The rest of the evening was more than difficult.. 'Kam' carried Jilla to their room - such as it was - and after listening to half an hour of loud, lewd, obscene vocalizations, Spock and Ruth decided to take a walk in the garden.
"How can she stand him?" Ruth murmured, her voice quiet with strained anguish.
"Tia is tia, beloved," Spock replied, as Jilla herself had. "She clearly has had experience with Kam before, and his emotional reality is the same as Sulu's."
Ruth shuddered. "How the hell can that be?"
"If Kam is indeed a manifestation of a disassociative personality, Jilla would feel the emotions of the whole in both separate parts," the Vulcan explained.
"Separate parts," the Antari mused. "Like you and Daniel, or me and ani Ramy?"
"We did not interact much with either of him at that time, beloved," Spock reminded.
Ruth sighed. "Yeah, I remember," she agreed softly.
"And in our case, the splitting was along our hybrid natures. Sulu is solely Terran. His split was apparently, as I stated, a fracturing of his personality - assuming Kam then is the same Kam now."
They walked together in silence for a while, then Ruth stopped and turned to face her husband, tears in her eyes. What are we going to do, Spock? she whispered to his mind. How can we help him - how can we help Jilla? What is this going to do to our hope of finding Jim?
Unless he will agree to psychological aid, I fear there is little we can do, beloved, Spock answered silently. As far as rilain is concerned - she has loved him, knowing all of him. I suspect she will continue to do so. And with the necessary monetary resources, our mission regarding Jim will be advanced.
But... if Roy was subjected to the kind of abuse you alluded to...
We must focus on finding Jim, Ruth, or - as Sulu himself stated - what has all this been for?
A fuck-ton of nothing, came a darkly amused intrusion into both their minds. Except that it finally got me out of Fleet. The clear shock from both telepaths elicited a chuckle. Come on back now, Spike, Lord Whatever. There's a call from Leather.
On board the HTE Leather, Dealer Extraordinaire and Ambassador to the Federation Lane Gage quietly closed the com after receiving the instructions from the CEO. After a moment, in which he lit a pipe of Rigellian, he opened it again.
"Rani," he said to his personal assistant, "bring up the communiques I received from Cajun, Cobra, Gypsy and Groupie about ten standard weeks ago."
"You finally gonna answer them with something other that, 'my, that's interesting, do keep me informed'?" Rani Tolloff returned with a brilliant show of teeth.
"And how exactly do you know what I answered them?" Gage asked pointedly.
The young Haven woman made a scoffing sound. "Personal assistant. Duh."
Gage shrugged, taking a hit off the pipe. "Fair," he said. "And yes, I am."
"Right away, Boss."
Gage leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes. He had been keeping Leather in the vicinity of Terra for the last ten weeks precisely because of those communiques. His corporate reports stated both supplying the Clave and other contracts as well as ambassadorial duties as the reason, but no one on his ship believed that.
He recalled the missives themselves; desperate from Gypsy, poignant and desperate from Cobra, shrill and desperate from Groupie, snarling and desperate from Cajun, all saying the same thing. Spike and her Vulcan husband and Kam and his silver lady had resigned from Starfleet, not telling anyone anything, and now they were unreachable due to some bullshit Fleet quarantine - the 'now' being the aforementioned ten weeks earlier. Could the Ambassador find anything out? Could the Dealer?
Gage had found, much to his annoyance, that being the ambassador of a member state of the Federation meant people were not as willing to ignore Federation governmental rules as they had been when he was merely a Dealer. Not even his considerable charm had been able to garner any information other than what his Clavist associates had already told him. Hence his blasé and understated reply. After the official quarantine was over, he'd tried again to gather some intel on the situation, but was told that all such information was restricted due to his status as the representative of a Head of State for a Federation member. Not even the best efforts of his Enforcer, Tomor Rand, had yielded any results, for which the large man had profusely apologized.
But with the CEO's directive - "discreetly transport the four people at these coordinates on Terra - a Vulcan, a Terran, an Antari and an Indiian, figure it out, Gage - to the Elba facility for the criminally insane (whatever that means) and then follow their direction. A line of credit is hereby established, with my personal backing. Devri speed, Dealer." - and having 'figured it out' with no difficulty at all, he at last had some information to give his worried friends.
He leaned forward as the communiques appeared on his screen. "Begin dictation. To Lieutenant Daphne Gollub, Lieutenant Sakura Tamura, Lieutenant Commander Noel DelMonde on the U.S.S. Enterprise, and Lieutenant Commander Jeremy Paget on the U.S.S. Hood," he dictated. "It is my pleasure to inform you that I have discovered some information regarding the misplaced items about which you contacted me. Said items are safe and in good condition. When your leave schedules permit, I would be pleased to host you aboard the H.T.E. Leather to give you the details. Contact me with the times you are available. Bottom line, Ambassador Lane Gage, Haven Trading Empire. End dictation. Rani, be sure these are sent separately and staggered."
"Any encryption. Boss?" Rani asked.
Gage stroked his beard. "Would that make the Fleet brass more or less suspicious?"
"I'll give it the standard political scramble then, since it IS from the Ambassador." She giggled. "That way, when they decrypt it, they'll laugh at our Haven sneakiness and let them through without too much scrutiny."
"Eternal runs on your personal markets, Rani," Gage offered. "Get me Saff."
When the Leather's helmsman, Saff Kelevek, answered, he said, "Get me in transporter range of Berkeley, California, North America."
Noel DelMonde was lying on his bunk on the Enterprise, half grounded and only a little drunk when two things happened simultaneously: the message light on his communications terminal lit up and the door to his cabin burst open, admitting Daffy Gollub and Sakura Tamura.
Of course, he was quite aware that the door hadn't actually burst, issuing only its usual soft hiss, but the energy that flooded his cabin was more than enough to justify the appellation.
Without opening his eyes or lifting his head he said, "T'Paul not here, Daf, an' li'l Gypsy, I surely not in no mood t'..."
"Del, did you get a communique from..." Saki began, on top of Daffy's, "Your message light is on, read it, read it, READ IT!"
"Sheee-it," the engineer breathed softly. Raising his head, he realized that there were two lights, one a message from about five minutes ago - from the Haven ambassador - and a subspace call from the Hood.
His heart rate picked up, the contents of the first message coming at him from the brains of both the women in his quarters: It is my pleasure to inform you that I have discovered some information regarding the misplaced items about which you contacted me. Said items are safe and in good condition. When your leave schedules permit, I would be pleased to host you aboard the H.T.E. Leather to give you the details. Contact me with the times you are available. Bottom line, Ambassador Lane Gage, Haven Trading Empire.
He sat bolt upright, confirming what his telepathy told him by calling up the same communique on his own terminal.
"He gotta be talkin' 'bout..." he began.
"We need to put in for leave, now!" Daffy interrupted, then turned to the yeoman. "Saki, we have..."
"I checked right away," she said, "We all have at least a week..."
"Hush!" Del snapped. "I gotta talk to Cobra."
"N.C. thank Jesus, I got a message from Gage!" Jeremy Paget's voice began almost before his image appeared on the small screen. "We have to take as much leave as we can as soon as we can and high-tail it to Leather!"
"Yeah, I know, mon ami," Del returned. "Daf an' Saki an' me got the same one."
"Hi Cobra," Daffy said, as Saki murmured, "Hello, Jeremy."
"Hey, Daffodil, Gypsy," Paget returned. "So how much do you guys...."
"Saki say at least a week," Del answered.
"Leather's ident security code has her at Terra," the Hood's Security Chief reported. "With civilian transport it's gonna take me two days to get there."
"We can be there in a little over 36 hours if we can take a Chutzpah," Daffy put in.
"An' why VonHels be doin' that fo' us?" Del growled, referring to the herbert who had been given command of the Enterprise.
"Shit," the chemist said, stomping her foot.
"Three days, Jer," Del said to Paget.
"Unless we can call up some favors and get us a couple of needles," Saki said quietly.
"How we do that, darlin?" Del asked.
The pretty Japanese woman smiled serenely. "Leave that to me. I'm not the First Officer's yeoman for nothing."
"Commander Uhura, may I have a moment in private?" Sakura murmured.
The new First Officer of the Enterprise glanced down at the con where her new captain sat ramrod straight. Wilhelm VonHels was a solid, mature, authoritative man who had served as the commander of a destroyer for many years. His steady if uninspiring loyalty to Starfleet had been rewarded by giving him the command of the Fleet's most famous ship - after her illustrious former captain had mysteriously disappeared and her illustrious former first officer had resigned just as mysteriously.
"After your duty shift, Miss Uhura," VonHels said. "Yeoman, I expected you would know better than to interrupt our Executive Officer when she is on duty for something which is clearly of a personal nature."
"It isn't personal, Captain," Saki lied with quiet professionalism. "There were some communiques from the Haven ambassador that require some decrypting."
"Did you not follow procedure, Miss Uhura?" Von Hels asked without turning to face her.
"I was certain I had, sir," the TerAfrican replied, then mouthed 'thanks a lot, Saki' to her yeoman.
"There is an embedded encryption, sir," Sakura came to Uhura's rescue. "Commander Uhura couldn't have known about it unless she tried to access them, and since they were not addressed to her..." She let the sentence fade.
Both women could hear the captain's frown. "Very well. Take this to your office, Commander. It shouldn't take more than ten minutes, yes?"
"Depending on the type of embedded encryption, no sir," Uhura replied. "I will inform you if there is an unexpected difficulty."
"Call your second to the Bridge," VonHels ordered. "Mr. Chekov, you will assume the duties of the Executive for the time Miss Uhura is otherwise occupied."
From the Navigation console, Chekov answered. "Yes, sir," and Uhura signaled John Holden to sit at Communications.
Once safely in her office, Uhura turned to her yeoman. "Is there a really a problem with the communiques?" she asked.
"Other than there's no leering greeting from Tomor Rand to his Ebony Beauty, no," Saki grinned.
"Damn," Uhura returned with a smile. "So what's..."
"Does VonHels really make you call John to the Bridge every time you leave for a few minutes?" Saki interrupted.
Uhura nodded. "And he tells poor Pavel to 'assume the duties of the Executive' every time I have to answer a hail - as if I'm not capable of doing two things at the same time."
"Herbert," Saki sniffed.
Uhura chuckled. "So, what do you really need my help with?"
"It's a long story, but Daffy, Del and I need transportation to Terra right away. We've got leave, so that shouldn't be a problem..."
It was Uhura's turn to interrupt. "Have you tried to wrangle leave out of VonHels?"
"One problem at a time," Saki returned. "I was hoping you could get Tomor to scare up a couple of needles for us - oh, and for Jeremy Paget on the Hood."
"How could Tomor..." Uhura began.
"Let's just say he knows Clavists. Uhura..." Saki paused, then caught and held the older woman's gaze. "This is about Spock and Ruth and Sulu and Jilla. Those messages from Gage were his way of letting us know he had information about them which he obviously can't share subspace. We need to get to Leather ASAP and she's at Terra."
Uhura stared at her for a long minute, then took a deep breath. "If you say Tomor can help, then I'm glad to do it. And since he and I have an already established relationship, it won't look odd that I'm contacting him." Sakura nodded, clearly grateful for Uhura's quick understanding. "But how are you going to get someplace that a needle could rendezvous with you?"
"Like I said, we have enough leave."
"Like I said, VonHels," Uhura reminded.
Sakura scowled, then sighed. "If we have to resign..."
"You're joking."
"Uhura, Daffy and Del aren't exactly warming to VonHels' style of command. They'll get court-martialed sooner or later."
"And you'll follow Sulu anywhere," the TerAfrican said with a sad smile.
"That's not..."
"Yes it is, honey. You get no judgment from me and you know it. But have you thought about what you'll do after you find him - if you find him? He's still married to Jilla."
The yeoman shrugged. "So I'll go work for my father's fishing conglomerate." She grinned. "My mother would be thrilled."
"Saki, you're sure..."
"Something terrible happened, Uhura," Saki returned. "You know it, we all know it. They wouldn't simply up and resign like that otherwise. And I'd bet my last pipe of Rigellian that it has to do with Captain Kirk's disappearance. The timing is just too coincidental."
Uhura nodded. "All right, I'll send a message to Tomor. And it's been ten minutes." She turned and headed for the door, then stopped. "Saki - you will let me know what you find out, won't you?"
"Of course," the yeoman replied, then smiled. "I'm sure Tomor will be happy to give you every detail."
Sakura waited until First Watch was over before approaching the captain. If she had had any hope that her adherence to his schedule would count for anything, she would have been sorely disappointed. As disappointed as she was when he summarily dismissed her request for leave, informing her than Starfleet regulations required her to give at least a week's notice unless there was an emergency situation.
"And seeing as how I couldn't exactly tell him what the emergency was..." she sighed, relaying the encounter to Daffy and Del in Del's cabin.
Daffy was nervously biting her fingernails. Sakura had also communicated the gist of her conversation with Uhura and the chemist was already sure what course of action would win out.
"That it, then, I fuckin' quit," Del snarled. "Scotty say if it were up t' him, he give me a whole fuckin' month but there th' captain t' consider." He snorted derisively. "Motherfuckin' herbert."
"I'm not thrilled to be stuck under the putz," Daffy ventured, "but... well... there's Pavel..."
"Tell him he get t' save his Vulcan boyfriend an' he fall all over hisself t' come with."
"Not if he has to resign," was the chemist's sullen response.
"To help Spock and Sulu and Captain Kirk?" Sakura repeated. "Don't you think he'd understand if it is explained to him - um - carefully?"
"Carefully like how?" Daffy wanted to know.
"Play up the unfairness of Fleet since Captain Kirk was lost. Point out that Spock MUST have had a good reason to resign so suddenly. Add in the fact that Fleet wouldn't even let their friends contact them, put them in quarantine for Buddha's sake..." "Yeah, an' Spock of all people not be swayed by emotion so there gotta be a logical reason, non?" Del continued. "An' if anybody be swayed by th' idea that Spock musta had a good reason, it be Pavel."
"And if we have to resign, and it turns out Fleet was doing something..." Saki rejoined.
"...illogical..." Del filled in
".. and unjust, surely, when we can explain it to the brass, they would be willing to reinstate us..."
"...'specially if we find Kirk over it an' they get back him an' Mr. Logical an' Valjiir an' the best damn pilot in the galaxy."
"What are you all doing in my cabin," the voice of Pavel Chekov broke in.
Daffy turned to him, screwing up her face into the picture of misery and despair. "Oh Pavel!" she wailed, and both Sakura and Del hid their chuckles.
"It's so terrible, bubee, Fleet is being so unfair... unjust!" She sobbed, throwing herself into his arms.
"Dafshka, what is the matter?" the Russian said, clearly alarmed.
"We got some information about Mr. Spock and Ruth and Sulu and we could get more if VonHels would give us leave and it's time-sensitive but he won't and it's just more of Fleet being so unreasonable and I don't know how much more I can take!" the chemist cried.
"How much more..." Chekov began.
"First, they don't even investigate Captain Kirk's disappearance!" Daffy answered, still shaking helplessly in the navigator's embrace. "Then they tell us that Spock and Ruth and Sulu and Jilla just resigned and they won't even tell us why! Pavel, you know Spock MUST have had a good reason to resign so suddenly. And then Fleet wouldn't even let us contact them, put them in quarantine..." She sobbed again.
Del and Sakura kept silent about the fact that she was quoting the yeoman's pervious statements almost verbatim.
"And you know Spock of all people wouldn't be swayed by emotion so there has to be a logical reason for him to resign, doesn't there?" Daffy continued, now staring into Chekov's worried brown eyes.
"Da," he agreed slowly. He glanced up.
"You know I not help the' Vulcan on a bet, T'Paul," Del said. "So if I tellin' you there somet'ing more'an fishy 'bout this whole t'ing..."
"And this is an emergency, Pavel," Sakura put in gravely. "Our information came from Ambassador Gage. He has more, but since Fleet has put restrictions on all information regarding Commander - I mean former Commander Spock and Ruth and Sulu and Jilla, he can't speak plainly over Fleet communications. We have to get to his ship, and we have to have leave for that, but Captain VonHels has refused our requests."
The Russian frowned. "It is protocol for..." he began.
"We don't have a week!" Daffy shouted. Then she again collapsed into Chekov's arms.
"The Leather is on Terra for only a week, and we have to get to her in order to receive the information the Ambassador has," Saki reiterated.
"Then what is it we can do?" the navigator wanted to know.
"We up an' quit our own selves," Del answered, his voice rough.
Pavel blinked. "Resign?" he said, then looked down at Daffy. "Dafshka, you would ask me to resign?"
"Pavel, Starfleet is not dealing fairly with us," Saki put in. "We know Spock must have had a good logical reason for his resignation. It stands to reason he knows why Fleet has gone to such lengths to prevent any of us from even contacting him."
"Or Ruth, or Sulu, or Jilla," Daffy added.
"And if we have to resign, and it turns out Fleet was doing something..." Saki rejoined.
"...illogical..." Del filled in, as he had before.
".. and unjust, surely, when we can explain it to the brass, they would be willing to reinstate us..." The yeoman gave a quick nod to Daffy, and the chemist completed the restatement of their previous conversation.
"Especially if we find out what happened to Captain Kirk over it," She said.
"What has this to do with..." Chekov said.
"Use what li'l brain you got in your damn head," Del snarled. "They resign after Kirk disappear, non? Fleet not investigate. Maybe 'cause Spock already know what happen to him? Maybe they some reason they keepin' him from tellin' us?"
"Maybe that's why they saddled us with the biggest herbert known to man as a captain," Daffy continued.
"Maybe someone in Fleet who knows how unfair and unjust Spock and the others are being treated, wants us to find a way to investigate on our own."
"So they send someone who they know Del and I couldn't possibly respect, much less work under..." Daffy returned.
"So we would resign and could work without Fleet knowing what we're doing," Sakura said.
"An' if we able t' come up wit' proper evidence and find out what happen to Kirk, they get back him an' Mr. Logical an' Valjiir an' the best damn pilot in the galaxy." Del finished, as he had before.
"And they would then have to also reinstate us," Daffy said. She let tears again well in her eyes. "Oh, please, Pasha, you have to help us! We need you! We have to get justice for Spock!"
The Russian gazed at her pleading green eyes. He glanced at the despair and hope in Sakura's. He even managed to meet Del's black gaze - and the engineer projected bitterness and worry and anger at all the duplicity Starfleet was capable of.
"You say this is time-sensitive?" he managed at last. "We have a week to get to Terra?"
Del gave both Saki and Daffy a mental high five.
To be continued....