff. There's more to it than just knowing people, too. You have to be able to look ahead. You gotta-" "I know, Commander," she interrupted him, sounding anguished. "I'm so sorry. There's no way I can tell you how sorry I am. Please, give me another chance. Break me down to Crewman and put me in the booth, if that's what I deserve. Just please, please, let me stay." She was wringing her hands unconsciously and tears started to form at the corners of her eyes. Tucker groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I'm not gonna put you in the booth, Anna. I'm not puttin' anybody in the booth. If I had my way I'd blast that thing. So shut up about that foolishness." She sniffed. "Yessir." He looked at her. "You're stayin'," he told her. Joy lit her face. "But I'm not. I'm transferring to Jupiter station." "No!" Anna lunged off the bed and walked on her knees around the desk to bury her face in Tucker's lap. "You can't! We need you! I need you! We can't do this without you!" "C'mon." Tucker took her shoulders and gently pushed her backwards. "Straighten up. I have to. Travis is taking Defiant into battle. But someone has to stay here and keep the upgrades moving." He lowered his voice to a faint whisper, sensor blocking or no sensor blocking, "You knew this was coming. It's time for phase two." She shuddered. Her mouth moved silently, repeating his words. Suddenly she stood up in front of him. "Take me with you. Michael can handle engineering. He knows as much about Defiant as anyone does. Plus he has the skills you said I don't. He doesn't make stupid mistakes." Tucker felt tired and let it show. "I thought about it. But he just isn't good enough with people. And he doesn't have the tech skills. Even if I put him in charge, he would need you to prop him up or he would never make it." He shook his head. "You're the only option. But if you don't start operating with your head, instead of your gut, you are gonna die. I mean it, Anna. You will die, and you'll take the whole ship with you." Anna started trembling. "Charles…" Tucker looked up. She stared at him for a moment, then moved forward and straddled his lap. He sat frozen in surprise for a moment, long enough for Anna to lean forward and kiss him. Tucker moved his hands to her sides, intending to push her away. Anna brushed her lips over his, planting feather light touches and licks. Then she pressed both lips against his and inserted her tongue into his mouth, playfully stroking it over his teeth and teasing the tip of his tongue with hers. Tucker's hands slipped down and around unthinkingly. Without realizing it he pulled her closer. Anna closed her arms around his neck and pressed herself tightly against him, her warm breasts flattening against his chest while a soft moan worked its way out of her mouth. Her thighs tightened around his hips and she worked her pelvis up and down against his increasing hardness. Tucker's heartbeat was thundering in his head and her scent was making him drunk. …T'Pol's hair smelled of copper and musk… His guts knotted into a white hot flame of agony. Tucker stiffened and pushed her off his lap. "No. Anna, no. Stop," he gasped. "We can't. I can't do this." "Charles," she panted, "I can't keep this inside anymore. I know you don't feel the same way, but I love you. I've loved you for a long time. I need you. Please… I don't expect you to love me – just let me be with you." Tucker locked his teeth together and grimaced. "Anna. I can't do that to you. It wouldn't be fair to either one of us." He looked up at her in pain. "If things were different, hell yeah. There's no one I'd rather be with. But with the situation we're in I can't." "Of course we can," she insisted. "Show me a senior officer in the fleet who doesn't have at least one mistress. Or if she's a woman, who doesn't have a lover." Anna untied her robe and let it fall, showing him the cropped t-shirt and panties that she slept in. "I... can't, Anna," Tucker struggled to force the words out past the pain. "I," Tucker doubled over gasping, shoving Anna off his lap convulsively. He slid off the chair to the floor, clutching his belly in agony. "Charles," Anna knelt beside him. "What's wrong?" Her frightened hands went over him in a quick check for injuries. "Bond," he spit out between clenched teeth. "This Vulcan mate bond. I get close to another woman and it fires up." Anna's pupil's narrowed and her nostril's flared. "I don't care about the Vulcan! Damn the Vulcan!" She lunged forward and seized him in her arms again. "Give me an hour to get you on life support and the Vulcan is history. I'll take care of you Charles, as long as it takes until you're well again." Her tears dripped onto his face as she kissed him. "I don't need an hour. Give me 45 minutes, that's all I ask," she said coldly. "You will never have to worry about that slut again." "Can't," Tucker forced out. He concentrated on breathing for a while, then continued. "Don't dare. She's my marker buoy." "What?" Anna looked taken aback. "What the-" "Hoshi gave her to me to punish her," Tucker said. Anna nodded in agreement. "Yes. We all knew that. So?" "But she also gave her to me so I couldn't get away," Tucker informed Anna. Sudden understanding dawned on her face. "You see it now?" Tucker asked. "As long as I am tied to the Vulcan, where am I gonna go? I can't make a break for it, can I? How far would I get dragging a good looking Vulcan woman along, and not get noticed? And as far as Hoshi knows, once I get away from Defiant, T'Pol will try to cut the collar loose and then kill me the first chance she gets. So the Vulcan is Hoshi's way of keeping me on a leash." "Shit! Shitshitshit!" Anna stood up and slapped the desk. "That… oh!" She turned and stalked the length of her quarters, turning back to assist Tucker in climbing up and onto the bed. "Rest here a while Charles. I'll bring you a cold cloth for your head." "Thanks, Anna," he told her gratefully. He leaned back and closed his eyes, breathing heard as the pain in his midsection slowly subsided. He heard water running, then Anna's hands placing a damp cloth over his forehead and closed eyes. Anna's soft voice asked, "Is there any way to block out this bond? Like dosing her up with drugs? We were going to block it with drugs for you when she was about to get executed." "Not unless she's in a coma," Tucker snorted. "Or deep in a healing trance." "What's a healing trance?" Anna's voice betrayed a twinge of sudden interest. Tucker considered removing the cloth to look at her, but decided that it wouldn't be worth the effort. "It's something Vulcan's do when they're really sick or they have been hurt real bad," he told her. "They go into a deep trance where their mind sort of shuts down, except for the subconscious functions, so their body can put all of its energy into healing." "Does this happen whenever they are hurt or sick?" Anna asked carefully. This time Tucker did remove the cloth. "Don't get any ideas," he admonished. "They have to do it deliberately. It doesn't happen automatically. And they can only stay in it for a short time. Maybe a day at most before they have to come out again." "But if she went into this… healing trance," Anna said with a gleam in her eye, "then we could be together while she was in it?" Tucker rolled off the bed in a hurry. "No way, Anna. Drop the idea. It's too risky." He started to get nervous at the gleam in her eyes. "Way too risky." "I'm not thinking about hurting her, Charles," she said innocently. "But what if she volunteered? What would be wrong with that?" She smiled and ran her tongue over her lips. Tucker sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, getting more uneasy by the second as Anna swayed across to take a seat at the desk. "You see? This is what I was talking about, Anna," Tucker said angrily. "Lunging forward without thinking things through." He stood up and bent forward, grabbing her shoulders. "Listen to me, Anna. Listen close. I. Am. A. Dead. Man. Do you hear me?" "I hear you." She met his eyes and kept her voice even. "You sure don't look dead to me. And anyone who tries it will have to fight their way through more people than I think you realize." He closed his eyes in real pain. "What will it take to get you to look beyond the end of your nose, girl?" He released her and started pacing. "The only reason I'm still alive is because my counterpart in the other universe invented a lot of the technology that makes this ship run. So Travis and Hoshi figured I would have a better chance of getting inside his head than anyone else." "Makes sense," she said. "So why would they risk losing you?" "As long as I can stretch out my usefulness, they won't," he told her bluntly. "But that will only last as long as I can make myself look useful. And there's a time limit on that. The clock is ticking, and it's picking up speed." "What do you mean?" Anna stood up suddenly. "What are you talking about?" "I mean that I'm about to hit the wall on how far I can take things," Tucker told her. "I'm getting to the point where I can't follow his notes anymore." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "The Tucker in that other universe had a master's degree in physics, a doctorate in warp theory, and another doctorate in multi-spatial mathematics. Whereas I had to drop out of my last year in public school because I got drafted." He looked at her. "See where I'm going with this? Everything I know about engineering I learned in the guts of an NX engine room. I just don't have the background training to take things much farther." "But..." Anna struggled. "But they could let you take some training! It would be worth it to them!" Tucker sighed and shook his head. "No, Anna," he told her grimly, "it wouldn't. I know too much." He walked over and took her arms again. "I was on Enterprise before either of them. I watched Hoshi climb the ladder from able crewman all the way up to captain's woman. I know everything she did, and every one she did, on her way up. I even screwed her myself once or twice, back when she was willing to put out for any senior officer that looked at her. You really think she's gonna let me keep breathin' one day longer than they need me?" Her breathing sounded tight. "You can't just hold still for this." "Why do you think I set things up this way?" Tucker stopped pacing and looked at her. "The plan is set up the way it is so that once things are in motion, it doesn't matter what happens to me or anyone else. The process will take off on its own, like a landslide. It's already started. You've heard the rumors." "I know that," Anna was breathing hard. "But that's just a precaution. You can't tell me that you intend to sit back and let this happen without even trying to do something about it!" "Oh, I'll try," Tucker said. "But the odds aren't good. It isn't just Hoshi and Travis either. I'm bucking the high command. You know damn well that those limp-wristed twits in R&D aren't gonna hold still for having a pack of roughnecks like us re-working the fruits of their genius." He grinned sarcastically. "They'll run squealing like little piglets to mommy and daddy. Then mommy and daddy will cry a river to Hoshi. Her supreme majesty can't afford to piss off the high command. She needs Starfleet. Especially after the way she strong armed the Imperial Council. So once I run dry on fancy ideas she will turn things over to R&D. Then I'll have an unfortunate accident." "You don't have to-" Anna stood indecisively. Suddenly she moved in closely and spoke in a barely discernible whisper. "You could take Defiant yourself. We could take the battle bridge and seal off the rest of the ship before anyone knew what was happening. Before they had time to react, they would all be dead. You could be the new emperor in an hour." She bared her teeth in a savage grin. "No." Tucker spoke flatly. "I don't want it, Anna. The target on my back is big enough as it is. I don't get any sleep now. What would it be like then? Forget it." "Charles!" She clenched her fists in frustration. "I won't let you die! I won't!" She pounded his chest. "You have to do something!" He caught her hands. "I have something in the works. It's a long shot. But it's something." She sagged against him in relief and buried her face against his chest. "What are you going to do?" she wanted to know. "No," he told her. "What you don't know, you can' tell. When they sit you in that interrogation chair in the brig on this ship, the one with the scanner that can read everything from your blood pressure to your brainwaves, you will truthfully tell them that you have no idea what I am up to. Got it?" She looked up and nodded, wiping her eyes. He smoothed her hair back and smiled slightly. "You're gonna be fine, Anna. Just remember to look, and think. Can you do that for me? Please?" "I'll do anything for you, Charles." Anna's eyes looked into his soul and sent a shiver down his back. His belly started tightening again. Tucker closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm going down to engineering for a while," he said. "Michael has alpha shift. I'm gonna drop in for the last couple of hours of alpha so he and I can go over the crew reassignments. You report for beta shift, ok?" He opened his eyes to see her nod. "I'll stick around for a while on beta, then turn things over to you. I'll come back later on and take gamma shift while you get some sleep. I'd like you and Michael to make time to get together as soon as possible to go over the reassignments. Make sure that you both agree. Sound good?" "Sounds good," she told him. She offered a smile, which he returned. Tucker turned to leave, but as he was about to reach the door Anna called out, "Charles." He paused and looked back quizzically. Anna stood facing him squarely with her legs firmly planted at shoulder width. Carefully and deliberately, she pulled her t-shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. Tucker's breath stopped. Anna held his eyes while she ran her hands down her sides, pausing to cup and fondle her breasts briefly before dropping to slide her underwear down to her ankles. She kicked them aside and spread her feet apart, then stood there with her hands on her hips and a challenging look on her face. "Remember, Charles," she told him softly. "Maybe I can't have you. At least not yet. But there's no reason you can't have me." Tucker's mouth moved but his tongue was too dry to make a sound. He reached back and blindly triggered the door as she approached him, stalking him as slowly and sinuously as any jungle cat. He stepped out into the corridor just as Anna moved into the doorway. She stood framed and smiling, in full view of the admiring door guards until the portal hissed shut again. Tucker heaved a deep breath shook his head. The guards looked at each other and kept grinning, alternating knowing glances with each other and admiring looks at their boss. Tucker snorted and headed for engineering, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head again. & Anna stood looking thoughtfully at the door for several minutes after Charles had left. I've got a lot of work to do. First things first. She retrieved her underwear and and put it back on, then grabbed her robe. She went to the replicator and pressed several points around the cover in apparently random sequence. A soft click sounded and she lifted the cover off, revealing a thin recess containing a PADD. Anna extracted the PADD and replaced the replicator cover deftly, making sure that everything was aligned perfectly. She settled herself at her desk and began scanning her personal copy of the portion of Defiant's database that dealt with Vulcan biology. Healing trance, huh? Well now, let's see what we can find about those. Anna scanned through the index and was pleased to find an extensive list of references. This looks promising. If she can go into this anytime she chooses to, all I have to do is convince her that she wants to do it. Anna put on a feral smile. That shouldn't be a problem. All she would need was a lever. Everyone had a lever. Human or alien, everyone had a vulnerable point. Everyone, of every race, had something that they wanted or something that they feared. All I have to do is find something that the Vulcan bitch wants, or wants to keep safe, badly enough to be willing to do anything I tell her to do. Anna leaned forward and started taking notes. & Travis Mayweather reached over and clicked off the monitoring device. He rubbed his upper lip thoughtfully and leaned back in his chair. TBC |
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