Jilla shivered as the fetus within her responded to the sudden strengthening of Sulu’s tia. The emotional mix that was always present asserted itself, feeding the child’s sensitivity as her mother’s system fed her development. She understood the words though she had never been able to understand the profession. Why it would be necessary for anyone to pay for activity that came so naturally to Terrans was not something that made any sense to her. Why someone would accept a monetary exchange for something as personal as a choice of sexual partners was likewise incomprehensible. But she had always known that Sulu had been promiscuous; she had even known that some of his sexual encounters were not voluntary ones, and that sometimes his choice of activities could be considered unusual or even deviant by Terran standards. That he had, at one time, been employed to provide sexual services was not the shock Ruth apparently thought it would be – although it was obvious that the Antari was stunned by the revelation.
What was disturbing, however, was that a moment before, Sulu had not remembered that he knew of it. And she had no explanation for why he suddenly felt so much more.
After a few moments of silence, Sulu folded his arms, a sardonic grin coming over his features. “Well?” he asked.
“Are you aware of what needs to be done to release your profits?” Spock asked calmly.
Sulu’s lips pursed. “I suppose I’ll have to go see the sick-fuck,” he returned.
Ruth took a deep breath. “Sulu, you…” she began.
“It’s Kam,” Sulu reiterated.
“Sulu?” Jilla’s soft voice put in. He turned to her as if just noticing her presence. His gaze moved blatantly over her body, causing her to blush.
“You can call me any damn thing you want to, honey,” he said. His voice was low and lascivious, raw sexual power radiating from him nearly as visibly as Jilla’s glow.
“She doesn’t understand what’s happening,” Ruth put in. His gaze swung challengingly to her.
“And you do?” he sneered.
“No, I don’t, and you can just get off your goddamned high horse and tell us!” Ruth snarled back.
Before she knew it, his hand was at her throat. “I don’t like being talked to that way,” he said. The words were gentle enough, but his tone of voice was anything but. Ruth’s eyes widened, and Spock’s hand clamped onto Sulu’s wrist.
“Let her go,” the Vulcan commanded.
Sulu stared at him for a moment, then slowly opened his fingers. “I was right,” he said, then smiled. “It’s simple enough,” he continued. “I got fucked, I got paid, I gave it to Cal, he invested it like a good, caring pimp should. It was a Haven House, so the investments were Haven. Starfleet doesn’t like former whores in its ranks.” The smile turned wintry. “Too many admirals might get caught with their pants down, so to speak. So after I didn’t have to worry about Cal anymore, I forgot all about it.”
“How could you…” Jilla began
“Terrans habitually lie about anything that makes them uncomfortable,” Sulu interrupted, then flashed another smile. “Even if that means lying to themselves.”
“Roy…” Ruth began again…”
“It’s Kam!” he snapped. “Is that so fucking hard to remember?”
“And don’t you remember that I usually call you ‘Roy’?” Ruth returned sharply.
His eyes narrowed for only an instant. “Yeah, Spike, I remember,” he said simply.
“You are Kam Ikaze,” Spock stated, regaining control of the situation, “and, I assume, not Sulu Takeda.”
Sulu flashed another cold smile. “Not as such, no.”
That got a reaction from Jilla. “You are,” she said, her voice certain. “Tia is tia.”
His head cocked to one side. “Well, sweetheart, I suppose you’re right in a manner of speaking.”
“How can it be both ‘not as such’ and ‘in a manner of speaking’?” Ruth wanted to know.
Sulu shrugged. “Go ask a shrink,” was his reply.
Spock moved, standing not quite between Ruth and Sulu. “My wife,” he said, “I believe that is precisely what we must do. That there is serious trauma here cannot be disputed and it requires more specialized knowledge than we possess.”
“He means I’m crazy,” Sulu sneered helpfully.
“No, Kam, not crazy,” Spock corrected. Sulu raised one eyebrow, acknowledging the usage of the correct name. “Simply reacting to some past disturbance, which was apparently quite severe.”
“Past disturbance?” Jilla asked. Both fear and anxiety were evident in her grey eyes.
Ruth frowned concernedly. “Ah, Jilla, there’s a lot about Roy that…”
“Bullshit,” Sulu interrupted. “She knows everything there is to know. At least,” he gave another chilling smile, “everything he knows.”
“He?” Jilla repeated in confusion. “Sulu, tia is tia!”
“Rilain,” Spock attempted to explain, “there is a psychological phenomenon among Terrans, usually the result of grave or prolonged abuse or trauma, in which the personality is fractured, split if you will…”
“Oh god!” Ruth breathed.
“Jesus fucking Christ…” Sulu muttered.
“…so that while Kam is Sulu, he does not necessarily have all the memories or knowledge that Sulu has…”
“You’re wrong there,” Sulu snarled.
“…nor vice versa,” Spock finished with a stern glance at the Terran.
“Is that supposed to intimidate me?” Sulu asked with a glare.
Jilla was staring at Sulu, her expression openly worried. “Do… do you remember me?” she said softly.
Sulu’s eyes met hers, and for an instant, they were again warm and loving. “Of course I do,” he replied, then shot another glance at Spock. “I remember everything.”
Jilla closed her eyes, feeling from him all she ever had, along with the elusive more. “I do not understand,” she murmured, “but it is the truth.”
Spock nodded. “I amend my previous statement, Kam,” he apologized.
“What are you doing?!” Ruth suddenly blazed. “This – Kam – is not Roy!”
“I’ve got news for you, baby,” Sulu growled. “’Roy’ is far more me than you know. Remember ‘I’ll never be more than half in love with you’ ‘As long as it’s the right half’? Remember ‘I can’t let her see – amber cruising, decadent, depraved, sadistic, draw a little more blood, Kam, she’ll run away when she sees’?” He grinned at the dawning horror in Ruth’s eyes. “Yeah, I know exactly how much you picked my precious brain. How about ‘I asked you to fuck me, can’t you just do it’?” he continued with mounting relish. “Maybe ‘never again, bitch, lunatic’?" He suddenly began singing and both Ruth and Spock were startled to hear the deeply melodic, powerful voice that they had previously attributed to the telepathic influence of Noel DelMonde. "Something in my heart died last night, one more chip off an already broken heart. I think the heart broke long ago... "
“Stop it!” Ruth hissed.
Sulu grinned. "Fire on fire, rain on my face, fever grows higher, what can you do?" he continued, then added, "Wild in the darkest places of your mind…”
Ruth covered her ears with her hands. “Stop it!”
“So who isn’t Roy?” he finished.
“Enough of this,” Spock said.
“Didn’t I tell you I wasn’t about to accept you as Lord anything?” Sulu spat.
“Lord?” Ruth said with a sudden glare at Spock.
“He is your Lord Husband,” Sulu supplied with a nasty grin.
“Ruth, it is merely a literal interpretation of the Vulcan terminology,” Jilla soothed. “It does not mean what a Terran would expect.”
“Bets?” Sulu countered.
“It is at any rate of no consequence,” Spock countered. “I have not used nor asked for that term to be used between us.”
“Better not,” Ruth replied.
Spock took a deep breath. “Kam,” he said, “are you willing to do what must be done?”
“About a shrink or the sick-fuck?” Sulu returned smoothly.
“Either.”
Sulu pursed his lips. “Talking to the sick-fuck is the only way to get my credit,” he mused, and another of the seemingly endless cold smiles crossed his features. “And I do want my credit. So the answer to that is yes.” His eyes darkened. “But the shrink? No way in Saford’s Hell.”
“Since when are you Haven?” Ruth muttered.
“I did study in a Haven house, Spike,” Sulu reminded with false charm.
“Enough,” Spock repeated.
“Yes, Lord Whatever,” Sulu said with a mocking bow.
“Sulu, please…” Jilla murmured in obvious distress. He took a step towards her and knelt, leaning forward to kiss her abdomen.
“Wouldn’t want to upset the little one,” he said and smiled up at her. It was genuinely caring, and she returned it, reaching out, caressing his cheek. Then she abruptly silvered as his fingers slid between her legs. He chuckled, a decidedly unpleasant sound, and stood next to her, casually placing his arm around her waist.
“So, how do I get passage to Elba?” he asked brightly.
Spock used the frequency the Haven CEO had given him. When Omm Monolem's face again appeared on the small computer screen, with an almost amused "That was quick," the Vulcan explained that they needed untraceable transportation from Terra to Elba, along with copies of whatever forms the Haven would require in order to have Sulu's funds released.
"I'll dispatch a ship right away," Omm said, "but convincing the sick-fuck to put his signature on the proper paperwork might not be as easy as asking him."
"I can convince him," Kam returned, his voice and his eyes flat.
Omm glanced sideways at Sulu for a moment, then murmured, "I'll bet you can." Then he gave a slight shiver and added, "Of course, how you're going to get ON Elba once you get there isn't something I can arrange."
"I'll think of something," Ruth said absently, biting her thumb.
"All right then," Omm replied. "Is there anything more you need, Spock?"
"Hit him up for a loan," Kam suggested. "He knows better than anyone - with the possible exception of Cal - that I'm good for it."
"Indeed you are," the Haven said. "I'll have a line available through your transportation."
Spock looked momentarily confused, and Kam grinned. "He means we'll be able to get credit chips from the captain of whatever boat he sends to come get us, and that he will personally reimburse that captain for whatever we take."
"Nice one of you speaks Havani," Omm smiled.
"How could I not?" Kam countered.
Omm's smile faded. "True." His gaze returned to Spock. "Anything else?" he asked.
"No, thank you, CEO," the Vulcan replied. "We are in your..."
"DON'T!" Kam snapped, then shifted his attention to the screen. "We are certainly NOT in your debt, Omm," he growled.
"Understood Kam," Omm said. "Monolem out."
"What was..." Spock began,
"You never say you're in a Haven's debt, Spock," Kam explained. "That's a lifetime obligation." He grinned. "Similar to Terran indentured servitude or Vulcan chattel."
"I see," was all Spock said.
After a few moments, Kam said, "Well, what shall we do while we wait?"