From netcom.com!ix.netcom.com!howland.reston.ans.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in1.uu.net!news.cais.net!grouper.Exis.Net!news Thu Jan 4 15:39:55 1996 Xref: netcom.com alt.startrek.creative:32838 Path: netcom.com!ix.netcom.com!howland.reston.ans.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in1.uu.net!news.cais.net!grouper.Exis.Net!news From: meenie1@exis.net (Beth Meenaghan) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: INFO: MASQUERADE New, TOS Date: 4 Jan 1996 16:27:23 GMT Organization: Exchange Information Systems Networks Lines: 28 Message-ID: <4cgv5b$jd7@grouper.Exis.Net> NNTP-Posting-Host: 60.exis.net Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Newsreader: WinVN 0.93.11 Finally, I'm posting this story. It has consumed my life for awhile. Here is the archive info: 1. Masquerade 2. by Beth Meenaghan 3. posted 1/4/96 4. This is a TOS story that takes place after STVI. Secret weapons, espionage, romance. Some sex, not graphic, gets kind of violent, but I think I'd call it PG-13. 5. e-mail me a meenie1@exis.net I have walked around with Star Trek stories in my head for years. I thought I was just strange until I stumbled on this little news group in November and had one of those "You are not alone" experiences. So the next thing that came to my head finally got written down (or typed, as it were.) In other words, you guys have only yourselves to blame for being subjected to my imaginings. This is my first attempt at writing fiction of any type. Feedback is encouraged and welcome. I hope you enjoy it. Beth -- "I don't have a life, I have a toddler." - myself "As a matter of fact, I am a rocket scientist." From netcom.com!ix.netcom.com!howland.reston.ans.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in1.uu.net!news.cais.net!grouper.Exis.Net!news Thu Jan 4 15:40:07 1996 Xref: netcom.com alt.startrek.creative:32839 Path: netcom.com!ix.netcom.com!howland.reston.ans.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in1.uu.net!news.cais.net!grouper.Exis.Net!news From: meenie1@exis.net (Beth Meenaghan) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: TOS: Masquerade - Prologue (1/4) - prolog.txt [1/1] Date: 4 Jan 1996 16:34:10 GMT Organization: Exchange Information Systems Networks Lines: 594 Message-ID: <4cgvi2$jd7@grouper.Exis.Net> NNTP-Posting-Host: 60.exis.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; Boundary="" X-Newsreader: WinVN 0.93.11 -- Star Trek is owned by Paramount, etc. Dara Ashford is strictly a figment of my always overactive imagination, and I claim her as mine. This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, would be exremely weird, under the circumstances. Copyright -c- 1996 by Beth Meenaghan -- "I don't have a life, I have a toddler." - myself "As a matter of fact, I am a rocket scientist." -- Content-Type: Application/octet-stream; name=prolog.txt MASQUERADE Masquerade! Seething shadows, breathing lies . . . Masquerade! You can fool any friend who ever knew you! - The Phantom of the Opera Prologue Spock sat regarding Admiral Kleiderer for a long moment. He did not even try to conceal his disbelief. Finally, he spoke. "Am I to understand, sir, that a man known to be a Romulan spy has been directly involved with research relating to a highly classified weapons project - and nothing was done about it?" "Yes. Although Intelligence has known for some years that Tor is a spy, we have not been able to discover who else is involved with him. We believe that through him, we can finally uncover the large scale espionage operation that we *know* the Romulans are operating within the Federation. Nevertheless, he wasn't working on the weapon hardware. In fact, none of the researchers at the Vulcan Science Academy are aware of the location of the actual weapon, or even who is involved with developing it. They have only been told what is absolutely necessary for them to develop the control system." "Perhaps if Lt. Ashford had been informed that her colleague was a spy, she might have provided you with enough information to arrest him." "Too risky. Can you imagine the uproar if we arrested a Vulcan citizen for espionage? And after we arrested him, it is doubtful he would lead us to anyone else. We decided Lt. Ashford would be of greater value to our operation if she did not know the truth about Tor." Spock stood and walked to look out the window overlooking San Francisco Bay and watched the city lights dancing on the water. A dense fog was rolling in and starting to engulf the Golden Gate. Spock did not agree with the Admiral, but knew that there was no longer any point in arguing over a decision that had been made three years ago. "Why am I being told this now?" he finally asked. Admiral Kleiderer did not answer him immediately. Spock watched the Admiral's reflection in the window. The spacious office was dark except for the lamp on the Admiral's desk, which clearly illuminated the Admiral as he watched Spock and wondered how to say what he needed to say. "Two months ago, the weapon prototype was stolen. A ship decloaked, penetrated the shields - we still don't know how - and simply beamed the whole thing aboard." Spock knew that the research facility was probably located on a remote asteroid in some distant, uninhabited system, with no routine shipping traffic. An effective method of keeping the project invisible. But it also made it easy for a ship to slip in and out unnoticed. The Admiral continued, "Three weeks ago, Tor left Vulcan - unexpectedly. He had not completed his thesis. He had not indicated to anyone that he was planning to leave, he was simply there one day and gone the next. About the same time, Romulan activity in the Neutral Zone increased. They've even made a few incursions into Federation Space. Two days ago, one of our border stations was fired upon - with an unfamiliar weapon." Spock turned to face the Admiral, knowing where this was leading. "So Enterprise is on her way to the Neutral Zone." "Yes, as soon as everyone is recalled from leave. And after you stop at Vulcan to pick up Lieutenant Ashford. She has orders in hand for Enterprise." "Has she been briefed?" "No, and she won't be until it's necessary. This weapons program is a black program, Spock. It doesn't even officially exist. Any information will be given strictly on a 'need-to-know' basis. The evidence indicates that there is a leak within Starfleet. You will leave here with sealed orders for Enterprise. It is the only copy. Once contact with Tor is made, you will notify Starfleet using the code that you will find with your orders. We will send you the cipher to open the orders. We hope that in this way, the information of your mission can be kept out of Romulan hands." "But it will be widely known that Enterprise is on 'routine patrol' in the Neutral Zone, and that Dara Ashford is on board," Spock said, meeting the Admiral's eyes with his own. "Are you using her as bait?" Admiral Kleiderer looked away. "Lt. Ashford's technical expertise could prove to be valuable in any number of ways." "Tor is aware of this as well." The Admiral did not reply. Spock regarded him thoughtfully for a moment. Admiral Kleiderer had never been in combat. He had never had someone die under his command. After a long moment, Spock said, "Have you contacted Captain Kirk?" "Yes, he is on his way," replied the Admiral. "He will report directly to Enterprise and be briefed by you." How convenient for you, thought Spock. ************ "Why are you home, Dara? You should be preparing yourself for tomorrow." Dara sighed inwardly. She had hoped to avoid Sarek today. "I am well prepared, sir. I have been ready for many days." She was defending her thesis tomorrow before the committee at the Vulcan Science Academy. Dara went into the kitchen to get something to eat. Sarek followed her. "Do you want something to eat?" she asked. "No. Are you really prepared, Dara? Sarn will attack your methods. He will put every effort into discrediting you. You are not able to show logical progression in your work." Dara was tired of this argument with Sarek. She would never win. Her only recourse was to successfully defend her thesis tomorrow. "Sarn has been attempting to discredit me for three years. He has failed, because I have been successful. The proof is in my results. Perhaps what my work *really* proves is that logic is somewhat overrated," she said, turning to face him again. Dara was surprised to see not only Sarek but also Spock. Her only reaction was a raised eyebrow. "Captain Spock. I did not realize that you had arrived." Sarek, of course, remained focused on their argument, not allowing Dara to change the subject. "What will you say to Sarn, Dara?" "Sir . . . what I have to say to Sarn, is for Sarn. I do not wish to discuss it before hand. Please attend tomorrow morning. You also, Spock. I would be honored to have you both there." She turned and took her lunch from the replicator. "Now, if you will please excuse me," she said, and went out to sit in the garden to eat. Sarek turned to Spock. "Do you understand what I was telling you? She is more stubborn than even you." Spock raised an appreciative eyebrow. "Is there a problem with her thesis?" "No. Her thesis is brilliant. Only her methods are in question. You should read it before tomorrow morning. And Sarn, of course, has opposed her from the beginning. He tried to block her entry into the Academy. I am certain he will discredit her in any way he can. Her association with Solnar does not help her; you know they are old rivals." "And Tor?" asked Spock, fishing. Sarek's expression turned cold. "What about him?" "I would assume that in Sarn's eyes her association with Tor is another strike against her." Sarek looked thoughtful for a moment. "Her association with Tor is over. But you are correct." "You disapprove of Tor?" Sarek nodded. "Among other things, he is undisciplined. He left here unexpectedly without even finishing his thesis. He is a sore topic between us, Spock." *********** Sarek was right, Spock reflected. Her thesis was brilliant. But he could also see the problem she was going to have successfully arguing her methods. Dara had made a couple of intuitive leaps. Human intuition was an enigma to Vulcans, but any Vulcan who had spent time with humans realized that was how human thought processes worked and came to accept it, if not understand it. Sarn's problem with Dara had really begun with her eccentric father. Sarn had disapproved of David Ashford and had been vocal about it. He was going to oppose Dara on any grounds that he could. The review committee was holding their reviews in a small auditorium. There were twelve professors on the committee. A scattering of interested spectators looked on. The professors, all Vulcan, sat at a long table at the front of the room. Dara stood respectfully before them, hands clasped behind her back. She was wearing her Starfleet uniform, against Sarek's advice; Starfleet was another thorn in Sarn's side. The professors were questioning her in turn from left to right down the length of the table. So far, everything had gone well. Two professors had simply expressed their complements and approval, having no questions that had not already been answered. Spock could see that she had earned their respect and support. Sarn was last. Spock was certain he had planned it that way. He looked around to see if Sarek had finally arrived, and saw that he was sitting in the back row. Sarn started to speak and Spock's attention returned to the front of the room. Sarn was standing behind the table, making every effort to be as intimidating as possible. He spoke rapidly in Vulcan, demanding that Dara offer a satisfactory, logical explanation for a certain critical step in her research that seemed to have come from nowhere. "This idea is the cornerstone of your work, Dara Ashford, and yet you cannot explain logically how you arrived at this point." Dara looked at Sarn steadily. Spock noted that her control was near-perfect when she needed it to be. In a clear, steady voice, Dara said, "Intuition, sir." She spoke in Standard, as there was no word in the Vulcan language that really conveyed the meaning of intuition. A murmur of surprise went around the room. Spock wondered how Sarek reacted to that reply, but he was too interested in Sarn's reaction to turn and look. Sarn was clearly surprised, thinking this was going to be easier than he thought. "I ask you about logic, and you answer me with *intuition*? Do you care to explain yourself, Dara Ashford?" "I am human after all, sir," she continued in Vulcan. "Intuition is within my purview. It would be illogical to deny that I am a human, and attempt to be something that I am not. In fact, some might say I were a fool if I were to present myself as a logical being." Now a hushed silence fell over the room. Years ago, Sarn had spoken those words in criticism of David Ashford. Dara maintained her eye contact with Sarn, breathing evenly, not flinching. Sarn finally conceded. "Very well, Dara Ashford. I accept your argument." He paused, then finally said, "My compliments," and took his seat. Dara maintained her composure, as was appropriate. Her thesis was accepted; she would be awarded her degree from the Vulcan Science Academy, the first awarded a human. The professors on the committee came forward to offer their congratulations, followed by the spectators. Spock stood to one side with Sarek, waiting for her, when Solnar approached her. "Dara, have you heard from Tor?" Dara hesitated a moment before answering. "No, sir, I have not. Nor do I expect to." "It is difficult to understand how he left so suddenly without expressing his intentions to even you, Dara." Dara had no reply, so she said nothing. Spock thought she looked vaguely uncomfortable. "She is well rid of him, Solnar," said Sarek, unexpectedly. Solnar's gaze shifted from Dara to Sarek, then back. "Perhaps," he finally said. "But I need him to complete his work." He paused a moment, then said, "Congratulations, Dara. It has been my pleasure to have you working with me." "I am honored to have had the opportunity to be your associate, Solnar." "Live long and prosper, Dara." "Peace and long life," she replied. Solnar left, and Dara turned to Spock and Sarek. Spock could see that the composure that Sarn could not break had been cracked by Solnars mention of Tor. She looked away when Sarek's gaze met hers. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Sarek said, "I offer you my compliments, Dara, and my congratulations." "Thank you, sir." "Now I must return to my duties." He nodded to Dara and Spock, then turned to go. Spock stood looking after him a moment, thoughtful. Finally, he turned to Dara and said, "Shall we have lunch, Lieutenant?" Dara turned to him as if returning from somewhere far away. She blinked once, slowly, then said, "Of course." She suggested a place near the Academy grounds that students and faculty frequented. ************ Their route to the restaurant took them through a park. Spock noticed Dara begin to relax considerably while they walked. Her control was near-perfect when she needed it to be, but at a price. He could almost imagine he saw the tension loosening it's grip on her small form. It was a pleasant day, so they sat at an outdoor table. Vulcan's heat was not uncomfortable to Dara; she had lived there since birth. They sat drinking water while waiting for their lunch to arrive. Spock wanted to know more about Tor; more specifically, he wanted to know what kind of relationship Dara and Tor had shared, personally and professionally. They sat discussing her work in general, and Spock questioned her about certain particulars. Finally, Tor came up as a matter of course, but then their lunch arrived and Dara took the opportunity to change the subject, talking instead about Starfleet and what her work would be on the Enterprise. Spock decided he would have to be patient; in time, he was certain, he would find out more about her relationship with Tor. He wanted to know as much as possible before they actually encountered him. Starfleet had used Dara badly in this situation, and was continuing to do so. And though he knew it was illogical, Spock felt a certain amount of guilt because he was now a party to the deception. Almost certainly, Dara would be hurt when she discovered the truth; Spock wanted to know in advance how bad the hurt would be. Spock knew who could tell him more. He would have to talk to Amanda. ************* Spock sat with Amanda in her garden after Vulcan's hot sun had slipped below the horizon. It was the first opportunity he'd had to spend any time alone with her since his arrival on Vulcan, and they sat talking about the events in their lives since the last time they had seen one another. Naturally, the subject turned to Dara and her impending departure from Vulcan. "I will miss her very much," said Amanda. "I have enjoyed her companionship." She looked up at Spock and met his eyes. "How was her presentation today?" "Impressive. And successful. She did not let herself become intimidated," answered Spock. "Her control is near-perfect," he added thoughtfully. "Yes. Sometimes, it makes me very sad to see her like that," said Amanda, and she did indeed look sad. "I am afraid I have not been as much of an influence as I would have hoped." Spock did not know what to say. He knew his mother's concerns were valid. Dara was human, but she really did not know how to interact with humans socially. Finally, he said, "Do not worry, mother. Dr. McCoy is committed to ensuring that Dara learns how to be a proper human. He believes that she is still young enough that he can reverse any damage done to her by her Vulcan upbringing." Amanda smiled up at him, and Spock knew that his attempt at lightness had worked. "I am sure Dr. McCoy can meet the challenge that Dara presents. Tell him I am counting on him." They were quiet for a moment, then Spock finally asked. "Mother, what do you know about Tor?" Amanda looked at him, wondering about his curiosity on this subject, but answered him anyway. "I know that in the end, he hurt her very badly. Sarek knew that he would." "Do you know what happened?" "I know that he left abruptly without saying goodbye. Sarek knows something else, but he will not tell me what it is," she added, troubled. "Were they very close?" "They saw each other almost everyday for three years, because of their work. They spent a lot of time together socially, also. Sarek thought that Tor was taking advantage of Dara." Amanda paused for a moment and studied Spocks features in the dim light. "I know that Dara valued his friendship, but she never let on if there was anything more. Why are you interested, Spock? Do you know him?" "I know him by reputation only. His name has come up more than once, and the subject seems to be a source of discomfort for Dara - and of irritation for Sarek. I was only curious." **************** Enterprise arrived early the next morning. Spock watched as Dara said goodbye to Sarek, formally and properly. After a moments hesitation, she embraced Amanda warmly. A part of Spock envied her freedom to do so. From mhv.net!netaxs.com!news.cais.net!grouper.Exis.Net!news Fri Jan 5 20:26:58 1996 Path: mhv.net!netaxs.com!news.cais.net!grouper.Exis.Net!news From: meenie1@exis.net (Beth Meenaghan) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: TOS: Masquerade - Part 1a (2/4) - part1.txt [1/1] Date: 5 Jan 1996 01:55:12 GMT Organization: Exchange Information Systems Networks Lines: 760 Message-ID: <4ci0e0$1dl@grouper.Exis.Net> NNTP-Posting-Host: 107.exis.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; Boundary="" X-Newsreader: WinVN 0.93.11 -- Star Trek is owned by Paramount, etc. Dara Ashford is strictly a figment of my always overactive imagination, and I claim her as mine. Copyright -c- 1996 by Beth Meenaghan -- "I don't have a life, I have a toddler." - myself "As a matter of fact, I am a rocket scientist." -- Content-Type: Application/octet-stream; name=part1.txt MASQUERADE Part 1 - Snapshots in Time Kirk sat in his command chair watching the planet as it spun beneath them. The scene was hypnotic, and he found himself fighting sleep. Spock had traveled ahead of Enterprise to Vulcan, and they had arrived to pick up him and their new crewmember. His attention returned to the service record of Lieutenant Dara Ashford. A vulcan citizen - of human ancestry. Kirk was intrigued and had asked Spock for more details. Spock had informed him that she was born on Vulcan and had lived her entire life there until attending Star Fleet Academy. Her father had been a research scientist involved in some kind of energy research. He must have liked Vulcan, Kirk thought. He lived there 30 years before he was killed in an explosion at the research facility. Dara had lived with Spock's parents about a year and a half to finish school before attending Starfleet Academy. Spock had not mentioned her mother at all. Her record listed her native language as Vulcan, though of course she was also fluent in Standard. Spock had sponsored her at Starfleet Academy; Sarek had later petitioned for her to be admitted to the Vulcan Science Academy. Her field of expertise was computer engineering and programming. "By all accounts, her abilities with computers meet or exceed my own," Spock had said. Kirk had looked doubtful. "Says who?" Spock raised one eyebrow. "Sarek, among others. I may only surpass her in my level of experience." Kirk knew that this was high praise for a young human, and saw that her academic accomplishments supported it. Still, she was so inexperienced, having gone directly from Starfleet Academy to complete her advanced studies on Vulcan, and only now, three years after her commissioning, reporting to a starship for duty. Starfleet command had assured Kirk that Lt. Ashford was essential to their upcoming mission, though she did not know it. He did not know exactly how she was involved himself, though he assumed it had something to do with the work she had been involved with on Vulcan. He was uncomfortable with so much responsibility being placed on the shoulders of someone so young. Their mission was classified Top Secret, and more details would only be forthcoming as necessary, on a need-to-know basis. In the meantime, they were to proceed to the Romulan Neutral Zone for routine patrol duty . . . and wait. Kirk heard the turbolift doors open, and turned to see McCoy enter the bridge. "Have they arrived yet?" he asked as he approached Kirk's chair, assuming Kirk would know whom he meant. "They've just beamed up, but I haven't seen them here yet." Kirk knew that McCoy was curious to meet the young officer. He'd wondered aloud what a human who had been completely socialized on Vulcan would be like. "Spock's probably showing her to her quarters first, maybe a short ships tour." The turbolift doors opened again, and Spock entered the bridge accompanied by a very petite young woman. Kirk was surprised to see that she was maybe all of 5 feet tall, very slender but solid looking. She was so young - twenty-four, Kirk recalled and almost looked like a child standing next to Spock. She had an attractive face and wore her brown hair very short. Kirk stood as they approached. "Lt. Ashford, I presume." He extended his hand to her. "Captain James Kirk." She shook his hand firmly, smiling slightly. "I am honored to meet you, sir." "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant. We're pleased to have you serving with us. I understand this is your first tour on a starship." "Yes, sir. I am pleased to finally be getting into space." "Well, I'm sure Captain Spock has filled you in on everything you need to know. If you have any questions about anything, or just need help getting adjusted, don't hesitate to ask any of the crew." He turned to McCoy then, and said, "This is our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Leonard McCoy." "Pleased to meet you Lieutenant." McCoy smiled broadly at her and shook her hand. Kirk turned to Spock. "Are we ready to leave orbit, Mr. Spock?" "Yes, sir. Our business here is complete." Turning to the lieutenant at the navigation console, Kirk said, "Lt. Boggs, lay in a course for the Romulan Neutral Zone." "Yes, sir. Course laid in." "Ahead Warp 4." "Warp 4, sir." Kirk turned his attention back to Lt. Ashford. "Lieutenant, you may spend the rest of the day getting yourself settled in. Report to Mr. Spock at 0700 tomorrow morning for your first duty assignment." "Yes, sir. "Can you find your way back to your quarters?" asked Spock. "Yes, sir, I know my way from here." "You're dismissed then. " "Thank you, sir." She turned and entered the lift. Kirk turned to Spock. "Did you have a chance to see your parents, Mr. Spock?" "Yes, sir, briefly." After a moment he added. "Dara - Lt. Ashford - lived with my parents while attending the Academy." Kirk nodded his understanding. "She seems so . . . young." Spock looked at Kirk thoughtfully, then nodded. "Yes. She does." ************************ When Dara arrived in her new quarters, the first thing she did was adjust the environmental controls to Vulcan normal. She had been cold ever since coming aboard. Her quarters were quite small and rather spartan, but no smaller than she had imagined they would be; she considered it a privilege simply to have a private room. Dara removed her uniform jacket and shirt, put on a thermal layer, then pulled her uniform shirt back over her head. She began unpacking the rest of her clothes, making a mental note to order more uniforms. She had not worn uniforms on a daily basis since leaving Starfleet Academy three years ago. The last item she removed from her duffel was a holophoto of her father when he was very young, taken some time before she was born. He was smiling broadly. He had a very attractive smile, and Dara had never in her life actually seen him smile this way. She studied the photo for a moment, then placed it on her desk. She sat down at her computer terminal and accessed requisitions so that she could order her uniforms. As she was finishing, her door chimed. "Come," she said, looking up to see who entered. When she saw Dr. McCoy come in, she stood to greet him. "Sir." McCoy smiled at her. "At ease, Lieutenant, I'm here on a social call. I haven't had lunch yet and I was wondering if you'd like to join me." "Yes, sir. Thank you. Just let me get my jacket." As she turned to get her uniform jacket, McCoy picked up the holophoto on her desk. Dara turned back to him, fastening her jacket. "Someone special?" asked McCoy. "My father. When he was very young." McCoy placed the photo back in its place. "Shall we go?" They walked to the turbolift in silence. When they stepped into the lift, McCoy said, "Rec deck." He explained to Dara, "It's much more sociable there than the Officer's Mess. And I wouldn't be surprised if Spock neglected to show it to you." "Spock said he was certain that you would take it upon yourself to make sure I am aquainted with the recreation facilities, Doctor," said Dara, looking him directly in the eye. McCoy eyed her suspiciously. Was she pulling his leg? "Oh, he did? He thinks he knows me so well?" "Well, sir," she said as the lift doors opened onto the recreation deck, "we *are* here." McCoy hesitated a moment before exiting the lift, watching her closely. She was a tough one to read. He suspected she was teasing him, but she didn't crack a smile. Was there a glint in her eye, though? "After you, Lieutenant," he finally said. They stepped to the replicators to order their lunch. McCoy got a cheeseburger, and noted that Dara got some sort of salad that he knew Spock also habitually ate. It occurred to McCoy for the first time that Dara was, of course, vegetarian. Not only that, but Vulcan cuisine would be her food of choice, incongruous as it may seem.. McCoy observed her carefully as they ate and talked. Dara's speech was precise and she did not use slang. Her body language and nuances of expression were Vulcan. And though she did not attempt to deny that she had emotion - she used emotional terms, anyway - the expression of her emotions was very much restrained. McCoy supposed that was out of habit, though certainly a habit learned from earliest childhood. She is human, thought McCoy, but she is not Terran. He realized it was an important distinction. Despite all of this, Dara did not come across as uptight or cold. She is just very calm and restrained, he thought. "So, Lieutenant, are you happy to have orders to the Enterprise?" "Yes, I am. It is certainly a ship of distinction, and an opportunity to work with Spock is more than I could have hoped for." "But . . ," prodded McCoy. Dara glanced at him over her coffee, surprised that he had picked up her unspoken misgivings, McCoy thought. Dara paused for a moment, thinking. "This ship carries a lot of rank, Doctor, and the experience that goes with it. Two officers with Captains rank on the bridge, another in engineering, more than the usual number of Commanders on board. Many young officers worry they will not have the opportunity to . . break out of the pack aboard the Enterprise. It is difficult to shine very brightly as a rising star in the company of legends." McCoy nodded his understanding. More than one young officer had requested transfer to another ship for essentially the same reasons. "Did you request the Enterprise?" "Curiously enough, I received my orders for Enterprise before I had an opportunity to request anything. However, it had been my intention to request Enterprise. For myself, I believe the advantages far outweigh any possible disadvantages." "In what way?" "I am a science officer, Doctor. As I have indicated, I am pleased to have the opportunity to work with Spock in that area. I am not interested in command." McCoy nodded and smiled at her. "You don't find Spock the least bit intimidating, do you?" The question was worth asking just for the reaction it got; she actually laughed, her eyebrows rising in surprise. "How could I possibly find Spock intimidating?" "Usually, our new officers assigned to his department do." "I have noticed that humans are intimidated by Vulcans until they become accustomed to their mannerisms." "Naturally, you wouldn't be," agreed McCoy. "Your own perception of Vulcans and their culture is probably completely different than the typical Earth-born human's." "Terrans see Vulcans from the outside, looking in. I view Vulcans from the inside, looking out. And my own culture is *their* culture - in as much as it can be, anyway. But it is the only culture I have." McCoy studied her as she drank her coffee. He thought she looked troubled about that last part, perhaps a bit sad. Before he could dig anymore, Uhura approached their table. "Mind if I sit down?" McCoy grinned up at her. "Of course not! Did you meet our new Lieutenant? Dara Ashford, Commander Uhura." "No, I did *not* meet her. Spock didn't introduce her to the bridge crew, and I gave him a piece of my mind about that, too. He told me he was sure I would find her here with you, Leonard. Hello, Dara." "Commander." McCoy was red faced and flustered. "Did he really say that he knew I'd be here?" Uhura only nodded. "Dammit, he does *not* know me that well . . ." "You're here, aren't you?" "Shut up!" He got up to get more coffee. Uhura watched him walk away, then turned back to Dara and rolled her eyes. "He's been pretending that he doesn't like Spock for about thirty years." "Thirty years - then it is no wonder that Spock knows him as he does," said Dara, suddenly realizing that the senior officers had been serving together since long before she was born. She decided not to point out that fact. "Well," began Uhura, changing the subject, "I'm afraid you've joined us just before a particularly boring, though usually tense, mission. Patrolling the Romulan Neutral Zone is *not* my favorite duty." "I'll second that," said McCoy as he rejoined them at the table. "We'll just have to find something to help pass the time." ************************ Enterprise reached the Neutral Zone without incident. Dara quickly discovered that routine patrol was in fact quite boring. Spock kept her occupied with computer work and there was plenty to do, but nothing different to break the monotony. Being on the ship was like going to work and never going home. The routine scarcely changed from one day to the next. Dara found herself spending a lot of time with Spock, on duty and off. They had a lot of shared interests, so they never seemed to run out of something to talk about, despite their age difference. They had taken to spending many evenings together on the observation deck; she had not yet tired of staring endlessly at the starfield, and Spock generally sought her out there. They discussed in detail the work she had done on Vulcan, work that he had done in the past, some of the finer points of logic, and aspects of Terran behavior that they both found perplexing. Despite her human ancestry, Spock had more experience interacting with humans than Dara did. McCoy tried to encourage Dara to spend more time with the other junior officers. She seemed to get along with them well, but spent so much time either working or thinking about her latest project that she didn't have time to socialize with them much. Whenever she did spend time with other young humans, McCoy noted that she tended to be an observer rather than a participant. Despite her youth, McCoy wondered if it was too late for her to really learn how to be completely human. A part of him argued that perhaps it didn't matter, but somehow he felt that it did. He had managed to get her into a regular card game with himself, Uhura, and Chekov. They generally played Spades, and Uhura and Dara generally won, even if she did happen to be discussing the finer points of microprocessor design with Spock during the course of the game. McCoy realized then that Spock had been right; Dara's idea of fun was more in line with Spock's than McCoy's. They had been on patrol for about two months when McCoy was discussing Dara with Uhura one night over dinner. "Why don't you introduce her to some of the young men around here?" Uhura rolled her eyes at him. "Now, why does that automatically fall to me? I mean, why don't you do it? Besides, I don't think she's interested in any of the young men. She's got her sights on someone else." "Oh, like who? The only person she spends any time with is Spock." Uhura sat looking at McCoy expectantly for a moment. He looked back at her blankly. Finally, she said, "Do I have to spell it out for you, Leonard? She spends all of her time with Spock because she's in love with him. I'm not sure she's knows it yet, but she is." "What? That's the craziest thing I've heard all day! She's twenty-four years old, for crying out loud! Why would she fall for someone as old as him? She sees him as a father or uncle or something . . . " "No, Leonard, that's how she sees you. She's in love with Spock, take my word for it." "If she doesn't even know, how come you're so certain you do?" "A woman knows, Leonard. We're not as hard-headed as men about seeing what's right in front of our eyes. And as for your other question, why does *anybody* ever fall for Spock? He's not so old for a Vulcan, which she is well aware of. In fact, it probably never occurs to her that he's old; she takes that long Vulcan lifespan for granted. And there are plenty of couples on Vulcan with a larger age difference than she and Spock have." McCoy didn't answer right away. He considered Uhura thoughtfully, but he still was not convinced. "Well, that's all the more reason she should be encouraged to meet some young men. He'll never return her feelings." Uhura looked at him pointedly. "Are you sure?" "Oh, come on! Are you telling me now that *he's* in love with her?" "I'm sure those aren't the words he would choose. You watch him with her, though. Mostly, watch him watching her. You'll see." ******************************* Dara was on the bridge discussing some question she had with Spock. McCoy watched her as she listened patiently to Spock's explanation, then finally nodded her agreement. "Yes, I understand now. Thank you, sir." Dara turned to go to the turbolift, and McCoy started to join her there, but Uhura stopped Dara as she passed by. "Lieutenant, an Ensign Smith with Personal Property is on subspace. He has a question for you about some items they're holding for you." Dara frowned, confused, and stepped to Uhura's console where Ensign Smith appeared on the console. "This is Lt. Ashford." "Oh, Lieutenant. We have some items here that were forwarded to you from your mother's family after her death. We need to know what to do with them." "My mother?" Dara asked. "I assume you are speaking of Elaine Ashford?" Ensign Smith seemed confused. "Yes," he answered slowly. "I do not want them, Ensign. Thank you," she added before he could argue, and turned abruptly and left the bridge. Spock stood looking after her. Uhura and McCoy shared a stunned look. "Now what's *that* all about?" McCoy asked no one in particular. Spock finally approached the communications console. "Ensign, this is Captain Spock. What sort of items are you talking about?" "I'm not certain, sir. Probably just personal effects. It's a single carton, about a cubic meter." "Forward them to my parents home on Vulcan on my authority, Ensign." "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," relieved to have been given some direction in the matter. Spock turned to see both Uhura and McCoy looking at him curiously. He only raised one eyebrow and returned to his station. McCoy followed him. "What was that all about, Spock?" "Doctor, if Dara wants you to know what it's all about, she can tell you herself." Spock returned to his work, ignoring McCoy until he finally went away. Spock could not imagine why Elaine Ashford or her family would decide that Dara needed anything from her mother now. She had abandoned Dara when she left Dara's father. As far as Spock knew, Dara had neither seen nor heard from her mother since she was four years old. Spock did not see Dara during the rest of his shift, nor did she appear on the rec deck later when he was playing chess. He finally found her in the observation lounge late in the evening. Spock sat down next to her. Dara looked at him to acknowledge his presence, but said nothing for a long time. When she finally spoke, it startled Spock, who was lost in his own thoughts. "She came to see me in San Francisco," she said suddenly. Spock looked at her; he knew Dara could see his surprise. "Unexpectedly?" "You could say that. She just dropped in." "What did she want?" "I do not know what she expected from me. She told me she hoped we could establish 'some type of relationship.' I told her that was not possible. She became very emotional, called me a 'cold bitch', and left." Spock imagined that Dara had maintained her control throughout the entire encounter, and that the woman had indeed perceived her as cold. Terrans did not generally understand the distinction. "Anyway, she never really left me alone after that. I would go for months without hearing from her, then suddenly she would leave me a message asking me to contact her. She even wrote me letters. I never read them." "Did she try to contact you when you returned to Vulcan?" "She may have spoken to Amanda some. If she was trying to contact me, I never found out about it." Spock could well imagine that his mother had little sympathy for Elaine Ashford in this matter. He had heard her comment more than once that she could not understand how a woman could abandoned her own child. She had not even contacted Dara when her father died, although Amanda and Sarek made certain that she was informed. "She should have left well enough alone," Dara suddenly said angrily. "I used to never even think about her until she decided to intrude on my life, which she had no right to do." Spock only nodded his agreement; there was really nothing to say. He sat there with her in silence for a long time, and finally walked with her back to her quarters very late in the ships night. ******************************* Kirk stepped onto the bridge rather half-heartedly, knowing it was going to be yet another boring day of routine patrol. They had been here for weeks already and had not even encountered a single ship - no Romulans playing cat and mouse, no smugglers trying to sneak their way across the border. They had not even detected any mysterious phenomena that they might investigate. Duty such as this served to remind Kirk of just how vast - and empty - space really was. Spock was busy at his station already, with what Kirk could not imagine. Kirk stepped over to speak to him. "Good morning, Spock." Spock turned in his chair. "Good morning, Captain." Spock sat watching him, and when Kirk did not say anything else, Spock said, "Is there something . . .?" "No, no, . . ." Kirk interrupted, "I'm just . . . bored already this morning." Spock nodded. "Perhaps today will not be as boring as the rest." Kirk was interested. "Oh? Something up your sleeve, Spock?" Spock only raised one eyebrow in reply, but Kirk noticed that Spock was displaying the status of all the ships systems on his monitor. The turbolift doors opened and McCoy stepped onto the bridge, carrying a large cup of coffee. He approached Kirk and Spock. "Isn't anybody sick around here?" he grumbled. " Maybe we should throw a big party so somebody would at *least* have a hangover." McCoy noticed Spock glance at the chronometer, then back at his console. "Are we waiting for something?" Kirk shrugged in reply and turned to go to his chair when Scotty suddenly addressed them from engineering. "Captain, what the hell is going on up there? The whole system is shutting down . .!" Uhura interrupted, "Sir, I'm losing communications." Kirk turned back to look at Spocks monitor and saw SYSTEM SHUTDOWN flashing on the screen, one system after another initiating shutdown. "Navigation is down . . . weapons systems." Kirk could see other ships systems being added to the list one at a time. "Spock . . . ," Kirk began, concerned. "I was expecting it, Jim. Shutdown will soon abort, startup will resume . . . now." All the systems started to come back on line, and Lt. Ashford reported in. "Bridge, this is Central Computing. We've experienced an unscheduled system shutdown . . . " "We've noticed, Lieutenant. I hope you have a good explanation. When you're certain that everything is under control, report to me here on the bridge." "Yes, sir." "Spock, this is *not* the kind of excitement I need." The turbolift doors opened and Lt. Ashford entered the bridge. She approached Kirk and stood at attention. "Sir." She did not look at Spock. "Lieutenant. What happened?" "Sir . . .," Dara began, searching for words, and finally chose to dive right in. How could it get any worse, after all? "I made an error that resulted in initiation of system shutdown," she said, hoping he would be satisfied with that. No such luck. "What sort of error, Lieutenant?" Dara sighed inwardly. "A typographical error, sir. It resulted in an incorrect subroutine call that initiated system shutdown." Kirk regarded her for a moment, and decided not to be too hard on her. The entire ship was aware of what had happened. Every senior officer knew from personal experience that *that* was punishment enough. Kirk said, not too harshly, "Lieutenant, everyone makes mistakes. But this is the type of mistake that you can not afford to make on a starship. I don't think I need to tell you why." "No, sir." "Well . . . at least you recovered everything quickly . . ." "I am afraid I can not take credit for that, sir," Dara said. She still would not look at Spock. Kirk glanced over at Spock, who met his eyes but said nothing. "I see," said Kirk. "All right, Lieutenant, as you were. And see that it doesn't happen again." "Yes, sir." She hesitated a moment, uncertain. "You may return to your duty station," said Kirk. "Sir, Captain Scott asked that I report to engineering after I was finished here," Dara informed him, hoping for a reprieve. "Then you should do so before returning to your station, Lieutenant," replied Kirk, repressing a smile. He was glad he had taken it easy on her; she would not be so lucky with Scotty. ************************** Spock was in the turbolift alone at the end of the shift. He reflected that it had turned out to be a long, boring day after all. The lift stopped and the door opened to reveal Dara waiting alone for the lift. She hesitated a moment when she saw him, then stepped on. "Deck five," she said quietly. Spock thought she sounded very tired. Spock watched her for a moment, then stopped the lift. She finally looked up at him then. "You have had a bad day, Lieutenant." Dara considered him a moment, looking a bit angry. "You might have just told me." "I did not believe that simply pointing out your error would fully impart to you the seriousness of such a mistake." "Well, you were very successful in pointing that out." Dara looked away. They were quiet for a moment, then Spock said, "It has been brought to my attention that you are in the habit of working late hours. I was looking over the computer logs analyzing how much time you are working when I discovered your error." Spock paused for a moment. "Dara, your last save on the file was at 0400 hours. There is no doubt in my mind that fatigue was a factor." "It is how I am accustomed to working," she argued weakly. "Late nights, I mean. Long hours." "You are accustomed to working in an environment where such a mistake is purely a matter of inconvenience. That is no longer the case, Dara. If I had not been prepared to respond to the system shutdown, this ship and the lives of everyone on board would have been at great risk until you could have aborted the shutdown procedure and re-started the system." Thanks for reminding me *again*, she thought to herself, but said nothing. "We do not have any work of such importance at this time that justifies your working such long hours. You should make an effort to find other interests." "I am as bored as anyone else on this ship. What else am I supposed to do?" "Get a hobby." "Computers *are* my hobby." "Get another one." Spock started the lift again, and said, "Dr. McCoy has his own opinions about what you should be doing with your spare time. Perhaps you should talk to him." The lift arrived at Deck 5 and the doors opened to reveal none other than Dr. McCoy. McCoy rolled his eyes when he saw who had been holding up the lift. "What the hell do you think this is? Your private conference room?" Dara and Spock stepped out of the lift and started down the corridor. "By the way, how was your talk with Mr. Scott?" "I did not understand much of what he said, but I am certain that it was all bad." Spock stopped in front of his quarters and turned to her. "We had planned to have dinner together this evening. Will you still join me?" She looked up at him and smiled slightly. "Of course," she said. "I can not stay angry with you long. I suspect you know that." "Actually, I was counting on it." ******************************* Kirk was standing next to Spock at the science station passing the time discussing ships business. The turbolift doors opened and Dara entered the bridge and approached them. "Excuse me, sirs. I just need a moment of Spock's time." "Yes, Lieutenant." "Sir, if I may . . .," she said, indicating the console controls. Spock moved aside and Dara called up an algorithm on the monitor. "Sir, I've been studying the algorithm for the warp core diagnostic code. I believe a Crawford Routine . . . " "Yes, I see, much more efficient . . . " "At least twenty percent, I think, more if I optimize the rest of the code . . ." "Of course. You may proceed, Lieutenant." "Thank you, sir," she said, and nodded to Kirk, "Captain." Spock watched her as she left the bridge. Kirk watched Spock. The lift doors closed and Spock continued to look after her. He finally turned back to Jim and realized he was watching him. Spock raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Do you two ever speak in complete sentences?" asked Kirk. "Somehow, it seldom seems necessary," Spock reflected. "Yes, somehow . . . " ************************ ---- From mhv.net!netaxs.com!news.cais.net!grouper.Exis.Net!news Fri Jan 5 20:27:13 1996 Path: mhv.net!netaxs.com!news.cais.net!grouper.Exis.Net!news From: meenie1@exis.net (Beth Meenaghan) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: TOS: Masquerade - Part1b (2/4) - part1b.txt [1/1] Date: 5 Jan 1996 01:57:34 GMT Organization: Exchange Information Systems Networks Lines: 495 Message-ID: <4ci0ie$1dl@grouper.Exis.Net> NNTP-Posting-Host: 107.exis.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; Boundary="" X-Newsreader: WinVN 0.93.11 -- Star Trek is owned by Paramount, etc. Dara Ashford is strictly a figment of my always overactive imagination, and I claim her as mine. Copyright -c- 1996 by Beth Meenaghan -- "I don't have a life, I have a toddler." - myself "As a matter of fact, I am a rocket scientist." -- Content-Type: Application/octet-stream; name=part1b.txt Part 1 (continued) Dara woke with a gasp, sitting upright in her bed, disoriented. She looked about her, and she was alone - of course. She had been dreaming, but it had seemed so real. She fell back against her pillow, trying to grasp and hold the details of the dream, even as they slipped to the edge of her mind. She had been with a man in the dream, but she could not - quite - grasp who it was, although she knew that it had been clear in the dream. He was a Vulcan, of course. The characters in her dreams were almost always Vulcan, even if they actually represented one of her human friends. She sighed in frustration. It was cruel torture to have such a dream and then wake up in the middle of it to find yourself alone. It could only be Tor, she thought. Who else would she dream of in such a way. In the back of her mind, the thought came, 'Tor has blue eyes'. She did not understand the significance of that thought, except as a statement of fact. She looked at her chronometer: 0113. Damn, she thought. She would not be able to fall back asleep just now. Dara got up, put on her sweat pants and shirt and some soft shoes, and left her quarters to go to the observation deck. The lights in the corridors were dim in the ships night, and the whole atmosphere immediately helped her to feel more relaxed. Perhaps she would not be awake too long after all. She entered the observation deck to find it deserted, and took a seat on one of the couches by the large viewport. She liked to get as close to the viewport as possible. The ship was currently cruising under impulse power, so she was seeing the actual view outside. She always imagined that she could feel the coldness of space next to the viewport, though she knew that was not possible. She let herself become lost in the starfield, and thought about Tor, wondering for the thousandth time if she had made a mistake by not accepting his offer. What if he were the one that was meant for her? But surely she would have known if he was the one. And she had not felt that way about him - was not in love with him, and so she had turned him down. And then she had discovered that he was not the man she thought he was. Sarek was right, she knew - 'Where is your common sense?' he had said. Still, was he the reason she was having these dreams? 'Tor has blue eyes.' In fact, he had the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. 'Oh, stop!' she chastised herself. He did have beautiful blue eyes, but so what? She had never even given them a second thought until he was gone. "Dara?" Dara was startled out of her reverie, and looked up into deep dark eyes and a piercing gaze. Her dream came hurtling back to her forethoughts with all of its original impact, and all at once she knew that Tor was not the man in her dream. The man in her dream was standing beside her. She felt the blood rush to her face, and was grateful for the dim light. Spock cocked his head to one side and looked at her curiously. "Are you all right?" "Yes," she said, but barely heard herself. She cleared her throat. "You just startled me. I did not hear you approach." He hesitated a moment, then sat down next to her. "You are here very late tonight, Dara," he said after a moment. "I could not sleep." She turned to look at him. "And yourself?" She held his gaze, and found herself becoming lost there. She tried to make herself look away, but could not. Her mind started to stray to the images from her dream, and she had to make an effort to concentrate on the present. He finally turned and looked out the viewport. "Nor could I." Dara was taken aback to hear him admit that to her. She was aware that something had been weighing heavily on him ever since they had reached the Neutral Zone. She did not ask him about it; she was sure that there was more to their being here than just a "routine patrol", and of course Spock and Captain Kirk probably knew what it was. Spock broke in on her thoughts again. "Have you been thinking about Tor?" Why did he always know what she was thinking? Was she really such an open book? But she had been telling him about Tor only yesterday, and she supposed it was not such a leap for him to infer that Tor was on her mind. She didn't say anything for a long while, then finally decided she wanted someone to know; she had never told anyone. "Tor asked me to bond with him." She saw his surprise before he could suppress it. He finally turned to her and looked at her expectantly. "I turned him down," she continued. "He left the next day, and I have not seen him or even heard from him since." "Do you regret your decision?" He needed to know. She sighed and shook her head. "No . . .I do not know . . . I am unsure. When I told him no . . . he became very angry . . . violent, actually." She looked away, no longer able to meet his gaze. Spock did not try to hide his concern. "Dara . . . did he strike you?" "No, but he would have. We were in one of the parks on the Academy grounds, and someone came along and stopped him." "Sarek," Spock said with certainty, and a few more pieces of the puzzle fell together in his mind. "Yes." It had been the most humiliating experience of her life, but she did not say that. She suspected that she did not have to. "Tor was a good friend and almost constant companion for three years, and so of course I miss him and regret that he is no longer in my life. There were so many good moments that it is easy to forget about one bad moment. Sometimes, I think that if I had just said yes, everything would have been all right and I would never have known this side of him. But I know that is not true. Eventually, I would have seen his violent nature. I thought I knew him so well - it is difficult to accept that I really did not know him at all." She laughed lightly. "And, of course, Sarek had been right about him all along." Spock met her eyes again. "That is what really bothers you, isn't it, Dara? That he was not who you thought he was?" She thought for a moment. "I suppose that is so. I do not want it to be true." Spock did not know what to say. He wanted to tell her what he knew about Tor. He wondered again if he was doing the right thing by playing this scenario the way that Starfleet wanted it played. She was going to be very angry and hurt when she learned the truth, and rightfully so. "Did you love him, Dara?" She looked at Spock for a long moment, studying his calm features. "No," she finally said with certainty. "I know now that I did not." She did not add, 'Because I love you, and now I can see the difference.' But she knew it was true. ************************ The department head meeting had been short. There were only routine issues to deal with. The monotony of patrol afforded the crew the opportunity to fine tune the ships systems so that Enterprise was operating at her peak efficiency. Now it only remained to keep crew morale high so that crew efficiency didn't suffer. "I think we should have an all-hands party," said McCoy. "For New Years." "It's not New Years," said Chekov, perplexed. "It is somewhere," growled McCoy. "Some of the junior officers have expressed their interest in having a party. I think it's a good idea." "Aye, I've heard as much myself," added Scotty. Kirk suspected that the two of them had actually come up with the idea themselves - probably over a bottle of Scotch. Still, it would be good for morale. "All right, Bones, we'll have a party. You're in charge of planning it. You can recruit anyone you want to help." ******************************* "What do you mean, you've never been to a New Year's party? How do you never go to a New Year's party on Earth?" Dara looked thoughtful for a moment. "I suppose I was never invited to one." "You don't have to wait to be invited to one! Didn't you and your friends ever just do one for yourselves?" "No. What happens at a New Year's party?" "Well . . . people just hang out together and drink and dance or whatever. Then at midnight there's a big celebration because it's the New Year, and everybody kisses someone." "Why?" "Why what?" "Why does everyone kiss someone?" McCoy looked at her blankly for a moment. Exasperation was beginning to creep into his voice. "I don't know, Dara, they just do. It's a tradition." He was sorry he had mentioned the kissing. "Do you kiss anyone you want, or are you assigned to kiss someone in particular?" "NO, you're not assigned to kiss someone! You choose who you kiss." "What if there is an odd number of people? Or there's no one there you want to kiss. Can you kiss more than one person if you want?" "You can kiss anyone you want, Dara. Or no one at all. There are really no rules," said McCoy. Why did I bring this up, he wondered. "All right, I understand. Everyone kisses at midnight. Then what happens." "Well, the party continues if people want it to, but people gradually start going home. Some people party all night." "Oh. Do they continue to kiss?" "If they want to, Dara. After midnight, the usual rules about kissing apply." "Oh." Dara looked at McCoy thoughtfully for a moment. "May I ask you a question, Doctor?" "Of course." He could hardly wait. "What are the usual rules about kissing?" McCoy looked at her in disbelief. He choked back a laugh, because he could see that she was dead serious. "Well . . . you know. If you want to kiss someone, and you think they want to kiss you, too, then you just . . . kiss them." "How do you know if they want to kiss you, too?" "You don't always. Sometimes you have to take a chance. If they don't want you to kiss them, you'll find out fast." He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with a twenty-four year old human. "Dara, are you telling me you've never kissed anyone?" "No, I have not," she said matter-of-factly. When Dara saw McCoy's reaction, she asked, "Should I have?" McCoy decided now was a good time to change the subject. "Anyway, Dara, the reason I brought all of this up, was to ask you if you'd like to help me plan the party." "Of course. How can I help?" McCoy continued to talk about the plans for the party, but Dara only listened with a part of her mind. She was thinking still of the conversation about kissing. One of McCoy's comments kept returning to her mind: "Sometimes you have to take a chance." Dara also recalled her many conversations with Amanda, who had often told her, "You are human, Dara. You shouldn't try to deny whatever you may feel. Feelings are an important part of who you are." Dara finally came to an important decision, wondering at the same time if Amanda had ever had a similar conversation with Spock. ********************************* Dara and Spock were having dinner together in his quarters, as had become their habit. They passed the time talking about the usual things, and nothing at all. After a time, Dara stood and moved to look out the viewport. She stood there a long time staring out at the stars. Finally, she said, "There is something I want to tell you." "What is it, Dara?" Spock asked from directly behind her. She turned, startled; she had not heard him approach her. Spock caught her by the shoulders to steady her, and raised one inquiring eyebrow. Dara looked into his dark eyes, finding the resolve to say what she planned to say. "I love you," she said steadily. Spock nodded his understanding. She continued, "I hope you do not mind." "No, I do not mind," he replied quietly, reaching up to gently touch her cheek. Dara felt a warm caress on her mind that seemed to touch her soul. She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes, shifting her concentration inward. "Dara," Spock finally said. "Yes," she whispered. "I have to go . . . play chess." Dara opened her eyes, confused. "What?" "I told Jim - Captain Kirk - that I would play chess with him this evening." "Oh . . . of course, you should go then." Spock touched his lips lightly to her forehead, then turned and left her alone in his quarters. She watched him go, perplexed, then fell back into the nearest chair. "I hate chess." **************************** Chekov and McCoy were being soundly beat at Spades by Dara and Uhura - again. Uhura marveled that it was possible. Dara's head seemed to be mostly in the clouds; her gaze kept shifting to look at Spock, who was playing chess with Captain Kirk across the room. "Dara, it's *your* play," said Uhura. Dara looked over at the table finally, and to everyone's amazement played an appropriate card. Uhura wondered how she even knew which card Uhura had played. As soon as she made the play, her attention once again shifted to the chess game. "You know, Dara, if you keep looking at him like that, his pants are going to catch on fire," Uhura said quietly. McCoy and Chekov broke into unsuppressed laughter. Dara looked at Uhura with some irritation, but said nothing. The game continued until they had played all of the suits, and Dara concentrated on keeping her eyes on the table, though her thoughts still strayed elsewhere. She sat rapping her fingernails on the table, until Chekov reached over and slapped her hand to make her stop. Dara and Uhura won the round, and as Dara gathered the cards to shuffle them for her deal, McCoy said, "Why don't you just play cards with him, Dara. You keep beating the pants off of me." Dara paused for a moment, and looked at him quizzically. "You do not have to take off your pants, Doctor." "Dammit, Dara! You know what I mean!" He got up and grabbed his coffee cup, then growled, "I'm going to get more coffee. Do you want some?" "Yes, please, double cream, double sugar." McCoy grimaced, then stalked off, muttering something about irreversible psychological damage in Dara's youth. She was still shuffling the cards when McCoy returned, and kept shuffling after he had sat down. The three of them watched her, wondering how long this would continue. Finally, Chekov could stand it no more. "You may deal any time, Dara. I think they are shuffled as well as they will ever be." "Oh. Sorry." Uhura watched her as she dealt the cards swiftly. "You know, Dara, I think you need to get laid." Dara slammed the deck to the table and glared at Uhura. "Thank you, *Uhura*, for that opinion." She picked up the cards and started to deal again, then placed them on the table again. "Actually, I do not think that I am up to playing another hand. I am going to bed." "It's only 2030," growled McCoy. "Goodnight, Doctor. I will see all of you tomorrow." "Was it something I said?" asked Uhura after she had left. "I guess I'm feeling kind of punchy tonight." McCoy chuckled. "She's suffering from the same thing as the rest of us - acute boredom. And, she needs to get laid," he added lightly, beginning to think maybe Uhura was right. "She is going to have a long wait," noted Chekov. "All of the young men are afraid of her watch dog," he said, nodding in Spocks direction. "Oh, you've noticed that, too?" Uhura looked pointedly at McCoy. "I bet you, now that she's left, he leaves as soon as possible. Any takers?" Chekov shook his head. "No. We all agree with you." ************************** Jim Kirk sat watching Spock with some amusement. Ten minutes ago, Jim had made probably the worst move of his life, had known it the instant he'd removed his hand from the piece. And yet, Spock just kept staring at the board, as if it were not obvious what move he should now make. "Spock." "Hm? What is it, Jim?" "Are you going to make your move sometime this week?" "I have just been studying the board, Jim." Out of the corner of his eye, Kirk noticed Dara leave the room. "Spock . . ." Kirk reached over and moved Spock's knight so that Kirk's king was in check. Kirk then moved his king to the only place available to him, then picked up Spock's rook and moved it so that he was in check yet again with no where to go. "Oh . . .," said Spock, looking a bit confused. "My mind is elsewhere this evening, I see." Kirk thought about prodding Spock more about his lapse, but decided to let him off the hook. "Uhura seems to have lost her partner. I believe I'll go join her for some cards." Spock got up to leave. "As you wish, Jim. Good night." Jim went to join McCoy and the others, sitting down in the chair vacated by Dara. "So how was the chess game?" asked McCoy. Kirk only looked at him and rolled his eyes. "That bad?" McCoy took a sip of his coffee. "Look at it this way," said Uhura. "If it weren't for those two, we'd probably all die of boredom." McCoy was still watching Jim. "Penny for your thoughts, Jim." Jim didn't answer right away. "I think he's in love with her," he finally said, his expression odd. They all sat looking at him for a moment, but finally all nodded their agreement. Jim had finally voiced what they had all been thinking. It just seemed so weird to say it about Spock. Uhura finally spoke up. "She's terribly young." Jim only nodded. "In some ways, so is he." **************************** Dara was alone in the observation lounge when Spock entered. She did not appear to notice that he was there, and he stood watching her for a long time before finally approaching her and sitting next to her. She did not look at him, but continued her contemplation of the stars. Spock in turn contemplated Dara, noticing how the starlight reflected brightly in her eyes. They sat like this for a very long time, not saying a word. She finally sighed quietly and turned to Spock, meeting his dark eyes. She studied his face intently for a moment, then reached up tentatively to touch his face gently with her palm. He sat very still, and she leaned forward to kiss him tenderly. He reached up to take her small hand into his and held it tightly. They sat this way with their faces very close together, barely breathing it seemed, occasionally trading a kiss, unaware of the world outside of themselves. Finally, someone else entered the dark lounge and the spell was broken. They both sat back a bit. "I should go," said Dara quietly. Spock only nodded. "Good night, Spock." "Good night," he said, and watched her go. Then he turned his gaze back to the viewport, thinking of how her face looked in the starlight, and how her kiss felt on his lips. End of Part 1 ---- From mhv.net!news.sprintlink.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in2.uu.net!news.cais.net!news.qnet.com!news.widomaker.com!grouper.Exis.Net!news Sun Jan 7 13:44:04 1996 Path: mhv.net!news.sprintlink.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in2.uu.net!news.cais.net!news.qnet.com!news.widomaker.com!grouper.Exis.Net!news From: meenie1@exis.net (Beth Meenaghan) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: TOS: Masquerade - Part 2a (3/4) - part2a.txt [1/1] Date: 5 Jan 1996 15:30:55 GMT Organization: Exchange Information Systems Networks Lines: 560 Message-ID: <4cjg7g$jdm@grouper.Exis.Net> NNTP-Posting-Host: 43.exis.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; Boundary="" X-Newsreader: WinVN 0.93.11 -- Star Trek is owned by Paramount, etc. Dara Ashford is strictly a figment of my always overactive imagination, and I claim her as mine. Copyright -c- 1996 by Beth Meenaghan -- "I don't have a life, I have a toddler." - myself "As a matter of fact, I am a rocket scientist." -- Content-Type: Application/octet-stream; name=part2a.txt MASQUERADE Part 2 - Encounter "What is on your mind this evening, Dara?" Spock wondered. She had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout dinner. Dara looked at him blankly for a moment; her mind was elsewhere. "I have been thinking about a problem I am working on." Spock raised an inquiring eyebrow, knowing she would continue without his prodding. "I believe I can break the security protocols for the ships computer, as well as the command codes, of course." "You have studied the code, then." It was possible she had tracked down the source code. In that case, she would be able to study how the security protocols were designed. "No. I believe I can break them from the command level." Spock wondered if Dara realized that he had designed the security protocols. "You will not be able to do it, Dara. You will be stopped at the first firewall," he said confidently. "You have tried it?" "Perhaps." ***************** Dara sat looking intently at the monitor, concentrating on what was before her. She had broken through two layers of firewalls within the Enterprise's computer system, and so far had managed not to set off any alarms. She was certain she would have access to the command codes after she got past this firewall. She thought carefully about her next move, then finally made the decision to take the next step. Dara executed the routine, then waited nervously. A smile broke over her features as she saw she had gained access to the deepest command level of the computer, but her smile quickly faded when the command screen suddenly blanked itself, to be replaced by a flashing INTRUDER ALERT icon. Almost instantaneously, red alert sounded throughout the ship. ************* Spock was off duty, but had gone to the bridge at 2330 hours to check the ships status before going to bed. He was about to leave again when red alert sounded automatically, and the computer notified him that there had been a command code security breach. Spock raised one astonished eyebrow, knowing immediately that it was Dara. Spock was reaching for the intercom before it even signaled, knowing it would be Kirk. "Spock, what the hell is going on?" "Sir . . . I believe Lt. Ashford has managed to breach the security protocols on the ships computer. Red alert sounded automatically when she gained access to the final level." "Spock . . . I want to see you both in my quarters," Kirk said, breaking the connection on his end. Before Spock could contact Central Computing, security reported in. "Captain Spock, we have Lt. Ashford in custody in Central Computing." Of course. The computer had identified the location of the security breach. "Take her to the Captain's quarters and wait for me there. Cancel red alert." "Yes sir." *************** When Spock approached Dara outside of Kirk's quarters, he tried to look as stern as possible. A look that was expressionless to most humans was full of information for Dara, who was accustomed to the subtle nature of a Vulcan's body language. Spock dismissed the security officers, then rang the chime on Kirk's door. "Come," Kirk answered from within. Spock and Dara entered to see Kirk sitting at his desk. The only light in the room was the desk lamp. Spock saw that he was wearing the look that most intimidated his junior officers and was reserved for private conferences. Dara stood at attention next to Spock, her hands clasped behind her back. He hoped she realized that she had awakened the Captain. Kirk didn't say anything for a long time. He sat considering Dara, hoping to draw out the ordeal, Spock knew. Finally, he asked, "Can you explain yourself, Lieutenant?" "Sir," Dara began, pausing to consider her words carefully, "It has been my opinion for some time that the computer security protocols, as well as the command codes themselves, are breachable. And that it is possible to bypass the alarms. Sir." "You didn't quite manage that last part." "I bypassed the alarms at all but the last level, sir." "Lieutenant . . . you might have brought this to my attention without setting off a red alert in the middle of the night." "Yes, sir," Dara replied uncomfortably. Kirk stood and approached her, evidently having come to some decision. "Lieutenant, although your knowledge of the computer security protocols is apparently superior, your grasp of Starfleet operations protocols are obviously lacking. Captain Spock will discuss with you what you're going to do about that." "Yes, sir." "You're dismissed." "Wait for me outside, Lieutenant," added Spock. Spock waited for her to leave before speaking again. "Actually, Captain, she brought this to my attention earlier this evening.. I expressed my doubts that the protocols could be broken." "Yes, *somehow* I knew you would be involved. You dared her, Spock?" Spock raised one eyebrow. "That was not my intention." Kirk rubbed his eyes and sat down again. "So what's the problem here, Spock?" "As you have noted, Jim, she needs to review her operations protocols. And, she is bored. I am having difficulty providing her with work of a challenging enough nature to keep her occupied for long." "Then let's give her what she's asking for. Her next project can be to redesign the security protocols. Give her a deadline that really makes her push herself. Plus, let's get her on the bridge. Put her on the duty roster as soon as possible. She won't necessarily be less bored, but at least you can keep an eye on her. That should suit you, anyway," he commented wryly, then added before Spock could protest, "And let's ride her hard about those operations protocols. Make her believe she's a cadet again." Spock nodded his agreement. "Yes, Captain." "All right, Spock. I'll see you in the morning, which will be . . too soon." "Goodnight, Jim," Spock said as he turned to leave. "Spock. Why didn't you think she could break the security protocols?" Spock gave him a look that Kirk read as irritation. "Because I wrote them. I was certain she would not make it past the first alarm." Kirk laughed. He had suspected as much. "Don't be too hard on her, Spock. Maybe she can teach you something." "Thank you, Jim," Spock said with what Kirk knew was sarcasm. Spock left, and Kirk sat reflecting about Dara Ashford. She was not at all what he had expected. Frankly, he had expected an uptight, by-the-book type; instead, she was nothing but trouble, primarily for Spock. Kirk chuckled to himself. She needed some guidance, but he realized he liked her. ***************** Spock stepped into the corridor to find Dara waiting for him as expected. "Come with me, Lieutenant." She followed him into the turbolift and eventually to Briefing Room One. He did not tell her to sit down. Spock stood gathering his thoughts for a moment, wondering where to begin. "Lieutenant, has it not yet occurred to you that you should notify the bridge watch officer whenever you are doing this type of work on the ship's computer?" "Sir, I have no excuse." "You will refresh your memory about Starfleet operations protocols. You should be prepared to be quizzed by any senior officer at any time." Dara had to bite her tongue about that one. She found it demeaning, but she also knew it was her own fault. "You will develop a new security and command code protocol. You have four days, Lieutenant . . . " "Four days, sir . . . !" "Three days. Do you have an objection, Lieutenant?" "No, sir." "In three days, you will have something to present to myself and Captain Kirk. Your work will show a significant improvement over the current system. Do you understand?" "Yes, sir." "You will be added to the bridge duty roster as soon as possible for duty at the science station. You are expected to perform this duty in addition to your other responsibilities. Do you understand?" "Yes, sir." Dara hoped he did not put her on bridge duty for the next three days, but she did not dare to comment. Spock stood glaring at her a moment longer until he was sure she had gotten the point, then his gaze softened. "Sit down, Lieutenant." Dara complied, and Spock sat across from her, leaning eagerly over the table. "Now tell me how you did it," he said. Dara suppressed a smile; she knew how his curiosity consumed him. She started talking, and they were there until 0300. ********************** The New Year's Eve Party was a huge success. Everyone was in good spirits, happy to have something different to do to break the monotony. Spock returned to the party shortly after midnight; he had made an appearance early in the evening, then had gone to the bridge so that the second and third shift watch officers could attend. It appeared to be breaking up, many people leaving in pairs, he noted. He saw McCoy standing with Uhura, and went over to speak with them. "I believe you are going to be busy in the morning, Doctor," he said, not looking at McCoy while he spoke. McCoy noted that he was scanning the room, and his gaze finally stopped on Dara. She was standing across the room with a drink in her hand, talking with Ensign Roberts from engineering. McCoy knew they had been talking for some time. Spock's presence would almost certainly scare him away, though. "Now you leave her alone, Spock," McCoy said, somewhat slurred. "She's not a kid anymore, she's a grown woman, and . . " "I am well aware of *that*, Doctor," interrupted Spock, still watching Dara. McCoy saw Dara's eyes meet Spock's from across the room and hold them. McCoy looked at Uhura, who gave him a shrug and a smile that said 'I told you so.' Spock walked away without speaking. Ensign Roberts turned to see what Dara was looking at. He saw Spock approaching and decided it was time to leave. Spock took Dara's half empty glass from her hand and sniffed it's contents, then set it down on a nearby table. "How many of these have you had, Dara?" "I am not really sure. It is something McCoy gave me. Bourbon and something . . . " "What a surprise," said Spock dryly. "Are you ready to leave?" "Sure," she replied, stumbling over a chair as she started to go. Spock caught her and flashed McCoy a look of irritation across the room. McCoy was laughing and only rolled his eyes, turning away to speak to Uhura. By the time they made it to her quarters, Spock was certain she was not feeling well. The turbolift ride had certainly not helped. He helped her to the bed, where she sat down and then fell back. He sat down next to her and removed her shoes. He got up to get some water for her. Dara sat up when he returned and took the water from him. "The alcohol dehydrates you. Water will help." He watched her for a moment as she drank some. "I should go now," he finally said. Dara looked up and met his eyes. "No, you should not. But you will." She saw amusement in his eyes. Spock reached out to brush some confetti from her hair, and said, "You will be asleep before I even get to my own quarters." He regarded her for a moment longer, then said, "In the morning, when you do not feel well, be sure you see McCoy." Spock turned to leave. Dara lay back down, and was instantly asleep. ******************* Dara was part of a steady stream of people entering and exiting sickbay that morning McCoy grinned when he saw her. "You, too, Dara?" "You of all people should not be surprised to see me here, Doctor," Dara said accusingly. "Why did you give me something that you knew would make me sick?" "Oh, hell, Dara, I didn't expect you to stand there and drink it like water," he said while injecting her with a hypo. "That will go to work pretty quick, but I still think the best cure is coffee. Have some with me?" "Of course." They went into his office. Dara sat down while McCoy got their coffee from the replicator. "How did you manage not to try alcohol during your years at Starfleet Academy, anyway?" Dara took the coffee from him and drank some before answering him. "I was not exactly a social butterfly, Doctor. I socialized mainly with other Vulcans, anyway. Alcohol was no more a part of our activities than it had been at home." Once again, McCoy was struck by the seeming incongruity between her human appearance and her own perception of who she was. In her mind, she included herself among Vulcans as a group. And it was only natural that she do so, he thought, knowing her background. Still, it troubled him. "Well, the only Terran habit I've seen you display is that damned sweet coffee you drink. I assume you picked up that habit on Earth?" Dara smiled slightly. "Actually, it is a habit I learned from my father. Perhaps the only Terran habit that he did not discard." "Really?" McCoy asked with interest, thinking that perhaps now he was getting somewhere. He was very curious about her father, but had been wary of asking about him. But now she had finally mentioned him herself. "What was he like, Dara?" "He was eccentric. Or perhaps he was insane; many people thought so." She paused, thinking and drinking her coffee. McCoy waited for her to continue. "My father revered Vulcans and their way of life, and he sought to emulate them as much as possible. But, like many Terrans, I think he only saw what was on the surface. It is little wonder that my mother left him." McCoy was a bit taken aback. "Dara . .. . are you telling me that your father tried to *be* Vulcan? I mean, did he ever express his feelings for you?" "Yes. And, absolutely not." McCoy was left momentarily speechless. Dara gazed at him steadily, her lack of emotion while relating all this made it seem worse to him somehow. "It is not as bad as it must seem to you, Doctor. I had never known another way of life. I was treated the same as the other children I knew. I am sure my childhood was much easier than Spock's, for example. No one had expectations for me to be anything other than what I was." "Did you have any human influence in your life at all?" "Amanda spent a lot of time with me, when she could." McCoy saw that she was almost finished with her coffee. "More coffee, Dara?" He did not want her to leave. "Yes, thank you," she said. "I am feeling much better now. Spock said you would be able to help." McCoy gave her a surprised look. "He *did*? Since when has he ever had a hangover?" Dara shrugged. "Nevertheless, he told me last night that I should see you this morning." "Speaking of Spock . . . I suppose he ruined a prospect for you last night." Dara looked at him blankly. McCoy added, "Ensign Roberts, I mean." "Oh, him," Dara said, rolling her eyes. "Actually, Ensign Roberts and I were in the midst of a ten minute conversation concerning the meaning of 'no'. Spock's interruption was welcome." McCoy sat regarding her curiously, recalling how, from across the room, her eyes had met Spock's and held them. "Do you suppose he knows that you're in love with him, Dara?" asked McCoy on a whim, recalling his and Uhura's conversation. "Of course he does," she said matter of factly. "I told him." McCoy sat back in surprise, her candidness catching him off guard. "What did *he* say?" he finally sputtered. "Nothing," answered Dara, smiling. "Vulcans do not speak of love." There it was again, thought McCoy. That 'difference in perception' she talked about - the way that she viewed Vulcans compared to the way Terrans viewed them. She apparently had little or no reservation about telling Spock how she felt. And Spock's response was nothing more or less than she expected. ********************* McCoy was on his way to the bridge. The turbolift doors opened to reveal Spock, alone. McCoy got on and said, "Bridge." McCoy smiled at Spock. "I saw Dara this morning." "I am certain it was necessary, Doctor." "You're angry with me, aren't you?" "I assure you that is not possible." "Oh, shut up!" said McCoy, reaching out to stop the lift. "This is McCoy you're talking to. Remember. . . you lived inside my head for awhile? I *know* better! You're angry." When Spock did not reply, McCoy continued, "You know, Spock, she's an adult. She doesn't need a babysitter." "Perhaps it is you who needs the babysitter, Doctor." "Oh, hell, Spock! She needs to experience life from the human perspective. She *is* human, in case you failed to notice." The lift had started moving again; someone must have issued a command override from the bridge. McCoy and Spock were standing very close and facing one another stubbornly, each with their arms crossed against their chests. "She is naive . . ., " began Spock. "That's exactly my point!" shouted McCoy. " . . . someone will take advantage of her." "That's why she needs to gain some experience dealing with human situations!" "Exactly which part do you consider to be the quintessential human experience, Doctor," Spock was saying as the doors opened onto the bridge. "The inebriated part or the hungover part?" "BOTH!" shouted McCoy, defiantly. He turned to look angrily into the astonished face of Lt. Boggs, who was apparently waiting for the lift. "WHO THE HELL OVERRODE THE LIFT? WE'RE NOT DONE YET!" Spock hit the controls to close the lift door, then entered his authorization code to block any other calls to the lift. "Deck 20." Their eyes were locked stubbornly but neither said anything for a few moments. "Admit it, Spock. You're just afraid she might have left with someone besides you," McCoy finally said, calmer than before. Spock opened his mouth to deny it, but could not. It had never been easy to fool McCoy, and now it was impossible. McCoy continued, "Look, if you love her, or whatever you want to call it," he said, anticipating Spock's protest, "the only person you need to worry about is yourself. You do the right thing, and no one else will matter. Trust me on this one." Spock was quiet for a moment. "I am concerned that the timing is wrong," he finally admitted. "Why? Because of this mysterious mission we're on?" McCoy sighed. He knew that Spock knew more than the rest of them about their current mission, and he knew something about it was troublesome to Spock. "Look, I don't know anything about that. But I do know that there's no such thing as the 'right time'. You waste too much time waiting for things to be perfect, and it will never happen. Then you'll find yourself regretting your missed opportunity." The lift stopped, then reversed itself. "Uh, oh. Guess we know who that is," said McCoy. Only Kirk and Scott could override Spock's authorization code. "Perhaps it is Mr. Scott," offered Spock. "Yeah, and maybe it's the Easter Bunny." The lift stopped and the doors opened onto the bridge. Kirk was standing there waiting for them. McCoy grinned broadly. "Hi, Jim!" he said cheerily. "Captain," said Spock as they both attempted to step past him. Kirk grabbed each of their arms and pulled them both back onto the lift. "Deck 20." Kirk stood between them looking from one to the other. Spock and McCoy both made a point of looking anywhere but at Kirk. "Gentlemen - I don't even know where to begin. Do you have a *good* reason for hijacking the turbolift?" he finally asked. "'Hijacking' is a rather strong term, Jim," said Spock. "We were just borrowing it. You can use it now," added McCoy. "Thank you for your generosity, Doctor," said Kirk wryly. He looked again from McCoy to Spock. "You two really set a fine example for the younger officers." He turned to look at Spock. "And *you* seem to be at the center of most of the excitement around here lately. What is going on with you, anyway? Are you ever going to tell me or do I have to keep guessing?" "I am . . . preoccupied," said Spock, not looking at Kirk. McCoy was trying very hard to suppress a grin. "Deck 15," Spock said out of the blue. McCoy and Kirk looked at him questioningly. "That was my original destination before the Doctor joined me." "I see," Kirk said, nodding. The lift stopped and the doors opened. "Central Computing?" Spock hesitated a moment before exiting the lift, flashing Kirk an exasperated look. Then he stepped off and the doors closed behind him. "Bridge," said Kirk. McCoy was grinning broadly now. Kirk studied him a moment. "You look like the cat that got the canary, Bones." "Oh, I got better than that. I got him to admit that he loves her." "He said that?" "Well, not in so many words, of course. But he didn't deny it." "Have they . . .?" "I don't think so. That's part of the problem, I think. He's being indecisive." "She's young enough to be his daughter." "Yeah, that's the beauty of it, isn't it?" said McCoy, grinning. Then he shrugged, "Actually, that's no so uncommon on Vulcan. He'll still outlive her." ---- From mhv.net!netaxs.com!news.cais.net!news.qnet.com!news.widomaker.com!grouper.Exis.Net!news Sun Jan 7 13:44:08 1996 Path: mhv.net!netaxs.com!news.cais.net!news.qnet.com!news.widomaker.com!grouper.Exis.Net!news From: meenie1@exis.net (Beth Meenaghan) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: TOS: Masquerade - Part 2b (3/4) - part2b.txt [1/1] Date: 5 Jan 1996 15:32:41 GMT Organization: Exchange Information Systems Networks Lines: 662 Message-ID: <4cjgap$jdm@grouper.Exis.Net> NNTP-Posting-Host: 43.exis.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; Boundary="" X-Newsreader: WinVN 0.93.11 -- Star Trek is owned by Paramount, etc. Dara Ashford is strictly a figment of my always overactive imagination, and I claim her as mine. Copyright -c- 1996 by Beth Meenaghan -- "I don't have a life, I have a toddler." - myself "As a matter of fact, I am a rocket scientist." -- Content-Type: Application/octet-stream; name=part2b.txt Part 2 (cont) ******************** Dara was on her way to the bridge for her first duty shift there. She had been on the bridge many times, of course, to consult with Spock about one thing or another, but she had never been assigned the duty shift at the science station before. Dara had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, the bridge was the center of all the action. But first, there had to *be* some action, and since their arrival in the Neutral Zone, life had been beyond boring for everyone on the bridge. Lt. Boggs had even fallen asleep at the helm, and was eagerly waiting for someone else to do something stupid so that everyone would forget about his lapse. Dara knew there was a betting pool among the other junior officers concerning her first bridge shift. Ever since the duty roster had been posted for the week, the talk in the rec room had been about the odds of her screwing up. Some insisted that there was no way she would make a mistake under Mr. Spock's tutelage. Others argued that his close scrutiny surely doubled the odds that she would do Something Extremely Embarrassing. They had even asked her opinion, and she could only reply, "Well, I am certain that I will not fall asleep." Everyone had laughed heartily at that well, except for Lt. Boggs, who was clearly not amused. Dara would have been worried about him setting her up - a practical joke of some sort. But she knew that he could not risk raising Captain Kirk's ire. The turbolift doors opened to reveal Dr. McCoy. She stepped onto the lift with him. "Good morning, Dara." "Good morning, Doctor. Have you placed your bet?" "Nope. They won't allow anyone higher than a lieutenant in the pool. Afraid someone will give you an order to set you up and tip the scale. I'm just the bookie. " Dara only smiled. She had discovered at Starfleet Academy that Terrans loved to bet. They would not only bet on the outcome of a ball game, for example, but also on the point spread, which player would make the winning point, whether or not the game would go into overtime, and any other idea that might strike them as the event progressed. Some events, like horse racing, had "odds" that were not really odds at all; as bets were placed, the "odds" for each horse would change, although surely the statistical probability of one horses ability to beat another had not changed at all. To further add to her confusion, many gamblers had "systems" for placing their bets that were not based on anything provable. There were entire cities whose economies depended entirely on gambling. Dara did not mind this fascination with gambling, but she did not think that she would ever understand it. It strayed too far from her Vulcan upbringing. "Anyway," said McCoy, "the odds are 2 to 1 against you." "The odds, Doctor? You are not really referring to the actual probability, are you?" McCoy rolled his eyes skyward and groaned inwardly, wishing he had not mentioned the "odds". They had already had this conversation; it had gone on forever, in circles. He was saved by the turbolift doors opening onto the bridge. McCoy went to his usual position by Captain Kirk, and Dara joined Spock at the science station. "Good morning, Captain Spock." "Good morning, Lieutenant." Spock noted to himself with approval that she was early, but he wondered why Dr. McCoy was on the bridge so early. In fact, there seemed to be an unusual number of people on the bridge this morning. It was partly due to the change of shift, but there seemed to be a lot of lingering by people who had come to the bridge on some errand or other. Spock gave Dara the passdown for the science station, then left her to go stand beside McCoy. "Good morning, Doctor. May I ask why we have the pleasure of your company so early this morning?" "Good morning, Spock. I am both the bookie and the official observer for today's event." Spock only raised an eyebrow. Kirk looked perplexed. "What event?" he asked. "And why are all these people lingering?" He never seemed to know anything, lately. McCoy started to tell him in a hushed voice, "The junior officers - " He was cut off by Chekov. "Sir, we have a contact on short range sensors." Kirk was all business. "Clear the bridge." There was an exodus to the turbolifts as all the non-essential personnel were finally obligated to leave. Dara spoke up. "Contact confirmed, Captain, on bearing . . . RAISE SHIELDS, CAPTAIN!" Kirk glanced Spock's way, but ordered Chekov, "Shields, Mr. Chekov." "Yes, sir, shields up." Silence settled over the bridge in anticipation of . . . what? For a moment, McCoy wondered if this was it - had Dara done Something Extremely Embarrassing? Already? But then, from out of nowhere, they were being fired upon. "Evasive, Mr. Boggs! Red Alert!" The bridge erupted in activity as everyone assumed battlestations. "Aye, sir, evasive!" "Too late, Captain," said Spock, who had rejoined Dara at the Science Station. Immediately after he spoke, the shields were hit with a force that sent a long, growing shudder through the structure of the ship. "Mr. Scott . . . !" Kirk said into the intercom. "Sir, shields are holding, but they're down to 64% and falling. They're going to keep falling off until that thing dissipates!" Kirk looked up at Spock. "Spock?" "It's beginning to lose energy rapidly now, sir. If they fire again . . . " Dara broke in, "Warbird decloaking off the starboard bow, sir. Shields are up, weapons are . . . their conventional weapons systems are fully charged, sir. I am not getting any readings for . . . the other . . . whatever hit us." She looked at Spock for help, but saw none forthcoming. Did he know what had been fired at them? His face was disturbingly inscrutable. Did Captain Kirk know? They had just been hit by a highly classified Federation weapon that officially didn't even exist, and she may have already breached security by warning the Captain to raise shields. She felt she was way out on a limb all by herself. How had the Romulan's gotten the weapon? There was only one prototype . . . "What's our shield status, Scotty?" "Seventy-two percent and improving, sir." "Be prepared to divert warp power to the shields if necessary, Mr. Scott." "Aye, sir." "Captain, we're being hailed." "On screen, Commander." The bridge of the Romulan ship appeared on their view screen. Dara stood and stepped up to the railing to get a better look. What she saw made her knees go weak beneath her as understanding dawned within her, but she steadied herself with a tight grip on the railing. Spock stayed close by her, and thought she hid her shock well from the others on the bridge, but he could see that the skin on her knuckles had turned white from the tightness of her grip on the railing. The Romulan addressed Captain Kirk. "I am Commander Tor, Captain." He said nothing else, but seemed only to wait for Kirk's reply. Kirk regarded him for a moment, then said, "Why have you made an unprovoked attack on my ship, Commander?" Tor smiled. "I was just trying to get your attention, Captain. And I thought that you might be bored, you've been cruising around out here with nothing to do for so long. I thought I might at least let you know what you're up against." He paused for a moment and looked past Kirk at Dara. "Lt. Ashford. We meet again after all. I hope I haven't given you too much of shock." "Why would I be shocked, or even surprised, Tor? Do you really believe that I did not know?" Her voice was even and betrayed nothing of what she must really be feeling, Spock noted with satisfaction. Tor narrowed his eyes and looked at her speculatively. Dara continued, "After all, Tor, I *am* here. Do you really believe that is a coincidence?" Dara knew that Tor did not believe in coincidence. Or at least he had told her that, along with a bunch of lies, she noted. Who knew where the lies ended and the truth began. She saw the anger rising in his face, and continued to push him. Her own features remained expressionless. "So now I have found you. Starfleet knew that I could." Tor clenched his jaw in an effort to suppress his anger. Spock thought that he clearly believed her. Tor addressed Kirk again. "Captain, you will note that I am well within the Neutral Zone, and you have seen that attacking my ship would be unwise. I am only giving you a warning *not* to interfere in the affairs of the Romulan Empire." The transmission abruptly ended, and they were looking again at the warbird hanging in space in the viewscreen. As they watched, it cloaked. Chekov waited to hear a report from the science station. When it never came, he said, "Captain, they are engaging their warp drive . . . sir, they are already out of sensor range." "Thank you, Mr. Chekov," said Kirk, but his attention was focused on Dara and Spock, whose eyes were locked together. Dara wore an expression of understanding and hurt. The tension was palpable, and the bridge seemed unnaturally quiet. After what seemed like eternity, Spock finally spoke quietly. "Lieutenant, we will discuss this privately." Kirk doubted that anyone besides himself and McCoy had heard him. She drew a deep breath, shuddering with the effort to contain her anger, then turned and left the bridge. Spock stood looking after her for a moment, then moved down to stand beside Kirk. "Well, Mr.. Spock, is this the moment we've all been waiting for these many weeks?" Spock nodded, and said quietly, "Yes, Captain, I am afraid that it is." McCoy said, "Who is this Tor? And how does she know him?" "In reality, Doctor, he is apparently a Romulan Commander, as you have just seen. In Dara's life, he was a long-time colleague - and a close friend. She did not know until now that he is a spy." "Remind me to never play poker with her," commented Kirk. "Indeed, Captain. I better go find her, and explain everything to her." And try to salvage something of our relationship, he did not add. "All right, Spock. I need you both in Briefing Room 1 in 10 minutes." "Twenty," countered Spock. Kirk considered him for a moment. "Okay, but not a moment longer. I want a full briefing, Mr. Spock." "Understood, sir." He started to leave, but McCoy stopped him. "Hell hath no fury, Mr. Spock." Spock nodded his understanding. "I know, Doctor. I know." ********************* Spock found Dara on the observation deck, as expected. He was relieved to see that no one else was there. She turned to see him approach, and started to leave. He reached for her arm as she brushed past him. "Dara . . ." "Get away from me, you lying bastard," she said, her voice tremulous with anger as she pushed him away from her. "Lieutenant!" Spock gripped her more firmly by both shoulders, roughly drawing her close so that her eyes were forced to meet his. "You forget yourself, *lieutenant*!" Her eyes met his defiantly, but as he held her gaze he saw her back down inwardly, and felt her relax a bit under his grip. He released her and she turned back to the viewport, her arms crossed against her chest as if she were cold. "How long have you known?" she finally asked. "I was briefed just before coming to Vulcan." "How could you not tell me . . . after everything that I have confided in you?" "I was under orders not to, Dara, and . . ." "And you *agreed* to that?" He paused for a moment. "My objections are on record. In the end, as a Starfleet officer, I am duty bound to follow my orders, whether I like it or not. As an officer, you must learn to compartmentalize your life, Dara; to separate what is personal from what is professional. If you are to serve aboard a starship, you do not have the luxury of *not* having personal entanglements with the people you are professionally involved with, and vice versa. You have to be able to deal with the consequences of that fact." She thought for a moment, and knew that he was correct. They did have two relationships. He was a close personal friend, at least. But he was also her superior officer. The situation in this case was a bit murky, because the personal had certainly overlapped the professional, but that had not really been his doing. And certainly, the oaths they had taken as officers meant they were duty bound to ensure that the professional prevailed in such a situation. No one had said it was easy to uphold ones oath. She only nodded her understanding, and took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking again. "How long has Starfleet known that Tor was a spy?" "For some years." "And my admission to the Science Academy?" Spock raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. He had not expected this question from her; had not considered that she might suspect that even this accomplishment was part of the ruse. "Your admission was legitimate and achieved by your own merits. It was not a setup, Dara. Simply a situation where certain things fell into place by chance, and Intelligence decided to take advantage of it. They hoped that you would come to know him well. If you had known he was a spy, that would have prejudiced you against him and impeded the development of any type of relationship, as well as endangered your life if he had found out" "Why did they not just arrest him? If I had been in the loop, it would have been easy enough, I am sure, to gather enough evidence against him to justify his arrest." "Although Intelligence has been aware of who Tor is for some time, they know nothing about who he works with - his contacts on the Federation side, how he manages to travel back and forth between Romulan and Federation space. There is more to Tor than meets the eye, and Starfleet hopes to use him to find out what that is." "Is he Romulan or Vulcan?" "Intelligence has never even been certain about that - although since he asked you to bond with him, I would venture that he is Vulcan. What he told you about his background is probably the truth, or very close to it." "How did he ever become a Romulan Commander?" she wondered. Spock did not have the answer, so he said nothing. She finally turned to look at him. "Starfleet has taken a great risk, considering what our work involved. Tor was a part of it every step of the way. He developed some of the software involved. He is intimately familiar with my programming skills and can possibly break any cipher I could ever write. It goes without saying that he possesses all of the software that I developed for the system, as he had free access to the computer and could have made copies at any time without raising suspicion. And now he - or someone - has even managed to steal the hardware. Now the Romulans have an operative system and we do not." He nodded his agreement. "I do not believe that Starfleet considered the possibility that the Romulans would also be able to acquire the hardware." He paused a moment. "We are due to brief the Captain. Let us continue this discussion then so that we do not have to go through it twice." ************************* Kirk and McCoy arrived in the briefing room to find Spock looking over Dara's shoulder where she sat, busy at the computer terminal analyzing the sensor data from the attack. Kirk noted that there did not seem to be any tension between them, and passed McCoy a look of surprise. McCoy only shrugged with a look of 'who knows?' Uhura, Chekov, and Scotty all finally filed into the room and took their seats. "Mr. Spock, are we ready to begin?" Spock nodded and sat down next to Dara. Kirk continued, "Gentlemen, ladies, we are here to discuss the events that have just transpired, and to finally learn what our sealed orders are from Starfleet. I think an explanation of what we were just attacked with would be a good place to start, Lt. Ashford." "Yes, sir." Dara had expected this, which is why she and Spock had been reviewing the sensor data. She hesitated a moment before beginning, then said, "The weapon we were attacked with is a new weapon of Federation design. I was involved with it's development . . . indirectly . .. . at the Vulcan Science Academy." McCoy interrupted, "Since when do they develop weapons at the Vulcan Science Academy?" "We were not directly involved. Solnar is developing what will perhaps become the next generation of ultra-high speed computers. Someone at Starfleet noticed; there was some weapons research going on involving this new weapon, and a major stumbling block had become the computer interface." Kirk broke in, "Wait . . . who is Solnar?" "The Vulcan scientist who I was associated with at the Academy." "And he didn't have a problem with his work being applied to weapons research?" Spock answered, "Solnar is a . . . controversial figure at the Academy. He argues that he can not be held responsible for how his work is applied by others. Naturally, the work he is doing has far reaching implications in many areas; there are some very important developments underway in the field of medicine that are directly related to his work, for example. He believes that it would be illogical to . . . bury one's head in the sand concerning what will eventually become of his work; that it would be hypocritical to ignore that applications to weapons systems are inevitable. He sees no logical reason why he should not be involved with the work himself." "How does he get away with that at the Academy, though?" asked McCoy. "He treads a very fine line, Doctor," answered Dara. "We did not do any work on the actual weapon. I have never seen it, and I do not even know where it was developed. I was working only with the specific requirements of the computer hardware, such as input and output rates, internal processor speed, as well as developing the software to fully optimize the capabilities of the computer hardware." She paused for a moment, glancing at Spock, who nodded. "I knew, for example, that we were attempting to achieve precise control of an anti-matter containment field, well beyond what our current technology allows. I did not know how exactly the weapons experts planned to use this capability." "How did you know we were being fired upon?" Kirk asked. "I have also had access to sensory data recorded when the weapon was test fired. When the weapon is being charged, it has a unique energy signature, similar to what you might expect to see if you were observing an impending warp core breach." "How quickly can it be recharged after being fired?" "I do not know. That would be dependent on the design of the weapon's hardware and not affected by the computer, so I did not have access to that information." "One hit, and our shields were in very bad shape. If another had come in immediately after the first, we wouldna be here to talk about it now," said Scotty, and Spock nodded his agreement. "All right," said Kirk with a heavy sigh. "How does Tor come into all of this, and *how* did he get this weapon?" After a moment of thought, Dara finally began. "Solnar, it seems, is not content to simply be controversial. He has a tendency to surround himself with . . . figures of controversy." "Such as yourself?" McCoy broke in. Dara looked at McCoy and smiled slightly. "As the first human to be given an associates position at the Academy, I was not as controversial as some may have hoped, Doctor." Spock explained, "Dara is a Vulcan citizen, with all the rights and privileges of any other Vulcan citizen, regardless of species. As such, she has the right to attend the Science Academy, provided, of course, that she meets the academic requirements. There was no logical reason for her not to be accepted, although some traditionalists were opposed to her attendance. But you are correct, I believe, Doctor. Dara's qualifications speak for themselves, but no one was surprised when it was Solnar who actively recruited her for his work." "And Tor . . .?" "Tor is a Vulcan from a colony that was established nearly 500 standard years ago. Although the colony no longer maintains close ties to Vulcan, they have never declared their independence. Vulcan has never moved to deny any colonists their rights as Vulcan citizens." "I didn't even know Vulcan *had* any colonies," said McCoy. "There are very few. Unlike many other humanoid species, it does not seem to be in the Vulcan nature to . . . go forth and multiply. Still, there are exceptions to every rule, and colonies were established. Perhaps it is because there are so few that they have never become a political issue. Of course, their citizens rarely return to Vulcan at all, or make any other claims to their Vulcan citizenship, so there has been little reason for controversy. That is, until Tor applied for admission to the Science Academy." "Why would anybody have a problem with a Vulcan colonist coming back to Vulcan to attend the Academy?" asked McCoy. "The trend in the colonies," said Spock, "has been to stray from the teachings of Surak. Generally, colonists are at best viewed as being undisciplined, at worst seen as perhaps dangerous. Tor, in particular, is known to freely display his emotions." McCoy reacted in mock horror. "No!" Dara said, "There are many situations, Doctor, where such a display is considered to show not only a lack of decorum, but also a great lack of respect, for yourself and those around you. It is . . . impolite." "Given your respective backgrounds, then, I'd say you two made quite a pair," McCoy said without thinking. Dara flashed a surprised look at him, then quickly looked away to stare at the table. McCoy cursed himself, knowing it had to be a sensitive issue at this point. Spock looked at him with some irritation, then continued. "If I could get to the point . . ." "Please," said Kirk. "As it turns out, Starfleet Intelligence has known that Tor is a spy for many years. However, they have never had an opportunity to arrest him, and have not been able to figure out who else he is connected with. When Intelligence learned that Lt. Ashford would be working closely with Tor at the Vulcan Science Academy, they realized it was an opportunity to learn more about him. Intelligence further decided that Lt. Ashford would not be told that Tor was a spy, the idea being, I believe, that they would develop a closer relationship, and she would learn more information that would eventually be of use to Intelligence." Kirk raised his eyebrows in surprise. "That seems like a risky plan, considering what Solnar's work involved." Spock nodded his agreement.. "I suppose it was deemed a good risk since Solnar was not working directly on the weapon. They apparently did not consider that perhaps an associate of Tor's would be able to gain access to the weapon itself." "That's one hell of an oversight!" said McCoy. "My own opinion is that they seriously underestimated Tor. I do not believe they knew he was a Romulan Commander. If so, they did not tell me," said Spock. "Speaking of which, how long have you known about all of this?" "Starfleet briefed me when the orders were issued and everyone was recalled from leave. At this point, the prototype had already been stolen. I suspect that Enterprise's orders involve retrieving it. Events from this point did not unfold as Starfleet expected, however. Four weeks before Lt. Ashford left Vulcan, Tor left Vulcan unexpectedly. His work with Solnar was not considered complete. And now, you know as much as I do until we see our orders." ********************** Enterprise had sent a message to Starfleet with the proper code after their encounter with Tor. The cipher to decode the orders had come back as expected. The officer's watched in silence as Admiral Kleiderer explained the situation to them in more detail. "Your mission, Captain Kirk," the Admiral concluded, "is to retrieve or destroy the entire weapons system and bring in Tor. You are to pursue AT ANY COST. If you have to venture into Romulan Space, so be it. However, this is a covert mission and will not be recognized by the government of the Federation." "What the hell does that mean?" asked McCoy angrily. "It means," replied Kirk, "that we're on our own. If we get caught in Romulan Space, Starfleet will deny having sent us there." They all looked at each other in silence, wondering how they had managed to come up with the short straw this time. "That son of a bitch," McCoy finally said. ***************************** Spock looked up from his work expectantly when his door chimed, knowing who it would be. "Come," he said. Dara entered the room, but stayed in the shadows by the door. Spock waited a moment after the door closed behind her, then stood and moved towards her. "Come inside, Dara." He saw that she had apparently been at the gym; her hair was still damp from the shower, and she wore her loose fitting warm-up clothes. She moved to stand next to him, looked up at him for a moment, then looked away again, and cleared her throat. "I came to apologize for my behavior earlier today. I should not have spoken to you in that way." Spock reached out and gently tipped her chin so that she was looking at him. "Your behavior earlier was . . . understandable, under the circumstances. And it was only between you and I, so it is forgotten. You should not worry yourself about it any longer." She regarded him curiously for a moment, then nodded. They looked at each other in silence. Dara could think of nothing else to say, so she turned to leave, but Spock reached out to stop her. He grasped her firmly by the shoulders and brought her closer to him. She looked up at him questioningly, and started to speak, but Spock stopped her with a finger placed gently against her lips. He bent to kiss her tenderly, then pulled away to look into her green eyes. Dara looked at him intently a long moment, losing herself as usual in the depths of his eyes, then reached around the back of his neck and pulled herself up to kiss him eagerly. He responded with increasing passion, and at the same time moved his hand to touch her face, making tentative contact with her mind. Dara was surprised at first, and pulled away a little, but he calmed her and asked permission to proceed. She opened her mind to him, and he kissed her again as their thoughts merged, and the universe beyond the two of them dissolved. ****************************** Spock clung tightly to her, breathing heavily. They lay still that way for a moment, then he rolled onto his back, bringing her with him. She rested her head against his chest and pressed the length of her body against his. Spock had never imagined that Dara had not been with a man before, only just realizing it when he touched her mind. Now he could feel her burning soreness through their link. He also knew her wonder, her amazement, her satisfaction. Spock pulled her closer to him, and reached to cover them both with the blanket to drive away the chill as her sweat dried on their bodies. They lay quietly like this for a long time, having no need for words, until they finally drifted into sleep. End of Part 2 ---- From mhv.net!netaxs.com!news.cais.net!grouper.Exis.Net!news Sun Jan 7 13:44:20 1996 Path: mhv.net!netaxs.com!news.cais.net!grouper.Exis.Net!news From: meenie1@exis.net (Beth Meenaghan) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: TOS: Masquerade - Part 3a (4/4) - part3a.txt [1/1] Date: 6 Jan 1996 01:42:55 GMT Organization: Exchange Information Systems Networks Lines: 570 Message-ID: <4ckk2v$225@grouper.Exis.Net> NNTP-Posting-Host: 48.exis.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; Boundary="" X-Newsreader: WinVN 0.93.11 -- Star Trek is owned by Paramount,etc. Dara Ashford is strictly a figment of my always overactive imagination,and I claim her as mine. Copyright -c- 1996 Beth Meenaghan -- "I don't have a life, I have a toddler." - myself "As a matter of fact, I am a rocket scientist." -- Content-Type: Application/octet-stream; name=part3a.txt MASQUERADE Masquerade! Leering satyrs, Peering eyes . . . Masquerade! Run and hide - But a face will Still pursue you! - The Phantom of the Opera Part 3 - Into the Darkness The whistle of Kirk's comm unit summoned him from a deep sleep. Kirk looked at his chronometer, saw it was 0408, and sighed heavily. Kirk answered the call and the image of the third shift watch officer appeared. Kirk struggled to remember her name, but it wouldn't come to him. "Kirk here. What is it, ensign." "Sir, we've got a contact on long-range sensors. It's possibly a cloaked ship, but the readings aren't quite what we're used to seeing under those circumstances." Kirk nodded. Sounded like Tor again. "All right, ensign. Summon the other senior officers to the bridge, please." "Yes, sir. Peck out, sir." ******************* Kirk arrived on the bridge with Chekov to find Uhura already there, but there was no sign of Spock or Lt. Ashford. "Commander, report." "Sir, Mr. Scott has reported in and is standing by in engineering. Lt. Ashford does not answer in her quarters, and I haven't been able to locate her elsewhere. And Mr. Spock has a lock-out on the comm unit in his quarters, so I haven't spoken to him yet, either." Kirk stopped midway to his chair, surprised, then turned back to Uhura. "Override it, Commander." "I need your authorization code, sir." ******************* She lay trembling beneath him, holding onto him tightly, bidding him not to move away. Spock kissed her deeply, then rested his forehead against hers. He had sensed her desire for him through the link and had awakened, and they had made love desperately. It was almost dreamlike, having moved so abruptly from sleep to their embrace. Spock had been trying to shield himself from the full intensity of her feelings, but he finally surrendered and opened his mind fully to her. Dara's emotions crashed against him like a wave against the shore, violently at first, then gently washing over his mind and permeating to the depths of his soul. Dara grasped his shoulders firmly to still the shudder that coursed through him. Dara teased his mouth with her tongue, then drew him into a passionate kiss. They held one another tightly, and he began to move inside of her again, slowly. From somewhere the whistle of the comm unit intruded. He sighed and kissed her again, then moved away to find his robe, finally answering after a second impatient whistle. "Spock here." "Mr. Spock...", Kirk began, then paused, uncertain. "Are you all right?" "Yes, sir, quite." Kirk looked a bit confused, then continued. "You're needed on the bridge, Mr. Spock. And Lt. Ashford - do you know where she is? Uhura hasn't been able to locate her." "Yes, sir. We'll be there shortly. Spock out." ********************** Kirk was a bit taken aback when the comm link was broken on Spocks end. He looked at Uhura. "Did he say 'we'." "That's what it sounded like to me, sir, " she said, smiling. *********************** Spock turned to see Dara dressing behind him. She would have to return to her quarters for her uniform. He continued to watch her until she looked up and met his gaze. Spock allowed himself a small smile. She came to kiss him, meaning for it to be short and sweet, but it quickly turned into another passionate embrace. Spock wanted to lift her back into bed, but instead he pushed her away gently. "Go," he said hoarsely. "We're already late." Dara stepped into the corridor and turned towards her quarters, only to see Dr. McCoy coming her way. McCoy smiled broadly when he saw her. "Dara! You're certainly up early this morning!" "Good morning, Doctor. I'm really in a hurry - I have to shower and dress and get to the bridge." "I'm on my way there now. See ya' in a bit." Dara moved past him quickly. She was certain she heard him chuckling to himself as she entered her quarters. ********************** McCoy entered the bridge and stepped up next to Kirk's chair. "So what's going on?" Kirk looked over at him. "'We're getting some anomalous power readings on long range sensors, possibly a cloaked ship." McCoy nodded. "Where's Spock?" Kirk thought that McCoy looked as if he already knew the answer to his own question. "He's on his way." He paused a moment. "We - had trouble reaching him, actually," he added quietly. McCoy also lowered his voice. "I just passed Dara leaving his quarters. I don't think they spent the night working." The turbolift doors opened and Spock stepped onto the bridge and went to stand by Kirk's chair opposite McCoy. Kirk looked up at him and studied his features for a moment. Spock gazed back at him steadily. "You're looking well this morning, Mr. Spock. I apologize for having to disturb your rest. Where's Lt. Ashford?" "She's on her way, Captain. What seems to be the problem?" "Long range sensors are picking up energy readings very similar to what we encountered a few hours ago." The turbolift opened again and Lt. Ashford entered the bridge. She stepped forward to the command chair and said, "Good morning, sirs." Kirk looked up at her, unable to resist a little prodding. "Why, Lieutenant, I believe you're glowing this morning." Dara didn't miss a beat. "Thank you, sir." Kirk heard Uhura stifle a laugh behind him. McCoy didn't bother to suppress his grin. Kirk looked at Spock, who raised an amused eyebrow. Kirk turned serious. "All right, let's get down to the business at hand. We've got some anomalous energy readings on long range sensors. Lieutenant, I want you at the science station." "Yes, sir." She stepped to the science station and relieved the third shift ensign, who gave her a complete update on when they first detected the readings and everything that had happened since. She studied the readings for a few moments, then, as Spock stepped up behind her, she retrieved the data from the day before, and verified the same unique energy signature. "Well, Lieutenant?" "I believe it is the same ship we encountered . . . ," she checked the chronometer, ". . . twenty-one hours ago, approximately. Although . . . " She studied the sensor readings some more, then double checked them against the previous readings, replaying the old readings in real-time progression. Spock watched with her, and when she stopped the replay, he looked at her inquiringly. "Yes, Lieutenant?" She seemed perplexed. "Previously, we encountered what we knew to be a cloaked ship. We did not detect the new energy signature overlapping the typical signature of a cloaked ship until the ship began powering up its weapons system to fire. The entire cycle, from beginning of power up to when the weapon was fired, was 2 minutes 38 seconds. Afterwards, we no longer detected the new energy signature." She paused for a breath. "Now, however, we have been detecting the weapons energy for a sustained . . . ", she paused to check her instruments, "twenty minutes, 47 seconds." Spock nodded in understanding. "So Tor is cruising with his weapons system charged, consuming a great deal of power in order to maintain the energy charge." "Maybe they've engaged someone in battle," suggested Chekov. Dara looked thoughtful for a moment. "It is possible. However, I would expect to see a cyclic change in the energy level building up to maximum while they charged the weapon, then falling off suddenly after it was fired, then another build up. Unless they have two weapons, and are maintaining a charge on at least one at all times. Still, I would expect to see some variation in power levels, not a steady level such as we are reading." Spock said, "Perhaps they have developed a method to maintain a reserve charge while firing the weapon." "Can that be done?" asked Kirk. "It would require extensive redesign of the hardware, but it is not impossible." Spock paused, and gave Kirk a look of concern. "Starfleet has counted on the weapon's technology being too far beyond the Romulan's understanding for them to accomplish such a thing in this short period of time. The weapon can certainly be operated without having a complete understanding of it's technology. If they do understand this technology well enough to modify the weapon already . . . " "Or even to build a second one, for that matter," broke in Dara. ". . .then it's a different ball game entirely," Kirk finished. Kirk paused thoughtfully for a moment. "Recommendations?" Spock looked back at Dara. "Lieutenant?" "Follow it," she replied, with no hesitation. "No matter what, they have what we want." Spock turned back to Kirk. Kirk looked thoughtful. "I'm troubled that we only just now started picking them up again. They could be laying a trap." Spock nodded his agreement. "That is likely, Captain. However, if we wish to retrieve what they have stolen, we have no choice but to follow in any case." "Mr. Chekov, what is the ships course?" "Sir, they are on a course parallel to our own near the limits of our long range sensors. They are well within the Neutral Zone, sir." Kirk thought for a moment. "Maintain present course and speed, but change as necessary to keep that ship in range. Keep us out of the Neutral Zone, of course." Then he turned to Spock. "Let's wait him out, see if we can force him to make the next move." Spock nodded his understanding. Kirk looked at the chronometer and sighed. 0450. It was going to be a long day. He called for a yeoman to bring up some coffee while they waited. **************************** Enterprise had been following the sensor contact for over three hours. To pass the time, Dara had busied herself with further analysis of the information recorded when Enterprise had been fired upon the day before. She now had access to classified information about the weapons capabilities, and was perplexed about the differences between what *had* occurred and what *should* have occurred. Spock moved over to stand behind her, noting that she was rapidly tapping the middle finger of her left hand on the console, as was her habit when she was deep in thought. He saw what she was reading, and asked, "Is there something bothering you, Lieutenant?" His question broke her concentration, and her finger stopped tapping as she turned in her chair to look up at him. "Yes," she said, drawing a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "He should have been able to destroy us with one shot. Easily." Spock nodded. "Yes, I have noted that also. So the question is . . did he intentionally not destroy us, as he claimed? Or, is he having difficulty configuring the hardware and software to work properly?" "The system was designed to be integrated with a Federation warp core, of course. Perhaps making it work with Romulan technology is not such an easy thing." Chekov spoke up from the helm, "Sir, we've lost our sensor contact." Spock reached over Dara to check the sensors. "Confirmed, Captain." Tracking a cloaked ship was a hit or miss business. Their only sure way of tracking it was by the energy readings from the weapons charge. That was gone now, and they were also not seeing high levels of neutron energy that was indicative of a cloaked ship. Spock moved down to stand by Kirk. "What do you think, Spock?" "The contact was near the limits of our sensor range," Spock noted. "They may simply have gone to warp in a direction away from us; we would lose them quickly, in that case. Or, he may have shut down the power charge on the weapon system." "Captain, I am reading some sort of low intensity energy beam directed at our forward shields," said Dara. "It seems to be bleeding energy from our shields, sir." Kirk spoke into the intercom. "Mr. Scott?" "We're compensating, sir." Dara continued, "We are loosing shield integrity in a small area, sir . . . approximately a half meter across." Kirk and Spock exchanged glances, and Spock turned away to return to the science station when Dara said, "Transporter beam, sir, . . .", but her words faded as she dissolved into the transporter effect. Spock reacted and tried to reach her, but he was a split second too late and he found himself grasping at empty air, off balance. "WARBIRD DECLOAKING DEAD AHEAD, CAPTAIN!" warned Chekov. "EVASIVE!" Kirk rose halfway in his chair, shocked to see the warbird so close in the forward viewer. The collision warning klaxon sounded automatically, and Kirk was thrown back into his seat as the Enterprise accelerated and swung upwards and starboard to avoid the warbird. "Bring her about, Mr. Boggs! Give us some breathing room and maintain our position relative to the Warbird." Enterprise completed her maneuver and came to a position with the Warbird ahead of them again, but no longer so close or closing. Spock said, "Sir, their shields are down, conventional weapons systems are fully charged." Kirk looked up at Spock and held his gaze for moment. Kirk saw anger and concern there, but doubted that anyone else could. "They're hailing us, Captain," said Uhura. "On screen, Commander." Tor appeared before them, a look of amusement in his blue eyes. Kirk could see Dara behind him in the grip of a Romulan centurion. She looked as if her first instinct had been to fight when she found herself on the warbird. She was breathing heavily and bleeding from the mouth, anger masking her usually calm features. Tor spread his arms mockingly and said, "I am a sitting duck, Captain. One well-placed photon torpedo, and this issue is resolved for Starfleet." Tor paused and rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes, I forgot . . . your humanity won't allow you to do that, not with your crewmember on board." Kirk responded, "I should think you were counting on that, Commander, unless you have a suicide wish. Need I remind you that kidnapping my crewmember is an act of war." "I suppose it would be, Captain, if the Federation cared to acknowledge that any of this is happening. But since the powers that be want all of this handled covertly, in consideration of . . my other Federation payload, I don't believe anyone will make too much noise on the behalf of one lousy lieutenant." Tor smiled at him, unable to resist one last prod. "You could, of course, beam her back to your own ship, if you care to lower your shields." Kirk only glared at him in response. Tor laughed lightly. "Of course not. You are not a fool." He motioned for the centurion to bring Dara forward to stand by him. She stared up at him defiantly. "Now tell them all goodbye, Dara." She continued to look at him for a moment, then turned to the viewscreen and spoke rapidly in Vulcan. Tor looked at her in surprised confusion, then understanding and anger dawned on his features, and he slapped her hard and called out to have the comm link cut at the same time. As the screen went blank, Kirk found himself standing in front of his chair. "Get them back, Commander!" But he could see the warbird cloaking even as he said it and knew that it was too late. "They went immediately into warp, Captain. They are gone," reported Chekov, stating the obvious. A hushed stillness fell over the bridge. Kirk gathered his thoughts for a moment, then looked up to see Spock standing thoughtfully at the railing. All eyes were on him. "Spock . . .," Kirk began, moving to stand beside Spock as he spoke, "what did she say?" Spock didn't answer him immediately. He seemed to be working very hard to stay in control. Finally, quietly, he uttered, "She told me where he will go." *************************** Tor's slap knocked Dara to the floor, out of the grip of the centurion. Through bleary eyes she saw Tor charging at her and tried to move away, but she felt as if she were moving in a dream. He reached her and grasped her jacket in both hands, pulling her onto her feet. Tor moved to hit Dara again, but was stopped by arms grabbing him from behind. Dara stumbled out of his grip into the arms of one of the Romulan officers. The officer, a woman, held onto Dara until she was steady on her feet, then handed Dara over to the centurion. An uneasy stillness fell over the bridge as the Romulan woman approached Tor. Dara was surprised when she shouted at him angrily in Romulan. Tor yelled back at her, but the woman clearly had the final say. Then the woman turned and gave an order to the centurion, who led Dara to the turbolift to exit the bridge. Dara leaned against the wall in the lift and tried to gather her thoughts. The centurion's grip was light on her arm. She had a new piece of information about Tor that helped certain things make sense. The Romulan woman was the commander of this ship, not Tor. If Tor were a Vulcan, spy or not, she had found it hard to believe that the Romulans would give him command of a warbird. She realized now that although he might hold the rank of Commander, perhaps as an honorary title, he did not command this ship. Dara hoped that she had pointed Enterprise in the right direction; she suspected by Tor's reaction that she had. She had overheard the navigator mention the Romulan system that lay within the constellation Sehlat. She did not understand much Romulan, but she knew the Romulan name for that particular system. It was part of the astronomy that every Vulcan child learned. Dara knew that Spock would understand her clue. The lift door opened and the centurion led her down the hall to a room. She was surprised to find that she was being left in private quarters, not the brig, though she was sure she would be guarded. The centurion left and the door closed and locked behind him. Dara sat down on the bed and rested her head in her hands, trying very hard not to be afraid. ******************** Spock turned away and took his seat at the science station in order to access the library computer. Kirk walked over to stand by him. "Dara was reciting poetry. In particular, this Vulcan poem about a certain Vulcan constellation, the Sehlat," said Spock, indicating the display on the computer screen. Spock called up a view of the constellation as seen from Vulcan. After another command, the stars in the constellation were identified. Spock then asked the computer to give a three-dimensional representation of the constellation. As viewed from a planet, people are accustomed to thinking of a constellation as being planar, but in reality the stars are often thousands (or more, or less) light-years away from one another, and of various magnitudes and intensities. "Put it on the main viewer," said Kirk, beginning to understand what Spock was doing. The stars appeared on the main viewer in a three dimensional representation that illustrated their true positional relationship to one another in space. Finally, Spock superimposed the boundaries of Federation and Romulan Space on the view. Spock studied the view for a moment, then nodded to himself. Two of the stars that composed the constellation Sehlat resided deep within Romulan Space. According to the library computer one did not posses a planetary system, but the other possessed five planets and an assortment of moons, asteroids, and comets to go with them. Kirk and Spock shared a look. Kirk did not look forward to a trek across Romulan Space, but their orders were clear. And besides, they had one of his crew. Kirk nodded. "All right. How fast can you get us there, Mr. Boggs?" "Sir, shortest distance is fifty hours away at Warp 8, but that takes us right through the most populated area of the Romulan Empire." Kirk looked at Spock. "Recommendations?" "I believe we should back track along the neutral zone to here," Spock said, indicating a point on the starmap. "The system in question is in a sparsely populated region of the Empire. If we enter the Neutral Zone here, both the neutral zone and the section of Romulan Space that we pass through should be relatively clear of shipping traffic." "How long?" Kirk asked Lt. Boggs. "Eighty-four hours, sir, assuming we can maintain Warp 8 continuously." "Damn," Kirk said quietly. "I don't think we really have a choice. We'll never get through the heart of the Empire undetected." "I agree," said Spock. "Lay in a course, Mr. Boggs. How long before we reach the point where we enter the neutral zone?" "Thirty-two hours, sir." Spock closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. He opened his eyes to find Kirk regarding him closely. Spock said quietly, "I'll be in my quarters." Kirk nodded and watched him leave. ********************** Spock was relieved to finally be in the privacy of his quarters. He lay back on his bed and let the shock of what had just happened pass over him. He concentrated on breathing deeply, trying hard to restore some order to his mind, but stray thoughts and images kept creeping in to distract him from his efforts. He finally resorted to solving complex mathematical equations. After a time, he finally achieved a certain calm. He always felt this way after reassuring himself that pi really was 3.1415926535. More than ten decimal places was seldom required. Finally, he reached into his mind for his link with Dara. The link was so new and strong that one part of his mind had been concentrated all morning on shielding himself from the intensity of her thoughts, and vice versa. Since Dara was not telepathic, she did not have any experience or skill shielding her thoughts from him, or shielding herself from his thoughts. But now he concentrated on strengthening the bond, reaching out to her and trying to reassure her. ******************* ---- From mhv.net!netaxs.com!news.cais.net!grouper.Exis.Net!news Sun Jan 7 13:44:24 1996 Path: mhv.net!netaxs.com!news.cais.net!grouper.Exis.Net!news From: meenie1@exis.net (Beth Meenaghan) Newsgroups: alt.startrek.creative Subject: TOS: Masquerade - Part 3b (4/4) - part3b.txt [1/1] Date: 6 Jan 1996 01:44:52 GMT Organization: Exchange Information Systems Networks Lines: 697 Message-ID: <4ckk6k$225@grouper.Exis.Net> NNTP-Posting-Host: 48.exis.net Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; Boundary="" X-Newsreader: WinVN 0.93.11 -- Star Trek is owned by Paramount, etc. Dara Ashford is strictly a figment of my always overactive imagination, and I claim her as mine. Copyright -c- 1996 by Beth Meenaghan -- "I don't have a life, I have a toddler." - myself "As a matter of fact, I am a rocket scientist." -- Content-Type: Application/octet-stream; name=part3b.txt Part 3 - (cont) 'Dara . . .' Dara had drifted asleep, but now she was startled to a half-wakefulness. She could feel Spock in her mind. She tried to reach for him . . . "Dara." Dara opened her eyes to see Tor standing next to her. She was confused for a moment, then her thoughts cleared and she sat up. Tor sat down next to her. He was no longer wearing the Romulan uniform, but instead he was dressed in the way that she was accustomed to seeing him on Vulcan - bright clashing colors that assured he was noticed. "I have brought you something to eat." Dara looked over at the tray resting on the small desk, and saw that he had, in fact, brought her one of her favorite dishes. She resented the fact that he knew her so well. Dara studied Tor for a moment. He returned her stare, his blue eyes smiling, exuding all his usual charm. She could barely stand the sight of him, but she took a deep breath and quelched her anger. Dara knew she had to bide her time until Enterprise could find them. Not eating would be illogical. Besides, she was starving - she had skipped dinner last night and had not yet had breakfast. Dara got up, moved over to the desk, and sat down to eat. Tor had also brought her coffee. She took a drink. It was perfect, of course; brewed, not replicated. 'I hate him,' she thought. "I see you were prepared for my being here," she said in a conversational tone. Tor got up from where he was sitting on the bed and sat in a chair opposite her. "I had expected you to come willingly," he confessed. "Or unwillingly, had Sarek not intervened," Dara said, meeting his eyes. Tor only smiled and shrugged a little. Dara ate in silence for a few moments. Although she was hungry, she did not have much of an appetite, and she pushed the plate away with most of the food still on it. She sat back in her chair, drinking her coffee, and regarded him in silence for a moment. Finally, she said, "I suppose, since you have gone to such trouble to kidnap me, that you are in a bit over your head here." Tor laughed a little. "You have finally written a cipher that I can not break, Dara." Dara wondered if he realized what an arrogant fool he had been. They had made a game of breaking into one another's files, a game which he had started. Without his encouragement, she would never have developed her ciphers to their current level. He would have had easy access to everything. "You are not a prisoner here, Dara." "Oh? I am free to leave?" He laughed again. "No, of course not . . .," Tor paused, and looked at her earnestly. "Dara, things can be like they were before. You are not free to leave, but you can live freely where we are going - with me. If you will accept my original offer to be my bondmate." "That is not possible, Tor, now more than ever. Whatever we had was over before I even knew you were a spy. You had already revealed to me that you were not who I thought you were. And you obviously do not know who I am, if you really believe that I would turn traitor." Dara paused a moment and drank her coffee. She could see that Tor was becoming angry, but she continued anyway. "Our entire relationship . . . for three years . . . was a complete illusion, based on our misconceptions of one another." Tor sat glaring at her. Dara could see that he was very angry, too angry to speak. Finally, he mustered enough control to say to her, "I suggest, Dara, that you come to accept this . . . *illusion* . . . as you call it. It is the only chance you have to live a happy life. One way or the other, you are mine now. This is your life, and you can make the best of it, or not." Tor got up and left the room, and Dara was left alone with her thoughts. She was still sitting there drinking her coffee when Tor returned with two centurions. They both had disrupters and kept them pointed at her. He spoke to them in Romulan, then said to Dara in Vulcan, "Get up!" Dara complied, but said, "*Two* armed guards, Tor?" Tor responded by hitting her, hard. Dara fell back into the chair and onto the floor. She thought she might pass out. One of the centurions reached down and pulled her roughly to her feet again, holding her by one arm. Dara's head was spinning so badly she could hardly see. Tor grabbed her other arm and they led her roughly into the corridor and into the turbolift, where she finally blacked out. When Dara became aware of her surroundings again, she was lying on a cot in a very small room. Someone was sitting next to her- a doctor, perhaps; she held a hypo-spray. The woman turned to Tor and spoke to him, then she got up and left. Tor looked at Dara, and Dara stared back defiantly. He finally approached her slowly, reached down and grabbed her shirt and pulled her roughly to a sitting position. Dara noticed for the first time that she was no longer wearing her uniform, but rather a non-descript gray tunic and pants. She looked about her and realized that she must be in the brig. One side of her face hurt like hell and was starting to swell. "You will not do this the easy way - my way - so we will do it the hard way." He paused and kneeled in front of her. "You will submit to me, Dara. You will do the work for us that we ask you to do, and you will give us the information that we want." Tor turned to the guards and ordered them to leave. Dara sat very still, wondering what he would do now. Part of her was starting to panic. She tried to concentrate on Spocks presence in her mind, and was relieved to find that when she concentrated on the bond it seemed stronger than before. Dara's eyes remained fixed on Tor. He was very close, and seemed strangely calm. A chill crept into her soul when he moved even closer and placed a hand firmly on her shoulder. "Do not resist me," he said in a tone edged with menace. Tor reached his other hand up to touch Dara's face. She recoiled from him, but he grasped her head roughly and made her be still. His mind entered hers forcibly and without preamble. Dara tried with her hands and her mind to push him away, but he easily overwhelmed her physically and mentally. She had never felt such pain. It was not just in her head, but seemed to consume her entire being. Tor's presence ripped through her thoughts mercilessly - and encountered the bond she shared with Spock. And stopped. Dara felt his anger rising, violent and irrational. The bond seemed to repel him somehow, perhaps only because he could not bear that it was there. Tor withdrew rapidly and painfully from her mind. Dara fell to the floor, clutching her head in pain, and rolled into a fetal position. She was conscious of needing to get away from Tor, but was simply unable to do so. He grabbed Dara roughly again and slammed her against the wall, hitting her head hard. "No," he said, his voice a low growl. "NO! YOU HAVE BONDED WITH *HIM*?" Tor was screaming now. "YOU REJECTED *ME* AND HAVE BONDED WITH *HIM*?" Tor punched her hard in the stomach. Dara doubled over, out of breath, and Tor smacked her on the side of the head so that she fell to the floor on her knees. She tried to crawl away from him and get under the cot, but he kicked her hard in the ribs. Dara fell flat to the floor and instinctively wrapped her arms around her head. She felt Tor's hands grasping her tunic again, but then the guards were there pulling him away from her. The last thing Dara was aware of was the female Commander entering the room, yelling something in Romulan. Then Dara slipped into quiet darkness. *********************** Spock sat holding his head in his hands, breathing hard. The pain he was experiencing from Dara's mind was subsiding. Spock fought for control, knowing he could not yield to the fear that threatened to creep into his thoughts. For the briefest second, Spock had known Tor's rage. He had thought that Dara's life was not in danger; that Tor needed her alive. Now he knew that Tor was easily capable of killing Dara. *********************** When Dara finally woke, the room was dark except for a dim light leaking in from the corridor. She was on the cot, and someone had brought her a blanket. They must have also given her something for pain, she thought. Dara had no idea how much time had passed since she had been taken from the Enterprise; they had taken her chronometer when they took her uniform. A centurion entered the room and came over to look at her. She saw that it was the same young centurion who had taken her from the bridge. When he saw that she was awake, he brought her a glass of water and offered it to her. She drank some and thanked him, not certain he could understand her. After he left, Dara rolled over and faced the wall, her back to the light, and listened to the thrum of the engines through the bulkheads. She thought that she must be near engineering. She drew the blanket tightly around her, closed her eyes and concentrated on the rhythmic sound. Eventually, she was lulled into sleep. ***************** Spock and Kirk were both on the bridge when Enterprise reached the point where they would enter the Neutral Zone. Lt. Boggs had just reported that they were about to make the course change. Here goes nothing, thought Kirk. "Mr. Chekov, go to yellow alert. But turn off . . . that damn noise. Rig for silent running." All external communications were taken off line. The sensor arrays were also shut down, except for the collision avoidance system. A sense of melancholy settled over the ship as the lights were dimmed. Kirk looked at Spock, who was standing next to him, and met his eyes. Spock gazed back at him steadily, but Kirk could read nothing there. Kirk had not seen the Vulcan this tightly controlled in years. "We've just entered the Neutral Zone, sir," reported Lt. Boggs, returning Kirk's attention to the viewscreen. "Steady as she goes, Lieutenant." Kirk looked up at Spock again. "I'm going to get something to eat." Spock only nodded, and took the command chair as Kirk vacated it. At least one of them would be on the bridge at all times now. ******************* Dara awoke to find the young centurion in the room again, the light on now. She saw that he had food for her. He spoke to her in Romulan, and when she did not respond he repeated himself, gesturing at the food. She sat up finally and he brought the tray over to her. The centurion sat down by her, watching her. Dara tried to eat but could only manage a little. Her stomach was sore after being punched twice with Tor's Vulcan strength. She felt vaguely nauseated, and her head throbbed with pain. Dara finally pushed the food away. The centurion hesitated a moment, then finally got up to take the tray away. Tor came in with the woman that Dara suspected was the doctor. His eyes met Dara's and she quickly looked away, feeling so much shame and humiliation along with her hatred for him. Assaulting her mind as he had was as bad as rape in it's way, maybe worse. Like sex, a mind touch was an act so intimate that it was exceptionally beautiful when shared with someone you loved, but horribly painful when forced. Tor had touched everything that was personal and sacred to her and made it painful. Dara could still feel Spock's presence in her mind, but whenever she tried to reach for him she felt so much pain that she had to back away. The worst of all of it was that she knew that Spock had to be aware of what had happened. The doctor came over and examined her, then administered a hypo-spray. Dara felt relief from the pain and nausea almost immediately. The doctor left and Tor finally spoke to her. "We have reached our destination." She made no reply, and he stepped over to the cot. "Come with me," he said, reaching out his hand to her. Dara did not take his hand, standing unsteadily on her own instead. Tor reached out to steady her, but she flinched away from him and finally said, tremulously, "Do not touch me." She saw a flash of anger in his eyes, but he left her alone. She followed him out of the room slowly. In the corridor, Tor spoke to the centurion, who gently took her by the arm and helped her as they walked to the transporter room. She and Tor beamed into another non-descript transporter room. They walked wordlessly into the corridor and eventually entered comfortable quarters. Dara walked over to the large viewport on one wall and looked out at the surface of a lifeless moon. The clarity of the scene and the stars visible against the blackness of space even with the sun illuminating the surface told her there was no atmosphere. Tor joined her at the viewport. "There are no guards, Dara. There is only this facility and the power plant you can see in the distance. There is nowhere for you to go." Dara looked around at her quarters and saw that they were quite comfortable. They were much larger than what you would find on any ship. She had two rooms plus the bathroom, a replicator and a large desk with a computer monitor. She stepped over to the monitor and studied it, turning it on. She saw that it was already configured in Vulcan. "That monitor ties into the facility's main computer," said Tor. "The entire weapons system has been beamed down to this facility. That computer is located elsewhere in the building. You will help me to finish the control system and adapt it for Romulan systems and power sources." Dara said nothing, and Tor continued. "We are deep within the Romulan Empire, Dara. Enterprise will never make it this far without being detected. Starfleet would not risk a confrontation just for you, anyway." Tor approached her and grasped her chin in his hand, making her look up at him. "They are not coming for you, Dara. You should give up on them. And forget about him." He finally turned and left. Dara locked the door behind him. She stood looking about her, not the least demoralized by his words. Dara knew Enterprise's orders. "Pursue at all costs" they had read. No, Starfleet would not take such a risk just for her. But they were willing to do so to retrieve their weapons technology, and for her the result was the same. Enterprise was on her way. She wondered if Tor was aware that the Romulans had stolen the only prototype. Dara was feeling much better as whatever the doctor had given her continued to work on her system. She decided to shower, and afterwards she felt better still. She found clothes in the closet in her size. She hesitated a moment, realizing that Tor must have bought them for her before leaving Vulcan. It would be illogical not to wear them. Then she replicated a meal for herself, and some coffee. Finally, Dara sat down at the monitor to find out what she could. She concentrated for a moment on focusing on the problem at hand, willing herself not to think about the events of the immediate past. The first thing she needed to know was whether or not she had pointed Enterprise in the right direction. Dara accessed information about the facility and soon saw that they were in the system that she had expected. She smiled inwardly to herself. Dara looked for star charts so that she could compare her current position to where she had left Enterprise. The charts available were very limited, and not suited for navigational purposes; after all, the facility was hardly navigable. Further, she was limited to viewing a large expanse of space on a very small monitor. She could see, however, that their course from the Neutral Zone had brought them through the heart of the Romulan Empire. Enterprise would not be able to travel a direct course. Help was still unknown hours away. Dara looked at the facility layout and noted that it was quite small, consisting of the main floor on the surface and one sublevel. It housed only twenty full-time personnel, but had room for up to twenty more. There were currently thirty-one people on board, counting Tor and herself. The power facility was capable of producing enough power to supply Vulcan's entire Northern hemisphere. She frowned at that piece of information, and wondered what they were doing with it. Perhaps they were beaming it to the planet beneath them? Dara investigated that possibility, and found it more than unlikely. They were orbiting a rare gas giant, similar to Saturn and Jupiter in Earth's solar system. In fact, it was even belted with a large ring of debris. This moons elliptical orbit passed through the outer reaches of the ring twice during its course about the planet, resulting in a high incidence of meteor strikes. Lowering the shields could be a problem, then. Obviously, they could be lowered long enough to effect transport, but she was not going to be able to disable them and keep them down for a long period of time. Dara would have to come up with a way to enable Spock to lower them from Enterprise. She knew he would look for a way to access the shields. Dara got up to get more coffee, then sat back down at the console. She checked the chronometer; time was being displayed in Romulan Standard Time. She converted it to Federation Standard Time and realized that she had been away from Enterprise for almost sixty hours. Enterprise could not be more than a day or so away, and she had much to accomplish. She would begin by figuring out how to access the computer with system manager privileges. Then Dara would be able to monitor all activity on the computer, and hopefully prevent anyone from monitoring her. She was a bit suspicious that she had such free access to the facility computer system; Tor knew better than anyone that she was capable of what she was about to do. But Tor's own arrogance was his Achilles Heel; as far as Tor was concerned, he *knew* without a doubt that she would not be rescued. In any case, she had few options available to her. Dara planned to make the command codes accessible to Spock, so that he could change them at will. She knew he would look for that possibility. The challenge was to accomplish the task without anyone on the facility noticing. Dara took a deep breath, and willed herself to proceed slowly and carefully, attempting to suppress the sense of urgency that she felt. The first thing she did was make it impossible for Tor to override the lock on the door to her quarters. ************************* Dara had been working many hours when the computer signaled that Tor was on the system. She decided to take a break rather than risk his discovering what she was doing. She was at a good stopping point and could use some sleep. She woke up about six hours later and was getting herself some coffee when her door chimed. "It is Tor," a voice called from the other side. Dara hesitated a moment before opening the door for him. When she did, Tor stood politely in the hallway. She could see he was in his charming mode again. "Would you like to come with me now to see our computer , Dara?" he asked, smiling his best smile. As if she really had a choice. In any case, she needed to know where it was, and it was a good opportunity to see more of the facility. Dara picked up her coffee and stepped into the corridor, waiting for him to lead the way. He motioned her ahead with a gracious "After you." They walked to the end of the corridor and down a flight of stairs; no need for a turbolift in such a small structure. Tor entered the first door they came to at the bottom of the stairs. Dara saw before her a familiar site; a computer set up almost identically to the one they had developed together on Vulcan. There were six large cabinets arranged in two rows. It had not been necessary for Tor to steal the actual computer. He had designed and built most of the original one. Perhaps he had acquired a few essential, unique parts from Solnars lab on Vulcan, but she supposed he was able to build over ninety percent of the hardware with parts that were readily available to him through legal purchases. Then he only had to sneak away with copies of the software, an easy enough task. "You see, Dara? It is just like old times," he said silkily. She wanted to kill him every time he opened his mouth. If Enterprise never arrived, she knew that she would kill him eventually. If he did not kill her first in one of his rages. "Would you like to begin our work now?" he asked. Dara decided to play his game for a time, but she needed to finish what she was doing with the facilities computer. Enterprise could be arriving at any time. "Actually, Tor, I am still not feeling well. When you stopped by I was just getting ready to eat something," Dara said, pausing to observe his reaction before continuing. "May I return here later?" "You may come here any time you like, Dara," Tor replied, watching her carefully. Dara found it difficult to maintain her composure under his gaze. "You may return to your quarters now, if it pleases you." Dara hesitated a moment, but Tor did not move. Finally, she nodded and left the room herself, willing herself not to look back as she made her way to her quarters. She spent the next six hours completing her work with the facilities computer. Spock would have access to the entire system from Enterprise. The only system she did not access was the communications array; attempting to contact Enterprise would only give the ship away to the Romulans. Dara lay back on the bed to rest for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. Enterprise could arrive at any time - or not at all. Whenever she let herself consider that very real possibility, dread and panic crept over her soul, threatening to render her unable to function. Dara knew she could not stay where she was and let such thoughts occupy her mind. She made a decision and left her quarters. Dara entered the room where the weapons computer was housed and looked around carefully to ensure no one else was there. She sat down at the desk and accessed the system console, exploring the directory structure. Dara saw that Tor had set up the system identically to how they had it set up on Vulcan, though there were some new directories. One of them appeared to contain code that was specific to adapting the system to Romulan power systems. Another one was a "hidden" directory that took some effort to access, making her all the more curious about its content. When she finally gained access, Dara saw that there was a self-destruct mechanism built into the computer. She checked further and saw that it would also activate a self-destruct mechanism on the weapon itself. Dara was curious about why Tor had done this, but decided it scarcely mattered. It was there and she would use it. If Enterprise never arrived, she would destroy the weapon herself. At least the mission would be accomplished. Dara set about reprogramming the self-destruct sequence so that she could activate it with a single command from the system console. The weapons computer was not networked with the facility computer system, so she would not be able to access it from anywhere else in the facility. This was definitely a drawback, but there was nothing to be done about it. Dara was almost finished when she felt a firm grip on her shoulder. Tor turned her around roughly in her chair to face him. She had not heard him approach her. He pulled her out of the chair to her feet, pinning her to the desk. Tor stood looking at her dangerously and said nothing. Dara felt her heart pounding in her chest, not certain he was even aware of what she had been doing here. She had the sinking feeling that he had sought her out for some terrible reason, and berated herself for not thinking to lock him out of here as she had in her quarters. Confirming her worst fears, Tor reached for her collar and violently ripped away the front of her tunic. Dara tried to knee him in the groin, but he was standing so close her movements were awkward. She mainly contacted the inside of his thigh. Tor responded by punching her hard in the stomach, causing her to double over and sink to her knees. Dara tried to catch her breath, watching Tor's feet as he paced in front of her. A part of her wished he would just kill her rather than do what he was about to do, but a stronger part of her screamed that she must survive at all costs. Tor suddenly moved swiftly towards her and grasped her by the chin, bruising her when he lifted her and pushed her back against the wall. Dara brought her hands to his throat and squeezed with all the strength she had, but her small hands were not effective on his strong neck. She tried to kick him, but he was standing too close. Tor grasped her wrists and pinned her arms above her head. Holding both of her wrists firmly in one large hand and pinning her against the wall with his body, he groped at her pants with his free hand. Dara clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes shut against the sight of him, not sure how she would bear this ordeal. Suddenly, she found herself falling to the floor as Tor was pulled away from her violently. Dara felt gentle hands on her arms and opened her eyes to see McCoy and Captain Kirk. She knew it must be Spock that she could hear fighting with Tor, but when she tried to get up to see, Kirk held her back firmly. McCoy finished examining her and looked at Kirk. "She'll be all right, but I need to get her to sickbay." Dara shook her head hard, trying to speak but she was still out of breath from Tor's punch. "No!" she finally managed. "Dara . . . ," McCoy began. Dara looked to Kirk for understanding. "Give her something, Bones. Now," he added firmly when he saw McCoy start to argue. "Dammit, Jim," McCoy said, but administered a hypo that took effect fast. Dara started breathing easier and finally caught her breath. "It'll wear off fast, too, and you'll feel pretty bad afterwards," he warned. Dara looked at Kirk and spoke, gasping for breath between her words. "The entire weapons system is rigged to self-destruct. I was just programming the sequence. Let me finish." Kirk considered her for a moment. Destroying the entire thing here was much less risky than trying to make it all the way back to Federation Space without having the weapon re-captured. "Do it!" he said, and helped her up and to the console. Kirk turned to see if he could help Spock. The two Vulcans were in such a rage that he didn't dare try to intervene physically. Kirk pulled his phaser but could not get a clean shot at Tor. He was about to decide he would have to stun them both, but even that was risky with their proximity to the computer equipment - if the computer was damaged, the self-destruct would not work. Tor did not appear to have any strength advantage over Spock, but Kirk knew the younger man would have greater endurance. Tor smashed Spock's head into one of the cabinets. Spock's knees buckled under him, but he caught himself on the cabinet. Spock pushed himself up and at Tor, grabbing him strongly by the throat, and in one swift move broke Tor's neck. Tor's body went limp in Spock's arms. Spock pushed Tor away from him, and the body slumped to the floor like a rag doll, the head coming to rest at an impossible angle. A stunned silence fell over the room. Spock sank to his knees and sat back on his heels, his head bowed, breathing heavily.. Kirk shared an odd look with McCoy as Spock's forgotten words from long ago came rushing into his mind. "The method is called Tal Shaya. It was considered an ethical form of execution in ancient times." Kirk turned to look at Dara and saw that she was still busy at her console as if she were not aware of what had happened. The entire scene had a surrealistic feel to it. Kirk finally approached Spock and offered his hand. Spock looked up and met his eyes a moment, and Kirk saw that he was bleeding from the mouth and very badly from a gash on his temple. Spock took his hand and stood. "Captain," Dara called. When Kirk looked at her she continued. "I am ready." "What about all the people down here?" asked McCoy. "There are only twenty-nine. There is an audible warning, and they will have five minutes to make it to the escape shuttles." "Where do they go from there?" "I have no idea. However, since that is the emergency evacuation system that is in place, I assume they have some sort of plan." Kirk flipped open his communicator. "Scotty, are you ready to beam us up?" "Aye, Captain. We're all clear up here." Kirk nodded at Dara, and she initiated the self-destruct sequence. A Romulan voice immediately sounded throughout the facility, apparently the warning that Dara had mentioned. Spock went to Dara and helped her stand. Their eyes met for a moment, then Dara looked down at Tor's limp form. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, sagging against Spock for support. "Four to beam up, Mr. Scott. Beam us directly to sickbay." Kirk turned to Dara immediately after materializing in sickbay. "Do you know if Tor's ship is hanging around here somewhere?" "It is not Tor's ship. There was another Commander, a woman. As far as I know, they brought us here and then left." Kirk moved towards the door and Spock started to go with him, but Kirk stopped him. "You look like hell. Stay here until McCoy can get you taken care of." **************** Spock was silent while McCoy worked on his head, cleaning the wound and applying plastiskin. McCoy had already patched up Dara and she lay sleeping nearby. For the most part, her injuries were of the sort that would heal on their own in a couple of days. McCoy had given her something for pain, as well as a mild sedative. "She's going to be okay, you know," McCoy finally said as he was finishing. "Whatever I can't do for her, I'm sure you can." Spock only nodded as he stood up to leave. "You should really get some rest. I don't know how that blow to your head didn't knock you out." McCoy had to say it even though he knew it was a lost cause. Spock shook his head and finally spoke quietly. "Jim will need me on the bridge. We still have a long way to go, Doctor." McCoy only nodded and watched him leave. ***************** Enterprise had finally reentered Federation Space. Kirk sighed audibly and stretched, still astounded that they had made it through Romulan Space without incident. "Lt. Boggs, you have the conn." Kirk walked up to Spock's station and slapped a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go," he said. "We're off duty for about a week." ****************** Spock paused in the corridor outside of Dara's quarters. He relaxed a moment and reached into his mind to touch hers. She was asleep. Spock entered quietly and went to sit next to her on the bed. Dara lay curled on her side, the blanket pulled up to her chin. She finally looked as if she were resting, and not simply sedated as she had been in sickbay for the past couple of days. Spock sat watching her for a long time, and finally decided to leave, but when he got up Dara reached out for him. "Stay," she said, so softly he could barely hear. Spock sat back down and she opened her eyes to look up at him, smiling slightly. She pushed away the blanket to reveal herself naked beneath it, and he lay down with her and wrapped his arms around her. Dara buried her face in his neck and clung to him tightly. Spock felt her body trembling in his arms and tears on his neck. He reached deep into her thoughts to find the pain that Tor had left in his wake, and Spock took it away from her. They fell asleep finally; he was exhausted. He awoke uncounted hours later to feel the cool touch of her lips on his cheek and her fingers fumbling with the fasteners on his tunic. Spock saved her the effort and undressed himself; he made love to her tenderly for a very long time. The End ----