The BLTS Archive - To the Victor by Artemis (ArtemisOK@aol.com) --- Disclaimer: CBS-Paramount owns Star Trek. No infringement intended, no money being made. Feedback: Will write for feedback Beta: Special thanks to TK. All mistakes are my own. Author's Note: This is a TOSHET challenge pairing and an ASMCEL improbable pairing Archiving: My Place, ASC, ASCEML THFFF, and the like. All others please ask. --- McCoy knew that he was going to lose a friend today, possibly two. There was no way Jim could defeat the Plak Tow enraged Spock and when Spock came to his senses, he would never forgive himself. Bones glanced over at the executioner. If either man quit, then he would kill that man. That just didn't seem fair. Well, if the Vulcans didn't play fair, why should he? He reached into his bag and prepared two medications. For Jim, a tri- ox compound, so that he could breathe easier and for Spock, a Mickey Finn. He loaded the potent knock out formula into a slap patch and prayed that they would both be standing by the end of the round. When the lirpa round ended, he ran to Spock and shook him to get his attention. "Spock! You've got to snap out of it! You're going to kill him; you are going to kill Jim, your best friend!" Spock brushed him aside as if he wasn't there, but it didn't matter. McCoy had planted the patch and soon the mad Vulcan would be down for the count. Now the doctor raced to Kirk's side. He turned to T'Pau. "Is this Vulcan chivalry? The air is too thin and the temperature is hot for him. He's not used to it." "The air is the air. What can be done?" she said with mild curiosity. He explained about the tri-ox compound and how it would allow Captain Kirk to breathe easier. She nodded her approval. In her heart, this was the first thing she had approved of since this mockery of a marriage ceremony had begun. Perhaps, in her most private heart, the first thing she approved of was the sight of Captain James T. Kirk standing cocky and casual beside her great- grandson Spock. That Kirk looked a cool tasty treat like butterscotch pudding. Yes, she would love to lick him and feel the golden sweetness in her mouth. Bah! What nonsense! That spoiled brat T'Pring had ruined any chance of friendly relations between herself and this captain of the Enterprise. She recalled the desperate days of running and hiding with Jonathan Archer, Surak's katra urging her to take what pleasure she could while she could. Surak may have been the father of Vulcan logic, but he was a child of his times. She was tradition bound and could do nothing but watch this shuttle-wreck of a battle. The healer McCoy was their only hope now. T'Pau had been surreptitiously watching him throughout the fight. She knew that the highly emotional doctor would be the wild card to perhaps trump the young queen. She saw as his face went from angry and upset to closed and calculating. She touched her son Spaul and sent mentally: //Pay heed to the dark haired human. He may yet save all of us.// Her son assented. At last Spock fell. Leonard rushed to his supine body and waved his instrument. He looked up. "He's dead, Jim," he said bitterly and with conviction. Jim could only shake his head and gasp for breath. McCoy pulled out his communicator to signal the ship and by the time he had it out Spaul was by his side. McCoy gave him a scathing glare. "I represent Spock's family. I must attend him to make sure that the proper protocols are observed aboard your vessel." Spaul's haughty manner gave no room for disobedience. Leonard kept his best poker face on and spoke into the communicator. "Three to beam up." Spaul stood close to the human healer and as the transporter beam took them he sent; //I will help thee.// Kirk pulled himself together and walked stiffly over to T'Pring. "Why," he asked, "why did you pick me to fight Spock for your hand?" T'Pring stood there in her pristine white dress and smiled a cool, smug, half smile at the disheveled human. "Stonn wanted me; I wanted him." "I see no logic in preferring Stonn over Spock." Kirk shot back. "Spock has become much known among our people, almost a legend. And as the years went by, I came to know that I did not want to be the consort of a legend. And by the laws of our people, I could only divorce him by the ka-li-fee. There was also Stonn, who wanted very much to be my consort...and I wanted him. If you, Captain, were victor, you would not want me, and so I would have Stonn. If Spock were victor, he would free me because I had dared to challenge – and, again, I would have Stonn. But if he did not free me, it would be the same, for he would be gone. And I would have his name, and his property...and Stonn would still be there." Her explanation was as simple as it was cold blooded. Kirk turned to the object of her affection: "Stonn, she is yours. After a time, you may find having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical – but it is often true." He turned in disgust from the wedding party. T'Pau addressed him. "What wilt thou do now, human?" Kirk stood ramrod straight. "I must return to my ship and turn myself in for court-martial. I have killed the finest officer in Star Fleet and my best friend." T'Pau nodded her understanding, "Thou must do what thee must, but so must we." She extended her hand to T'Pring. "Child of Vulcan come forth and meet thy husband. Child of Earth come forth and meet thy wife." They both stumbled towards her off balance by her demand. She took a step backwards so that the three of them were centered before the gathered crowd of witnesses. "Kneel," she commanded them. She extended her hand over the captain`s head. "James T. Kirk, in as much as thou hast won the hand of T'Pring in honorable combat, she is thine. All that she has is thine. All the she is, `tis thine to treat as thou sees fit." With her right hand still over the human's head, she extended her left hand over the trembling Vulcan woman. "T'Pring, in as much as thou didst issue the Koon-ut-kal-if-fee, thou must accept the outcome. Thou art the wife and bond mate of James T. Kirk. Thy fortunes are joined with his; thy future is in his hands. All thy lands and possessions are forfeit to him who has won thee in honorable combat." T'Pring hung her head. T'Pau continued touching their heads. "James Kirk and T'Pring: Thus thou art joined. Parted and never parted, touching and not touching, never and always. As thy bond grows, may thee grow is wisdom and strength." She folded her hands inside her tunic. T'Pau looked out over the audience. "Bear witness all that these two are joined in marriage, in accordance with our ancient laws and customs." The people assembled there agreed. "Tomorrow they will start their life together, but for tonight, I claim queen's right and take the groom to the Koon ut chamber." There was an astonished murmur from the crowd. T'Pau removed her hand from the top of Jim's head and placed it under his chin. She closed his mouth and signaled that he should rise. They left the bride in the blood-soaked dust. Jim Kirk was numb with grief and stupefied with pain and exhaustion. He simply could not take in what had just happened. He was married to that bitch and the queen bitch was leading him to the Koon ut chamber. The marriage chamber?! He shook his head. He must have missed something in the translation. Where were they going anyhow? The people who came with T'Pring (his wife?) were leading her back down the western slope. Only the hooded executioner walked near her, even Stonn kept away. --- Spock's great-grandmother walked slowly and steadily to just in front of the broken gong. At her gesture, one of her bearers picked up the mallet and struck the dais. With barely a tremor, a trap door slid open and the top rail of a staircase rose from the center. Bearer number two shoved Jim towards the dark pit. Jim caught himself on the railing and slowly descended into the perfumed gloom. Jim felt strangely disconnected. While part of his mind rejected what was happening another part kept track of details as if he were on a landing party. He noticed that the spiral stairs were cut from the living rock and had been worked smooth by millennia of use. There were handrails of some darkened wood on either side. Jim was slightly surprised to see that instead of the ubiquitous torches, there were ordinary lights illuminating the treads that led down to the "honeymoon suite". The suite itself could only be described as one big padded cell. There was a large futon on the floor in one corner, piled with cushions that served as the bed. Beside it was an alcove that held dishes and a ewer. The ewer gleamed with frosty moisture. It drew him deeper into the chamber. As he stepped into the room, he felt the air pressure change and knew that the trap door was closed. He turned to face T'Pau, a million questions warring with a thousand demands on his lips. She held up her hand for silence. "Spock is not dead," she said. Kirk was pole-axed. He looked at her questioningly. "Not dead? But Bones said that he was dead. You, you said this was a fight to the death. Vulcan honor and tradition..." He was babbling. As he backed away from her, he tripped on the edge of the futon and landed sprawling on it. With grace that belied her age, T'Pau knelt beside him. She poured him a cup of cold, sweet water and held it to his lips. Her hand brushed his chin as he drank from it. He grasped the cup to drink deeper, his hands covering hers. His senses still reeling, he did not consider the magnitude of this action. After he had drained the cup, she set it back in the alcove. She dampened a scented cloth with an herbal mixture and began to tend his wounds. This action necessitated the removal of his ripped shirt. She told Captain Kirk that she had observed Doctor McCoy during the fight. "Mah Koy has violated our traditions; by rights his life is forfeit also. He cheated. You are alive because your vassal drugged a superior." Kirk struggled to sit up. "Don't you see? He had to do something! While he had the knowledge and ability, he could not stand by and let us kill each other so that spoiled princess could keep her precious Stonn." He spat the last word. T'Pau regarded him coldly, "Would you have done the same, Captain Kirk? Would you do something, anything within your ability to save the lives of Spock and Mah Koy?" Her hand was on his bare chest. She could feel his misplaced heart beating wildly under her hand. She wanted to trace his pecs with her nails but restrained herself through iron will. "Yes," he nodded emphatically. Pain and nausea made him regret it. He collapsed back on to the bed. Staring up at her he declared, "I would do anything for my ship, my crew, my friends!" "Anything?" she challenged. "Yes." He was resolute. He began to plan. He would make an impassioned plea to Spock's parents. He would take any disciplinary action Star Fleet meted out. There had to be some way. He was so distracted that he did not notice when she stood up and let her slacks fall to the padded floor. She removed the le-matya bone pin holding her hair and shook the braids free of their intricate pattern. The matriarch of the Shi'Kahr clan stepped out her shoes and padded back to where he was laying. Jim suddenly snapped out of his furious planning when Spock's great-grandmother began to tug on his left boot. "What the hell?" He snatched his foot away from her. She looked stern. "Thou must undress if we are to have sexual congress." She explained it simply as to a slow child. "Sexual congress!" he squeaked. "Sex. Nuh uh, no way lady!" He scooted back into the corner, gathering a Vulcan silk coverlet and clasping it over his chest. She sat on a tuffet. "Perhaps thou did not mean it when thee said that thou wouldst do ANYTHING to save thy friends," she challenged. He looked bewildered. "Surely, thou comprehends what I want of thee. Why didst thou think that we came unto the Chamber of Koon Ut? Thou hast only to look about to see that this is a place of mating." She patted the soft floor. "Perhaps thou didst not understand what Queen's Right meant. I burn for thee, Captain James T. Kirk." She grasped the opposite end of the coverlet and snatched it away from him. Her action pitched him forward so that his head landed nearly in her lap. She caressed his face, stroking his cool alien cheek with her tiny hand. As her fingers swept past his psi points, he felt a surge of her passion and her determination. He shuddered in equal parts arousal and revulsion. She lowered her face to his and began to rub noses with him, the Vulcan equivalent of a kiss. Kirk noticed that she smelled of spiced sand, not at all like an old person. T'Pau whispered to him, so close he could feel her hot breath on his cheek, "My dear captain, you are still fatigued. Please, partake of such humbled refreshments as I can offer you. We have Taan kelp chowder. It goes particularly well with Romulan ale." She chuckled, "Although, in truth this is our own home brew, Shi'Kahr ale. It is an acquired taste - very rich, smooth and deceptively strong." Kirk carefully nodded. It would be good to rest and clear his head. He had one question he just had to ask: "Just now, you used the pronoun `you'. Earlier, you used `thou' and `thee'. Why the change?" T'Pau relaxed a little bit and explained, "Thou is for inferiors and is very formal. Right now, Captain, we are equals and," she raked her nails down his bare chest, "very informal, no?" He gulped. Informal would work. He needed to gain her trust. He swallowed. His throat was dry. "A little ale would go down nicely. After that we could have a little picnic," he suggested. He took a long pull of the foamy teal ale. "We could have a full emersion water bath." She spoke to the house computer in High Vulcan and another hatch slid open to reveal a hot tub. She took his hand and led him to the edge of the tub. God, the water looked inviting. Kirk toed off his boots and with a defiant look at his hostess stripped off his pants, briefs, and socks. T'Pau turned her head, allowing him his modesty. She really want his cooperation. She let her tunic slip to the floor and followed him into the decadent, swirling waters. Her body was petite and lean. Her skin was still supple and firm, although her breasts did sag a bit. Kirk smiled a little and in his head he quoted to himself: //When 900=20 years you reach, look as good, you will not.// He shook his head to banish the idea. Just because she was short, had pointed ears, was old and green-ish -- It was an unworthy thought. He washed it away with another mouthful of ale. He settled down into the relaxing, soothing waters of the tub. He placed his tankard on the rim and then realized that he had left the chowder in the alcove. He shrugged and turned to pay attention to his 'hostess'. He slid his hand down to his member. He hoped he could perform. Lives hung in the balance. //No performance anxiety, nope, no pressure whatsoever.// T'Pau slid onto the bench next to him. She took his face in her hands and gently traced its contours. He leaned forward and kissed her lips. She smiled under his attention and returned his kiss with interest. She pulled away and offered him more of the potent potable. He sipped from the cup she was holding and tipped it to her lips. They shared teal kisses. The brew dribbled down their fronts. Kirk licked the path of the ale until he reached her breasts. In his hands they were firm and alien hot. She flushed olive green. He brushed her nipples with his thumbs and she gasped. Kirk smiled. He could do this - her - this. He drew her onto his lap for easy access. Then he lowered his head to suck at her right breast. Her famed Vulcan reserve dissolved under his expert ministrations. --- Three figures beamed aboard the Enterprise. Mr. Spock lay bruised, battered and still upon the pad. Dr. McCoy and the stranger knelt over him. While Mr. Kyle knew from his sensor readings that Mr. Spock was not dead, he could tell that the Vulcan First Officer was far from well. He opened his mouth to ask what happened. His intake of breath was enough to remind Spaul that they were not alone. He turned his head and regarded the transporter engineer. McCoy did the same. "Code Blue" the doctor announced. Kyle pressed the blue button on his panel. A medical team would be there STAT. Reluctantly, Leonard left Spock on the pad and went to the comm unit on the wall. "McCoy to Mr. Scott." "Scott here." "Listen up, Scotty. You're still in command for the foreseeable future. Mr. Spock is unconscious and the Captain is down on the planet's surface smoothing things over with Lady T'Pau." He glanced at Spaul, who nodded. "Do ye ken when Captain Kirk will return?" "An hour after sunrise at the place of our family's marriage ceremonies," Spaul stated. "Did you get that, Scotty?" "Aye, Lt. Uhura tells me that's about 0715 ship's time." "Great. The stretcher is here. McCoy out." He hit the button to close the circuit. Then he turned to help Spock onto the stretcher, but Spaul waved off the med techs and lifted his great nephew up there by himself. "Touch telepath thing?" McCoy asked as they raced for the turbo lift. "Yes." Spaul was surprised by the human's grasp of a very Vulcan situation. "Spock will be violent and disorientated when he awakes. You must have a secure place for him to recover." "Way ahead of you." They slid into the lift. The doctor grabbed the lift-handle. "Sickbay. Code Blue." The lights in the lift flashed blue as it sped non-stop to its destination. "We can keep him in the hyperbaric chamber. He'll be completely isolated from the rest of the ship, but we can have access as needed." The lift doors opened on a living barricade of security officers clearing a path across the corridor into Sick Bay. The doors were already open. "Open the hyperbaric chamber!" Bones ordered. "Mr. Spock is gonna be madder than a bear with a sore tooth when he comes to." "It's ready," Doctor M'Benga replied. "All set for Vulcan standard as soon as you close the door." Privately Spaul was impressed. "I need to be in the chamber with my grandnephew." "You said before you are a healer, but I don't see no medicine bag," challenged McCoy. "I am a healer of the mind. Young Spock's mind will be in turmoil as he begins to awaken. In our society, by rights he should be either mated or dead," Spaul explained. McCoy glanced at M'Benga for confirmation. He nodded as he opened the chamber door. M'Benga said to Spaul, "There is a control panel and a comm panel by the door. Do you want Spock strapped to the stretcher or on the floor? "Can the conveyance be affixed to the floor?" "Yes." "Then that would be best." With a click and a hum the med techs fastened the magna-bed to the floor. Spock groaned. The sound of the electro-magnetic seal buzzed in his sensitive ears. The medics beat a hasty retreat. McCoy sealed the air lock.=20 He radioed in, "Let us know when you're ready and we'll send in water and whatever else you need." Spaul saw the small airlock under the comm panel. "Acknowledged." A short while later, he called for a hand-held sonic scrubber and clean clothes for the both of them. His own clothes were stained a rusty, old copper green from Spock's blood. He carefully undressed his unconscious nephew and tenderly passed the little scrubber over his body. Spaul remembered cleaning Spock this way when he had been an inquisitive toddler. The tyke was always exploring and always getting dirty. Cleaned up, the injuries did not look so bad. Spaul heard a soft beep and turned to find bandages, Tishini balm, a hypo spray, and a note in the small air lock. The note said: "Our scans indicate that Spock has a mild concussion and a two cracked ribs on the right side. He has a slightly sprained left ankle and various abrasions and contusions. The hypo contains an anti-inflammatory medicine for the cracked ribs and sprained ankle. Doctor M'Benga suggested Tishini balm for the surface wounds. He tells me that it is a trusted remedy on Vulcan." Spaul shook his head in disbelief. These humans were intelligent, intuitive and efficient. He nodded his solemn thanks to Dr. McCoy at the observation port. This was not the time for false modesty. Spaul swiftly and economically stripped out of his stained tunic and trousers, adding them to Spock's torn uniform. He donned the pajamas, setting aside his nephew's set and stepped into slippers. As a finishing touch, he ran the portable fresher over himself. He stood there for a moment wondering what to do with the soiled things. Then he saw a small light flashing above a hatch. Upon closer investigation he saw it was labeled "RECYCLE." Down the hatch they went. He opened the jar and suddenly the hyperbaric chamber smelled like spring in a healer's herb garden. He rubbed a small amount under the younger Vulcan's nose. Spock sighed contentedly in his sleep. Spaul's first priority was to dress the wounds that were still bleeding. He applied a thin coat of the analgesic/anesthetic herbal balm to the injuries and placed a self-sealing bandage on each. That done, he took a cleansing breath and began his real work. He placed his fingers on Spock's psi points and searched for traces of his bond with T'Pring. There behind a wall of dismay and betrayal he found it. The bond was already out of balance. T'Pau had severed the betraying bitch's end of the link. All that remained was the slimmest filament. Its glow was fading, but Spaul could still trace it as it ran through the rope that was Spock's end of the mind link. Mentally, the healer clamped off the place where the two disparaging threads met, stopping the flow. He traced the other end down, down into the unconscious Vulcan's katra. He reached forward to pluck it out like a weed. Suddenly, Spock interrupted him. //No! Don't take that. I need it.// //No, you do not.// //I do. It is my connection to Vulcan.// //It is merely the vestige of the connection to your former bondmate. You do not need it. If you look carefully you can see that it is causing damage to your katra.// //It is my tie to Vulcan. This bond is acceptance as a member of my caste and my species.// As he expressed these thoughts, memories of recent events came flooding back. Spock and Spaul were subjected once again to T'Pring's rejection. Seen through the emerald fire of the Plak Tow, it was catastrophic, almost beyond comprehension. Spock knew that he would do whatever it took to win back his place in society, to win back his mate. Kill the human. Not a problem. No, wait that was no human, that was JIM! His commander and best friend. Ne ki' ne (literally back to back). His shield partner, the person Spock could trust most in the heat of battle. Kill the human. Kill the human within himself. And then he would kill that prick Stonn.// during these unpleasant recollections, Spock began to thrash against his bonds. //Be still. See it this way:// Spaul sent. // Forming up to make the Koon-ut-kal-if-fee group and seeing that T'Pring had Stonn in tow. Did that man have no shame? Rumors of their affair were whispered by the servants, but for him to be in her wedding party. Or reading their body language, she included him - disgusting. It was clear then that she had no intention of ending this affair. Perhaps, Spaul speculated, after the marriage bond, the mind link would allow her to grow and put aside childish things. They arrived to find Spock with two human shipmates. They were to be his groomsmen. Out of the ordinary to be sure, but not unexpected and not a violation of tradition. And yet Mother had to make her little speech: "our ways are not for out-worlders." That was not logical. Who did she think would be standing by Spock? And how, by the ancestors, did she suppose a male in the grip of Plak Tow would get from a starship in orbit down to the arena? Of course, his friends were with him and of course they would stay with him. //It was a shame when T'Pring proved herself to be less loyal than the out-worlders.// Shame - Spock tasted the emotion in Spaul's thoughts. Spaul allowed it. They watched the sequence of events play out through Spaul's eyes. The elder Vulcan sent calming thoughts to his nephew as he fought against his bonds. //Spaul replayed the scene as T'Pau touched him and sent mentally. "Pay heed to the dark haired human. He may yet save all of us." They watched as he surreptitiously reached into his bag and prepared two medications. They replayed his appeal to Spock and then asking permission to help his captain. Spaul and Spock where in two places at once as they relived McCoy pleading with Spock and touching his arm. Spock laughed in his head. "Coyote." "Coyote?" Spaul asked. "Trickster, taken from Native American of Earth. Doctor McCoy is descended from these tribes and used to regal me with tales of the Coyote." He sent an image of the wily canine imposed over Leonard's face. Spaul sent his understanding and approval The fight didn't last long after that. The older Vulcan showed the end and his captain's grief. A strap snapped. Spaul calmed Spock before he continued. //We had beamed back to the ship when your commanding officer spoke with T'Pring and asked her why. My mother reported to me that the underhanded vixen did not care if either of you lived or died. All she wanted was to be with her precious Stonn.// The last embers of Plak Tow were gone. Instead something more dangerous smoldered in Spock's soul. Revenge - for himself, for his Ne ki' ne, for his house. "Patience, Spockam. You are not the only one angered by your former fiance. Mother shall clear our house of that chaff. She cares for you more than she is allowed to express. T'Pring has tangled with the wrong le-matya." "Jim?" "Your friend can handle himself, I'm sure. Even now he and T'Pau are negotiating to resolve this matter." He gave the younger Vulcan some water. "Drink." He raised the cup to his lips. "Good, now rest. A new life begins tomorrow." Spaul went to the airlock and signaled to be let out. When he stepped out of the hyperbaric chamber he stopped to regard Doctor McCoy. "Leonard, I remember thee. At the Academy, thou were considered a bad influence on my grandnephew. We are glad that thou wert with him today." He bowed to the Enterprise's CMO. --- On Vulcan, Kirk and T'Pau had reached a mutually satisfying position. Kirk thought of it as "69". After getting water up his nose, Jim had pushed the Grand Matriarch onto the padded floor. She gouged furrows in the deep pile as he brought her to orgasm. "Please, please Captain, I must take your manhood." She crawled down the length of his body, biting and licking as she went. In her petite hands his penis seemed enormous, its head a reddish-purple. She licked the pre-cum, relishing the strange, salty taste. He was too much for her to take in all at once but she did her best, although he did manage to break her concentration. Jim grabbed her hips and licked her from stem to stern. She gyrated wildly, moaning around his cock. It took considerable effort to remember that humans were fragile and she did not want to harm him. At last she came up for air. "Now, T'Pau," he said with a boyish grin. She concurred. He lifted her up and laid her on the bed. He kissed her, their many juices mingling, oral IDIC. The thought flashed between them. They both laughed. He looked into her smiling eyes and moved down so that he was kneeling between her legs. He drew her onto his lap with her legs wrapped around his waist. He paused a moment, taking in all that she was. Then he plunged down into her deep green valley. He had chosen this position with great deliberation. It was a position of strength. He did not mean to be especially dominant, but physically he needed leverage to satisfy a female from a heavy gravity world. And satisfy her he did. Her back arched. Her fingers dug into the futon. After a few deep, penetrating strokes, she forgot herself and squeezed him tightly with her powerful legs. He cried out in pain and she realized her mistake. "Do you want to stop?" she asked. "No, no. Let's just shift a little so we can both get more of what we need." "Yes!" she sighed. With her legs still around his waist, he rose up on his knees and laid flat out on top of her. This rocked her pelvis foreward. Harder. Deeper. It felt as though he was screwing her spine. Every stroke brought waves of pleasure to both of them. He felt the pressure grow within him. He sped up, pounding with primal need into her resilient body. He crested and flooded his partner with the seed of Earth. She squeezed every last drop from him and caressed him as he slid away from her. "Thank you, Captain Kirk," she whispered into his round pink ear. "Your sacrifice is quite acceptable. I will find a loophole in our customs for Spock, Mah Koy and you." "You're welcome, my lady." He had almost forgotten why he was here. Now to show there were no hard feelings, he nipped at her nipple. "My pleasure." "Rest now, Captain. In the morning, you will find a new uniform and a human-style breakfast. You have only to call the computer and it will give you whatever else you need." Kirk drifted off to sleep as she cleaned up and dressed. --- T'Pring was left alone kneeling in the dirt. T'Pau's words meant little to her. This human would not want her as his wife and still she would have Stonn. She glanced up through her eyelashes at him. He stared at her impassively, like a good Vulcan. For the first time in a long time she didn't know what he was feeling. "Get up," her mother said tersely. T'Prec stood at the head of the procession as before. But now, T'Pring was delegated to the end of the line as they traveled back down the western slope. Only the hooded executioner walked near her; even Stonn kept away. //It is over.// the young Vulcan lady thought. //I've won. This is better than I anticipated. The human broke Star Fleet regulations to honor our traditions. They will lock him away and he will go willingly. The weak fool. Only humans could give command of a starship to someone who valued friendship over power.// She looked down at her filthy dress. There was red blood on it. It stank. Her slippers were stained with blood-mud. They would have to be destroyed. She would tell her servants when she got home. Destroy the dress too. She had no further need of it. She was not a bride. Surely her parents would find a way to annul this travesty of a marriage. After all, it would never be consummated. T'Pring allowed herself a thin smile. Lost in thought, T'Pring paid little attention to her mother at the head of the procession. T'Prec spoke in a low voice into her communicator. T'Pring swept open to the doors to her room wanting nothing more than a sonic shower and a change of clothes. She stopped. Her chambers were stripped bare. None of her beautiful things were there. On the bare mattress lay a plain, beige travelers suit and a small hold- all. Soft boots sat on the floor by the bed. "Mother!" she screamed. "Mother, come here!" T'Prec appeared instantly. "Yes, Mistress Kirk. What is the matter?" "Mother, what hap.... Mistress Kirk?! You cannot be serious. You can't expect me to abide by that sham of a ceremony?" "As it was in the past, so it is today, T'Pring. You issued the Koon- ut-kal-if-fee. To the victor go the spoils." Her mother shrugged. "But the human Kirk does not want me," the desperate girl all but wailed. "He will go back to his starship... " "And you will have Stonn," T'Prec finished for her. She stood ramrod straight. "No, child. Thou hast pitched thy tent. Thou must lie in it. Captain Kirk is your husband. The Federation embassy has been notified. Your belongings have been sent aboard the Enterprise. You may stay and partake in a farewell repast before you beam up." Finally, the centi-credit dropped. T'Pring realized that she had embarrassed her family and brought dishonor upon herself. She was no longer welcome in this house. Fine, she was not a child. She was a microbiologist with the Vulcan Science Academy. She could take lodgings there. "May I refresh myself before dinner?" She met her mother's eyes. Her mother nodded graciously, "Yes, of course." T'Prec left her daughter to her own devices. When she was done T'Pring checked her messages, desperate for a word from her beloved. There was none. This hurt as much as her mother's disapproval. Had she lost him, too? T'Pring stepped out into the walled garden for one last look around. She made a slow turn around the garden, saying good-bye to the familiar plants and flowers, taking in their sights and scents one last time. At last she sat down on the edge of the fountain and trailed her hand in the water. As she sat watching the rippled reflection of her childhood home she heard a soft thump. She opened her mouth to call the guards. There stood Stonn. T'Pring swallowed. "What do you want?" If her parents were displeased, surely Stonn was incensed. He held out his hand. "I want you to come with me." He too was dressed for travel. His tunic and trousers were midnight blue. He wore black suede demi-boots and a black hooded cape. "Come with you? Where?" She stood and closed about half the distance between them. "Out there." He pointed up at the sky. "Your life here is over. Come with me to the stars and make a new life." He paused and cocked his head in consideration. "Unless you want to be Captain Kirk's lady." She gave a small snort of disgust. "Of course not." She felt dizzy. So many thoughts and questions ran circles in her mind. She decided to start with the most obvious. "Stonn, you still want me? After the way I behaved today." Her voice was soft. Her eyes were downcast. "I was angry. Seeing green, actually." He closed the distance. "Our plan was for me to challenge that half-caste. I could not think why you choose the human instead. In fact, I could not think at all. Spock had no shields. His Plak-tow beat against me like the heat of the summer sun. I watched you standing there so calm and collected. You gave me strength. You gave me hope. I knew your devious mind." "Devious, thank you darling. And also afraid for you. Until I saw Spock in the flesh I did not realize just how strong he was. All that strength and military training fueled by the blood fever; At that moment I realized that I could lose you." She put her hand on his chest. "You are physically fit and have trained in the martial arts of our people, but in his madness I feared that Spock would slay you," she whispered. He stroked her fingers with his. "One of us was thinking. Your bold explanation to Captain Kirk -- Darling, I know that Vulcans don't lie, but to say all that in front of Spock's family and yours. You were quite unabashed." "You were not ashamed of me?" "No of course not." "But you didn't meet my eyes." "I didn't dare. Meaningful glances were flying around the marriage grounds thick and fast. I did not want mine to be intercepted by the wrong person. I heard their whispers. Stonn is her lame selaht. Perhaps this will wake him up." His hand covered hers. "And then T'Pau gave you to the human. I am grateful that she has such an interest in him. I shudder at the thought of you spending the night with that savage." T'Pring laid her head on his chest. Spending a wedding night with that pale playboy was revolting. She inhaled the warm, familiar and intoxicating scent of her lover. "That is the crux," she said. "I am married to him. My mother let the Federation Embassy know that we were wed. She packed up my belongings and sent them to his ship. I don't want to go with him. I want you." "So come with me." "But if I chose a life with you, we will live in exile." "And how shall you live among the humans?" "But exile? My family will not take me back." "My flower, they have cast you out. Come with me. We shall start a new dynasty." "Yes!" Her eyes were bright. A plague on her weak-minded, tradition bound family. "Let me get my hold-all." She ran to fetch it. Lightly the two love birds flew over the garden wall and into the future. --- The next morning Jim Kirk beamed back aboard the Enterprise. When the tingling stopped, he saw Spock, Bones and Scotty waiting for him. "Spock! You're looking pretty good for a dead man." Jim smiled and clapped him on the back. "Rumors of my death have been highly exaggerated,' his first officer quoted. He cast a meaningful glance at the doctor. "I trust that you are quite recovered." "A few bumps and bruises, nothing to worry about. Right, Bones?" "Humph, I'll be the judge of that." McCoy made a show of looking over Kirk's shoulder. Say, Jim. Where's the new ball and chain?" "Clamped to Stonn's ankle. They ran off together last night. It appears Spock that she jilted the both of us." "It would appear so, Captain. Spaul filled me in on the good doctor's deception. He also indicated that you and T'Pau were attempting to come to a mutually satisfactory solution. As we are free men, I must assume that you were successful." "Yes, Mister Spock. T'Pau was satisfied." Kirk blushed slightly. McCoy opened his mouth to kid him, but thought better of it. Just then Lt. Uhura interrupted, "Captain Kirk, a message from Admiral Komack. He states that you may take all the time you need to resolve the matter on Vulcan, per T'Pau's request." The men in the transporter room chuckled. "Gentlemen, it seems we've been given a reprieve. We need to stay in orbit around Vulcan for a couple of days until we can straighten out the legal tangle T'Pring caused. //And dissolve the marriage bond// It is clear to all parties that she did not enter into the Koon-ut-kal-if-fee in good faith. Scotty, please pass to the Quartermaster that the Lady T'Pring's belongings should be shipped back to her family. We don't need that dead weight slowing us down." "Nay sir, we do not. I'll see to it right away," Mister Scott replied. They headed towards the door. As they entered the corridor, Kirk asked, "Bones, it's not that I'm ungrateful, but why did you knock out Spock instead of me?" McCoy rubbed the back of his neck and studied his boots. "Well, you know, Jim. You're the hero. The hero always wins the fight and gets the girl." "Quite logical," Spock agreed. "Of course," Scotty said, "no one would believe it any other way." --- The End