Return to Valjiir Stories
“Spock, you’re going to have to do something about your brat of a wife,” Jim said as he walked beside his First Officer. “Her pranks and flirtations were annoying, but generally harmless. But this…”
He and Spock were in the head of the small group that was making its way through Engineering. Behind them, the Human Spock carried Ruth, with both Noel DelMondes following. Kam sauntered after them, with Jilla and Scott bringing up the rear.
“Exactly what do you suggest I do, Captain?” the Vulcan asked. “She is not amenable to my control.”
“’Scuse me, sirs,” a voice that was that of Noel DelMonde said, but so much softer and gentler that both men turned in surprise. “She might lissen t’ me.”
Spock raised a skeptical, faintly accusing eyebrow. “Indeed, Mr. DelMonde. And why would that be?”
The young man smiled apologetically. “Not fo’ the reason you t’inkin’,” he replied. “An’ I prefer to be called Duhon. Noel Duhon.”
“Duhon?” Jim repeated, his forehead wrinkling.
“It were my Mama’s name ‘fore she married,” the Cajun returned.
“And you were always such a mama’s boy,” Kam chuckled. Noel turned to him.
“Close your mouth, AgauBade,” he said in a tone that while commanding was not dark.
Kam narrowed his eyes at the engineer, but said nothing further.
“I was sayin’,” Noel continued to Spock, “Raw-eth might hear me ‘cause I like her.” When no comprehension came into the Vulcan’s eyes, he added, “I a priest.”
Behind him, his twin gave another of his snorting laughs. “He believe all that voodoo mumbo-jumbo,” he said. “Jus’ like our demented cousins.”
Noel gazed serenely at him. “You jus’ be glad I no bokor,” he said mildly.
“Oh, I scared now,” the other muttered.
“Gentlemen,” Kirk interrupted, “we can get all this sorted out once we’re in Sickbay.”
“I not sick, Captain,” Noel said. “An’ I not need t’ be confined. I not harm anyone or anyt’ing.”
“An’ while I do appreciate th’ tour,” DelMonde added, “I be goin’ to my cabin, if it all th’ same t’ you.”
“It isn’t,” Jim returned.
DelMonde’s eyebrows lowered, his full lips tightening, but he didn’t press the point.
While waiting for the turbolift, Jilla caught the Vulcan Spock’s eye, and made a small gesture. When he moved to her side, she bowed her head and murmured, “The Captain is correct. Something must be done regarding Ruth’s excesses.”
Spock regarded her with gentle patience. “Indeed,” he agreed. “But unless, as Mr. – Duhon – suggested, she will listen to him…”
“Perhaps I might speak with her,” Jilla suggested. “She and I are friends, and I have always had some luck in persuading her to at least consider the logic of a situation…”
“Get the fuck away from him!” Kam interrupted, his voice like the crack of a whip.
Jilla turned. “I was only discussing the situation with…” she began.
“And I don’t care if you were going over trigonometric functions!” he snapped. His fierce gaze turned to Spock. “Didn’t I warn you about answering her?”
“She was not….” Spock said.
“Challenge?” Kam asked menacingly.
The taller Vulcan immediately drew away, and Kam grabbed Jilla’s arm with a combination of triumph and ferocity.
“It’s about time I showed you who you belong to,” he growled, and pulled her down the corridor.
“Mr. – Kamikaze!” Jim shouted, and without even turning back, Kam answered.
“Fuck you, Jimmy!”
“Scotty, go after them,” the captain ordered.
Scott, who was already on his way, grunted, “Aye, Captain.”
“An’ what exactly you s’pose he do when he catches ‘em?” DelMonde mused.
The pressure of other minds was somehow easier to bear. Noel had no idea why this would be so for him, but the reason for his dark half’s sudden immunity was clear: DelMonde didn’t care about the myriad of details that flooded him from others’ thoughts, except for how he could use that information. Noel found himself wondering if the pull of his empathy against that calculating mind was part of the reason. He now could feel but put away the emotions around him rather than fight against using them to his own advantage.
He glanced at the others in the turbolift, clearly seeing the angels and demons that floated around each of them. His aunt had explained this to him long ago, that he was an open channel, but with the power to block out any unwanted possession. She’d told him that with just a little training, he could be a first-rate houngan, a healer and a guide for others, that he would be able to release those demons and let the angels come into a person’s spirit. At the time, he hadn’t wanted to know. The loss of his mother was too raw, too painful. But now, he could see the truth of it, and he fought with the urge to help those around him: to gently remove Jim Kirk’s stubborn fear that to let any woman close to him would destroy his ability to be a captain; to fill the Vulcan with the truth of his people’s real strength so that he could master his emotions and not ignore them; to let the Human version understand the nobility of his heritage, that Humanity was nothing to be ashamed of. And most of all, he wanted to enfold the Human part of the woman he still loved in comfort and acceptance, to tell her that she was important, she was adored for her own unique qualities, that she was not less for not being Antari. But he knew, too well, that to interfere with another’s will without their permission, even for their own good, was the way of a bokor.
He heard his twin snorting again, and knew that his thoughts were being evaluated as cunningly as those of the others.
“You not able t’ use me,” he murmured to him. “I got ways…”
“You gonna put a root on me?” Del broke in with a sarcastic smirk.
“You know we never learn how,” Noel replied.
“An’ you know I not need no hoodoo t’…” the other shot back.
“But I surely can protect these good people,” Noel told him, his voice strong but with no hint of malice.
“After you tell th' hurricane to shut up,” Del chuckled coldly.
“He a danger,” Noel said grimly. “His voice got th’ power.”
Del leaned over and whispered, “So do mine,” then straightened again, staring straight ahead, but with a smile playing at his lips.
Noel sighed. He was going to have to research the Old Religion.
Jeremy was sitting next to Jilla, trying his best to soothe her. Kam had left, he wasn’t sure when. Sulu had been guided to his Sickbay bed, clearly not at all aware of his surroundings, and when Jilla had seen him, she’d started weeping again. Jade was studying the readouts over Sulu’s bed, frowning, while McCoy was studying Sulu’s academy psych tests. Both were looking for some way to give the helmsman a way other than Kam to block out the unbearable memories, Paget knew, just as he knew they weren’t going to find anything. He’d been Sulu’s unofficial shrink and doctor a lot longer than either one of them had. He found himself wishing he had psych tests of Cal’s to study. Knowing from Dreamland that the sick-fuck had been considered a first-rate test subject for the xenoneurophene and amyneurophene, he had to wonder if there were still some psychic connection between Sulu and the bastard. The thought that the ‘voice’ Sulu heard may not be entirely memory made Jeremy’s blood run cold.
“So much fear...” Jilla was sobbing. “It will destroy him! Jeremy, we must do something, we must help…!” Her voice choked off, a string of Indiian moans replacing the Anglo words.
“Hush, Lady,” Paget murmured. “We’ll find some way, I promise…” His attention was drawn to the opening of the Sickbay door, Captain Kirk and Spock stepping inside. He rose at the sight of the Human Spock carrying his Human wife. McCoy glanced up from the computer, then he, too rose, hurrying over to Ruth.
Then Jeremy froze as two versions of Noel DelMonde entered behind them.
“Jesus fucking Christ!” he groaned. The DelMonde with long, plaited hair and coffee-colored skin glanced at him, a warm smile lighting his already almost-glowing features.
“Jeremy!” he exclaimed, and moved forward. He stopped almost immediately, his head turning sharply in Sulu’s direction. “Mere de duin, he possédé!” he gasped.
The words tore at Jeremy’s heart, the Cajun’s exclamation cementing the terrible thought he had just been entertaining.
“Non, mon ami,” Del soothed quickly. “It not that, not th’ charonge. It a loa.”
The engineer moved quickly to the side of Sulu’s bed, murmuring some words Jeremy couldn’t understand, passing his hands over Sulu’s body in some intricate pattern.
“It not remove th’ root,” Del murmured, “but it give him some protection till I can find out how.”
“Superstitious bullshit,” the other DelMonde said contemptuously, and Jeremy shivered with the power in his voice. He glanced at him, seeing all that was the worst of his friend in the coal-black eyes. He was caught by the returned stare, and it suddenly became very difficult to swallow.
“What in Sam Hill happened here!” McCoy snapped, and the spell woven by the DelMondes was broken.
“We have ourselves another set of twins, Bones,” Jim Kirk answered wearily.
“Oh good lord,” Jade sighed.
The softer version of Noel DelMonde was already moving from Sulu’s bed, his gaze fixed on Jilla.
“There, there, petit,” he soothed. “You feel too much, an’ you not used to it no more. Th’ Vulcan part o’ you made it easy t’ get lazy. But you an Imperial child, you got th’ strength in you.”
Jeremy watched as Jilla visibly calmed, her grey eyes widening as Del’s aura seemed to surround her.
“What been done is done, cher,” he continued. “You gotta face it someday, but not today. You gotta find it in you to go on, fo’ his sake.” He gave a gentle nod in Sulu’s direction. “He need you, an’ you forgave him, so you got a duty now. I know what you feel, petit, an' I know how much it hurt, how hard it is. You jus’ let all that pain flow t’ me now, an’ I take it, like you always take mine.”
Jilla cried out and Del enfolded her in his arms, stroking her hair as she wept.
“You best watch yourself, son,” the other DelMonde smirked. “Th’ hurricane gonna feel that, an' he not be too happy ‘bout it, I guarantee.”
“Where is Kam?” Jade asked abruptly.
DelMonde chuckled. “Teachin’ his Vulcan some manners, I expect.”
Jade’s eyes widened in alarm. “James…” she began.
“Scotty’s on it,” the captain assured her. “We’ve got to decide what to do with Mr. DelMonde and Mr. Duhon.”
Duhon. His mama’s name, Jeremy thought, and the split in his friend made sudden, dire sense.
Scotty rushed to catch up with Kam and Jilla, reaching out and grabbing the helmsman’s arm.
“Just what d’ye think you’re doin’ Mr. Sulu!” he demanded harshly. “Ye’d best be lettin’ go of the lass!”
Kam turned, narrowing his eyes and Scott froze, his hand dropping, the cacophony rising in his brain both painful and inescapable.
“Husband, there is no need for such coercion,” Jilla stated. She turned to her Chief. “Mr. Scott, I am his wife. I am his to command.”
“Not if he’s thinkin’ to do ye harm,” Scott managed.
“Yes, even then,” the Vulcan returned. She turned her gaze back to Kam. “I hear and obey,” she murmured, waiting for him to glance at her, then dropping her eyes with proper deference.
Kam grinned at her. “Now why do you forget that when you’re around Spock?” he asked, the pleasant tone of his voice hiding the clear, dark menace.
“I do not,” Jilla responded. “You see what does not exist.”
“Liar,” Kam snarled. “Or are you going to deny you’re still tied to him?”
“Of course not,” she answered. “But we both recognize that my choice supersedes the inadvertent …”
“Inadvertent? You went after him like – well, not ‘like,’ AS a bitch in heat.”
“There’s no call to be talkin’ to her that way,” Scott interrupted.
Kam let go of Jilla’s arm and took a step towards the Chief Engineer. “I’ll talk to her any way I fucking please,” he growled. “And unless you’re prepared to stop me, I’d suggest you mind your own fucking business.”
Scott’s jaw tightened and he raised his fists. “I’m prepared, if it comes to that, lad,” he replied. “You’re fast, aye, but I’ve not survived thirty years o’ bar- brawlin’ by bein’ a weakling.”
Kam stared at him, then burst out laughing. “You’d really do it, wouldn’t you?” he said at last. “I wonder what my little one has done to inspire such loyalty.”
“Husband!” Jilla said in shocked protest. “You are not seriously suggesting…!”
“No, he’s not your type,” Kam returned with a pointed stare. “You prefer tall, green and dead.”
Jilla again dropped her gaze, only a slight greening of her ears and cheeks giving evidence of her discomfort.
“So what’s it to be, then?” Scott asked belligerently. “D’ye let the lassie go or…?”
Kam opened his mouth to reply, then his head abruptly jerked up. “Fuck, I can’t trust either of you!” he snarled. He started down the corridor, calling over his shoulder, “I’m not finished with you, Jilla,” and continued toward the turbolift.
After he’d gone, Scott heaved a sigh of relief. “You’re all right, lassie?” he said to Jilla.
“Mr. Scott, while I appreciate your intention, I must ask you not to interfere again,” Jilla replied. “Sulu is my husband, I am his wife. I am honor and duty bound to obey him.”
Scott frowned at her. “This is th’ damn two-steps-behind Vulcan wife thing, aye?”
“Yes. And even if you do not understand it, you should respect it,” she replied, then turned and walked away, leaving the engineer scowling after her.
“How did this happen, Jim?” McCoy asked as Jade checked the monitor over Sulu’s bed.
Jim shook his head. “We suspect the Antari Ruth Valley did a little falsifying of the last set of test results, and when Mr. DelMonde tried to transport…”
“That girl’s a menace,” the doctor muttered. “What happened to Ruthie?”
“Seeing DelMonde frightened her,” the Vulcan Spock answered.
“It was more than that,” the Human version broke in, “but I’m not sure what. She sensed something – dangerous. And no, Bones, I don’t know what or how.” McCoy reacted to the unfamiliar usage of his nickname, and the Human smiled at him. The Vulcan frowned.
“Be that as it may,” he said, “our first priority is deciding what to do with the newly created doubles.”
“I not appreciate bein’ talked about like I not here,” the dark version of DelMonde said, and though his voice was as lazy as always, there was a coldness behind it.
Jim shivered, but otherwise ignored his reaction. “Dr. Han, what do you suggest?” he asked.
Jade sighed. “They both seem rational and functional,” she replied. “Since we’ve allowed the other rational twins to work on a solution to this problem…”
“I always liked you, petit verde,” DelMonde returned with a smile that while not in any way warm was alluring nonetheless.
Jade glanced at him without comment, then turned to his twin. “Mr. DelMonde…” she began, then corrected herself. “Duhon, since you seem to be able to help our patients here, would you object to remaining in Sickbay?”
“Can I use th’ computer?” he asked. “I got some t’ings I wanna study up on.”
DelMonde snorted as Jade answered, “Of course.”
“Then I free t’ go t’ my cabin?” DelMonde returned.
“Which one of you is the engineer?” McCoy wanted to know.
“I am,” they both replied.
“Then at least one of you will be working with Mr. Scott,” Jim rejoined. “We’ve got to get this problem solved.”
“I need to try an’ speak wit’ Raw-eth,” Noel put in. “If we not get her to help…”
“Or at least to stop interfering,” the Human Spock added, and Noel nodded an acknowledgement.
“Then nothing we do is going to be effective anyway,” Jim conceded. “Right.” He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. “Mr. DelMonde, if you would check in with Miss Gollub in Chemistry and let her know what happened?”
“I surely will,” DelMonde answered with another chilling smile, and left Sickbay.
“Jim, was that wise?” the Human Spock asked. “If he is dangerous…”
“I know, I know,” the captain said, “but there’s just too much going on right now. Miss Gollub can handle herself. We’ve got to find some way to get Miss Valley in here and talking to us.”
The door to Sickbay opened again, and Kam stalked into the room.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” he announced, glaring at everyone in the room. “Jilla is mine – both of them. No one – and I mean no one - touches them. Period. You got me, Duhon?”
Noel stared at him, unperturbed. “I thought I tol’ you t’ shut your mouth, AgauBade,” he said evenly.
“You think…” Kam began, then stopped, his hand going involuntarily to his throat.
“You got no power over me,” Noel continued. “An’ I do got some over you. So you remember that an’ behave yourself.”
“Just stay away from my woman,” Kam snarled.
“When you help her, I will,” was the steady reply.
“Kam, he was just trying to calm her…” Jeremy put in quietly.
“No one asked you, sweetheart,” Kam cut in pointedly.
Paget fell silent and on the Sickbay bed where Spock had placed her, Ruth suddenly sat up.
“Spock?” she asked nervously.
“I’m here, beloved,” the Human replied soothingly.
“I apologize fo’ disturbin’ you, Raw-eth,” Noel said to her. “I do what I can to stop th’ tension you feelin’.”
Her brown eyes gazed at him. “Del, I…”
He smiled gently. “Noel, please. An’ it all right. I understand.”
“Someone get me an emesis tray,” Kam muttered.
“All right,” Jim announced, “we’ve all got work to do. Mr. – Kamikaze, I want you to stay in Sickbay – to help Mrs. Majiir,” he added, forestalling the inevitable protest. “Spock, both of you, get to Sciences and try to figure out a real solution. Ruth, if you’re feeling up to it, please join them. Jade, Bones, keep working on a way to help Jilla and Mr. Sulu. Mr. Duhon, do – whatever it is you need to do to try and get Miss Valley – the Antari Miss Valley – to talk to you. I’ll be on the Bridge, coordinating with the Hood and the Constitution.”
There were murmured assents from most of the people in Sickbay. Spock left with Jim, his Human half making sure his wife was recovered before helping her to her feet and leaving the room with her. Kam sauntered over to Jilla, smiling coldly at her, but taking her into his arms. Jade and McCoy went to his office.
And Jeremy followed Noel Duhon to the computer terminal.
Jeremy was silent while Noel quietly asked the computer for information on the New Orleans style of voudun. When the computer didn’t understand the Cajun’s ‘nawliyawn,’ he leaned over and said clearly “New Orleans, Louisiana, North American continent, Terra.”
Noel grinned at him. “It not understand Anglo?” he said with a wry grin.
Paget chuckled. “Not with your accent, N.C.”
The handsome man cocked his head, his hair shifting over his shoulders. “Whyfo’ you always call me that, Jer?” he asked.
Jeremy blinked. “Well, it’s your initials.”
“But ever’body else call me ‘Del’ or ‘Noel.’”
“So I like to be unique,” the TerAfrican shrugged.
Noel smiled, a warm, teasing light in his chocolate brown eyes. “You surely are that, mon ami.”
Jeremy pulled up another chair as Noel scanned the information running on the computer screen. After several minutes, he took a breath.
“So, who is he?” he asked.
“You not gonna ask who I am?” Noel replied without looking up.
“I think I know you,” Paget answered.
“Then you know him too.” The warm eyes sought his. “You always suspected he was there.”
“I didn't expect him to be telepathic,” Jeremy admitted, without either confirming or denying the statement.
Noel gave an apologetic shrug, turning back to the screen. “Yeah. My daddy barely has enough gift t’ say so. But it still there. He t’ink he jus’ smart. Able to work out what people t’inkin’. He not ever been one to acknowledge he get much help on anyt’ing.”
Jeremy thought about this for a moment, before asking, “So this other you -- is like your father?”
“He th’ road not taken, mon ami,” Noel answered with a sigh of soft regret. “After my mama passed... It were hard fo’ us. I know that for regular people, death is a hard t’ing. Losin’ someone you love is th’ biggest pain there can be. But when you got gift... ah, it even worse.” He glanced up again, meeting Jeremy’s gaze. “See, our minds get all tied up together. When someone you joined together wit’ in that way die, part o’ you die. An’ it hurt. An’ you walk ‘round actin’ like your soul is all messed up. Or like you not got no soul no more.”
“But if your father was even a little telepathic…” Paget began.
“Me an’ my daddy always had problems,” Noel went on, as if Jeremy hadn’t spoken. “He thought he not good ‘nough to be wit’ my mama. An’ I always knowed he not. Neither one o’ us like the ways we was like each other. Seein’ that, feelin’ that, was like sandpaper on th’ brain fo’ us. Couldn't stand the feelin’.”
“I’ve never heard you talk much about him,” Jeremy commented. “Certainly not sympathetically.”
Noel shrugged, but again, didn’t address what his friend had said. “My mama had heart problems. She literally born wit’ a heart that was too big. She a strong woman, but she need a quiet peaceful life. My daddy thought he could give that to her, but he couldn't. He had... family obligations...” He fell silent, and Jeremy nodded knowingly.
“Mafia?” he said, just to confirm his suspicions.
Noel chuckled. “Oh, Jeremy, you know I gonna tell you now that there not no such t’ing as the Mafia.”
Jeremy gave an answering laugh. “Right.”
Noel sobered immediately. “He really did try to give all that up fo’ her like she ask him to, like he promise to,” the Cajun continued. “But, obligation a tricky t'ing. It always poppin’ up when you leas’ expect it. An’ he wanted a certain type o’ life fo’ himself an’ fo’ my mama that he not willin’ t’ compromise on. They was t’ings he had to do to get that life. He done t’ings to protect her... to protect me too... that ended up hurtin’ her down th’ road. He never much good at seein’ down th’ road...”
“And the other you is like that?” Paget prompted. “A person who wants what he wants when he wants it?”
“Yeah,” Noel affirmed ruefully. “After my mama die, the two o’ us – my daddy an’ me,” he clarified wryly, “hate each other like you not able to imagine. I t’inking she die from the pain o’ bein’ wit’ him. He t’inking she die ‘cause o’ all the trouble takin’ care o’ me. We both know what the other t’ink. We both walkin’ ‘round wit’ chunks o’ our soul ripped open an’ bleedin’. We both sit there at th’ breakfast table t’inkin’, ‘If I had an axe handle in my hand, I beat your head in.’ So I run off, try to go live wit’ my mama's people. But most o’ them was big into th’ Old Religion.”
“Voudun?” Jeremy guessed.
“Some people call it that. An’ you know ‘nough ‘bout that to know if you strong wit’ the gift like me, you can't be ‘round those that practice if you ain't part of it.
Paget nodded. “And you weren't.”
Noel shook his head. “No, an’ wit’ the big holes in my soul, I not in no shape t’ start at that point.” He chuckled again. “’Though there were plenty who want me to pretty bad.” He sighed, then took a deep breath and went on. “On th’ other side, my daddy's ‘family obligations’ start seein’ me out at th’ clubs while I out runnin’ wild an’ start to get some ideas. One day, when I have crawled back home to sober up, lick my wounds, an’ get a change o’ clothes, my daddy say to me, ‘If you can wise up, learn to keep your damn mouth closed an’ play ball, you an’ me could be set fo’ life.’”
“And did you?” Jeremy asked, with a smile, already knowing the answer.
Noel gazed directly into his eyes, but there was no challenge there, just warm regard. “Jeremy, you know good an’ well if there was ever three t’ings I can never do they are a) wise up, b) keep my damn mouth closed, an’ c) play ball.”
“But your father thought you would?”
The laughter was spontaneous and genuine. “Hell, he always know me as good as I know myself. But his family say, ‘Starve him out. Sooner or later, he gonna get hungry. Gonna wanna come ‘round an’ eat at our table.’ So that how it was when you met me -- Nobody wanna take me in, I couldn't get no job that would pay. Not’ing would work out fo’ me. I couldn't see no way out fo’ myself. To tell the truth, 'bout the time you met me, I was gettin’ awful hungry.”
“And we're not talking about the way you inhaled those beignets I bought you,” Jeremy recalled.
Noel’s serious face was back. “No, we not. My daddy used to laugh an’ say, ‘Don't know what you so scared of. It not like they gonna ask you to murder someone... on th’ firs’ day.’”
“Doesn't seem very funny to me,” Paget said, just as serious.
“Not to me neither,” Noel agreed, then fell silent again as he studied the information on the screen.
Jeremy again leaned forward. “Anything I can help you with?” he asked.
Noel turned his head. “Now what you know ‘bout voudun, Jeremy?”
“You’d be surprised,” the TerAfrican answered.
The Cajun studied him for a moment, then said, “Non, I not t’ink I be surprised at all.”
Their eyes met and Jeremy sat back. “Well, go on and have a look see,” he offered, and let himself relax into the exploration of Noel Duhon’s mind.
“Wasn’t that hilarious?” ani Ramy’s voice said as she suddenly appeared at the foot of Jilla’s bed.
Kam stared at her. “No, actually, it wasn’t,” he said. “It isn’t. Did you know Monsieur Duhon is a threat to me?”
The Antari batted her eyelashes. “Sweet little Christmas?” she asked. “He wouldn’t hurt a fly, oh most divine of winds.”
“But he can is my point,” Kam returned, unsmiling.
She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “But he won’t is mine,” she retorted. More quickly than she could react – though I could have if I really wanted to, she told herself – Kam had his fist wrapped around her hair, pulling her head toward him.
“He tells me to shut up, and I can’t speak,” he hissed menacingly. “He’s immune to anything I throw at him. Hell, he doesn’t even feel it!” He glared into her eyes, holding her gaze through sheer force of will. “Did you know he would be able to do that?”
Ani Ramy blinked, her smile never fading. “Take your hands off me, Kamikaze,” she said brightly, “or I’ll fry your brain like the omelets you love so much.”
“And lose your only ally?” Kam returned in the same tone. “Somehow, I don’t think so.”
“Please, stop!” Jilla gasped suddenly.
“Now look, you’ve upset your little one,” the Antari crooned.
“And you mention this why?” Kam snarled.
Ani Ramy shrugged. “Well, if you don’t care, I certainly don’t.”
Jilla began sobbing, and Kam let go of the Antari’s hair to give the Indiian’s face a caress that was more than half a slap.
“I don’t have time for this now, Jilla,” he told her.
Tears streaking her face, she whispered, “Sumin tu,” and curled up beneath the bed sheet.
“It was necessary, you know,” ani Ramy commented as she inspected her nails.
“And why would that be, as if I didn’t know?” Kam replied.
“Two chances at seduction are much better odds, don’t you think?”
“And giving the Vulcan two chances to break your precious Del’s neck is such a rush,” Kam sneered.
“And you mention this why?” she taunted with a wicked grin.
Kam returned it. “Well, if you don’t care, I certainly don’t,” he retorted.
“Except I think you do,” the Antari said as she leaned close to him. “You want him punished, don’t you?”
Kam studied her for a minute. “Revenge is a dish best served cold,” he murmured. “Can you guarantee the damned houngan won’t stop me?”
She laughed. “Oh, I think I can occupy his talented little brain well enough.”
“In that case, I just might forgive you your little joke,” he informed her with a deliciously evil smile.
She giggled and held out a hand. “Then we have a deal, Kamikaze?”
Kam took it, raising it to his lips. “Done, ani Ramy,” he returned, then let his teeth sink ever so slightly into her flesh.
She shivered, “Ooh, you’re such a naughty boy,” she breathed, then vanished.
“You can ask Jeremy or Sakura how much pleasure I give with the pain,” he called after her. “And remember - you can heal whatever I do.”
Her lascivious chuckle floated back to him, and he smiled, then pulled the sheet off of Jilla’s trembling body.
“And that’s a truth you know all too well, isn’t it, honey?” he murmured, and proceeded to prove it to her once again.
Noel interrupted his careful exploration of the knowledge in Jeremy’s mind to throw a plea in the direction of the Antari whose presence he could so easily feel.
Come to me, cher, I need to talk to you!
Now there’s an invitation I can’t resist, came back to him, and she materialized in front of him, waving a hand in Paget’s startled face.
“Go to sleep, Cobra,” she suggested, and the TerAfrican’s head dropped to his chest.
Noel frowned disapprovingly. “No need fo’ that, Raw-eth,” he said.
Ani Ramy pouted. “And here I thought you wanted to be alone with me.”
“I do, you know that,” he replied, “but it not gonna happen.”
The Antari moved seductively toward him, settling herself in his lap, entwining her arms around him as her hair began a little dance with his.
“She likes the new look,” she murmured, and leaned in so that her lips were a fraction of an inch from his. “So do I.”
Noel pulled his head back. “It still not gonna happen,” he said calmly.
“Why not?” she breathed, again leaning closer.
“’Cause you married, cher. An’ I got my honor.”
Ani Ramy pushed away. “I am NOT!” she snapped.
Noel shrugged. “I t’ink your husband dispute that,” he said. “But that not what I need t’ talk to you ‘bout.”
“Oh?" She glared at him.
“Babe, you gotta stop messin’ wit’ th’ chem tests. You gotta let them find a way t’ end this.”
The Antari laughed. “Why on earth – or this starship since we’re not actually on Earth – would I want to do that?”
“It hurtin’ all the people you used to care ‘bout,” he answered sincerely. “In th’ long run it gonna hurt you, too”
“Oh, I don’t think there’s much chance of that,” she returned airily.
He cocked his head at her. “You not consider that we – th’ splits – might not be stable?” he asked.
“No. Why would I?”
“’Cause no one can live as half a person,” he said quietly. “You should know that best of all.”
Gently, he sent back to her the memories she had once given him, all the pain of her first years on Terra, the grief at feeling unwanted and unloved by both her Antari and her Human grandmothers. He sent the despair of trying not to be what she now was; healer, keheil, accepting her skills for what they were, true gifts. And he sent her the soaring power that only happened when the blending of everything she was was adored in its entirety, telepathy and empathy, yes, but also Human compassion and caring and the sweet peace of completion.
You’re telling me you know that peace when Del’s with you? she accused harshly.
Non, he admitted softly. But that my cross t’ bear. Look what it doin’ to Jilla, to Sulu an’ Kam…
The Vulcan is thrilled, she countered.
I know, he replied. But he as wrong ‘bout it as you are.
No. He’s not.
Noel sighed. Jus’ t’ink ‘bout it, cher. Let ‘em try an’ fix it. They may not be able to, but it only right to give ‘em an honest chance. You know that what th’ Zehara’d say.
I’m not talking to her, ani Ramy said sullenly.
“Then have a good life as a sauvrn nex’ time ‘round,” he said aloud.
That gave her pause, and she chewed her lower lip. “Okay, you have a point,” she said at last. “I’ll let them try. Not that it will do any good anyway.”
Noel smiled at her. “That all I ask, cher.”
She scowled. “When did you get so honest?” she muttered.
I always honest wit’ you, he replied.
No, you’re not.
He chuckled ruefully. I was, he countered. It him who not.
“Well, I’ll have to see about that, won’t I?”
“Jus’ be careful ‘round him,” Noel warned. “He a lot stronger separate than we was together.”
“So you do care,” she murmured, her gaze soft.
“Always have,” he admitted. “Jus’ not like…”
She placed her fingers against his lips. “Don’t spoil the mood,” she whispered, then kissed him, vanishing as she did so. The taste of her lingered on his lips, and he closed his eyes and let memory take him for a measured moment, then prepared himself to deal with Jeremy’s expected and well-earned fear.
The equipment running in the lab was making enough noise so that Daphne Gollub didn't hear whoever it was who came up behind her before he’d put two strong hands around her waist.
The smile on her face froze when a voice with a heavy accent whispered in her ear, "Guess who, cher."
She pulled away frowning. "Okay, not my first guess..."
He didn't let her get far. "Not’ing like a nice surprise, is there?"
Something was definitely wrong here. Not only was Del acting weird, he looked... different. "So...." she began uneasily. "The transporter test went well?"
He smiled and nuzzled her neck in a manner that was far more possessive than affectionate. "Even better than expected."
When she tried to pull away again, the engineer wrapped his arms even more commandingly around her. A cold chill began to form in the pit of the chemist's stomach.
"Hey," she said as lightly as possible. "You wouldn't be Evil Del, would you?"
"Do I seem evil t’ you, cher?" he asked her, his breath hot against her ear.
"Okay," she said, trying to remain calm as she looked around desperately for something she could use to defend herself if necessary. "Let me put it another way -- Has the Enterprise doubled its Noel DelMonde enrollment? Is it two-for-one day at the Del store? Was it bring-your-doppleganger-to-work day? Have we experienced a 100% increase in Cajun-ness?"
"You so funny, cher,” he said, although he did not laugh. “That one o’ th’ two t’ings I always like ‘bout you. You remember th’ other, huh?"
"Yeah,” she said, trying once more to disentangle herself. “About that..."
"The t’ing we need t’ talk ‘bout is that I like t’ings the way they are,” he said, holding her firmly in place. “An’ I like them t’ stay that way. So you can jus’ relax wit’ all this stuff here. We not needin’ no solution any time soon."
"I don't think too many other people on board will be particularly thrilled with that idea."
He chuckled. "You jus’ let me take care o’ that, n'est ce pas?"
"And if I don't?"
Putting a hand under her jaw, the engineer turned her face towards him. "I would consider that a betrayal, darlin’,” he informed her, his black eyes glittering. “I might be tempted to get me a li’l revenge."
"Revenge?" she choked.
"We known each other a long time, cher." Keeping one arm around her, Del used his other hand to line up three glass vials on the countertop of her workstation. "T’ink ‘bout all the t’ings ‘bout you that your boyfriend don't know." A montage of questionable moments from her sexual history lit up Daffy's brain while the engineer poured the vial half full of a green liquid. "Now t’ink about all that your captain don't know." Images of a host of examples of conduct less than becoming of an officer filled her mind as Del poured a yellow chemical into the next vial. "You can even t’ink ‘bout all the t’ings ‘bout you that Starfleet not know." A quick pictorial review of all the questionable associations from her youth were marched through her conscious as the Cajun filled the last vial. "Now we t’ink ‘bout all the t’ings I know ‘bout you." The chemicals began to sizzle and boil as Del combined the contents of all three into one container.
"Blackmail in Technicolor," she said, trying to sound more ironically impressed than terrified.
"I not blackmailin’ nobody, cher. I jus’ offerin’ you a choice."
"And what if I say the hell with that and tell everyone anyway?" Daffy's voice didn't sound as brave as she would have liked it to.
"Oh, that up to you," he replied mildly. "It your decision, darlin’. I let people make they own decisions – unlike our friend ani Ramy who have done pulled a li’l trick on us an’ brought ‘bout this happy state o’ affairs."
"That bitch made me misread the results?"
"She had a nice li’l joke on us all.” He smiled grimly. “I more serious here. I t’inking ‘bout long term solutions."
"And if my long-term solutions are different than yours?"
"That your choice, darlin',” he said, returning his hands to her body. “You gotta remember though, that choices brings consequences. I can play some neat li’l tricks too. Get people to do some t’ings that they might sorta half-wanna do. T’ings that could be pretty hard t’ explain."
Gollub wasn’t sure how much the engineer helped create the vision in her mind of him bending her over the workstation – of something no one would believe was an assault after she began reciprocating and begging for more.
"Del..." she pleaded, cold fear gripping her.
He smiled. His arms were warm and strong around her waist. "Care fo’ a quick li’l demonstration?"
"No."
"All right.” He kissed her ear lightly. “I let you off easy this time, non? Because we friends, non?"
She could only muster enough defiance to whisper. "Non."
"Yes, we are, girl.” He turned her face towards him again. “You best remember that. That the mos’ important t’ing you need to be t’inking on. You an’ me are friends. An’ you gonna do li’l t’ings to keep me your friend.” He brushed an escaped tendril of hair back from her forehead. “You keep that straight in your head, Daffodil. Or I might jus’ have to keep it straight fo’ you. You understand me?"
She remained silent.
He smiled and squeezed her jaw a little tighter. "Say ‘yes, Del.’"
Knowing to the very core of her being that she had absolutely no other choice, she replied, "Yes, Del."
"That a start, sugar.” He gave her cheek a rough pat. “That a real nice start. You need to get used to that phrase. You gonna be usin’ it a lot.” He released her and turned her back to her work with a smack to her backside. “Practice up while I gone."
When he left the room, she sank down onto her knees like a puppet whose strings were suddenly cut. "Ohgodohgodohgodohgod!" she pleaded to whatever powers that would listen.
“Spock?”
The Human turned at his wife’s quiet voice. He noticed the Vulcan a few feet ahead of them hesitate, then continue walking toward the Science labs.
“What is it, beloved?”
Ruth’s head was bowed, her fingers nervously pulling at her uniform sleeves. “We have to find a way to fix this,” she said. “What I felt from – Del and…”
“Noel Duhon,” Spock supplied.
“I’m not telepathic anymore, not empathic, so if I can…”
Spock moved closer to her, placing his arms gently around her. “Your father had some limited gifts, did he not?”
She leaned against him, her head nodding against his chest.
“It is likely, then, that you retain some rudimentary skills as well.” He kissed the top of her head. “At any rate, do not discount what you feel, my love.”
“He’s dangerous,” she whispered, then lifted her head to look at him. “Kam’s dangerous. Jilla and Sulu are dying by inches, we already know the trouble my twin will cause….”
Spock waited patiently while she took a deep breath. When tears started in her eyes, he got a lump in his throat.
“This has to end,” Ruth finally managed. “We have to go back to the way we were…” Her voice caught, and she sobbed. “Oh, Spock, I was so hoping that somehow…!”
“Hush now, beloved,” he murmured, again holding her close. “We’ve discussed this. We will still be together….”
“And I’ll only see flashes of you behind the Vulcan façade!” she cried. “You’ll only see pieces of me wrapped in Antari power! Spock, I don’t love him!”
The Human gave her a wistful smile. “You do, my wife,” he countered softly. “You love his strength, his intelligence, the power of his mind…”
“You’re strong, you’re intelligent…!”
“And without him, I’m prone to over-romanticize – or haven’t you noticed?” He gave a rueful smile. “You like it now, I know, but when your career is stalled because I pull you away from your work when I want to make love to you…”
“Damn my career!” Ruth protested. “She’s the one who…!”
“Is she, Ruth?” he asked frankly. “Is she really? You’re in Starfleet because of your Humanness. The keheil doesn’t need it. Whereas in my case…” He paused, a small smile touching his lips. “He’s got all the ambition. When he says he doesn’t desire a command, that he’s content with his scientific duties – well, my love, that’s all me.”
Ruth stared at him, tears falling freely down her cheeks. “I don’t want to lose you,” she whispered. “I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t,” Spock assured. “We’ll just have to remind him that you need me, too.”
“What good will that do?” Ruth pouted.
“All the good in the world,” the Human promised. “Don’t you know that he loves you as much as I do?”
Ruth blinked. “He does?”
“His father’s voice won’t let him tell you now, but…” He shrugged.
Ruth threw her arms around him. “I love you!” she said, her voice fierce.
“And I will love you till the day I die,” he returned. “And if the keheil has anything to say about that, I never will.”
“She doesn’t love you,” Ruth insisted stubbornly.
Spock laughed. “Maybe not now, but when you’re your whole self again… well, beloved, I think you love me enough for both of you.”
He bent his head, kissing her tears away, then, arms around each other, they headed for the Science labs.
“Miss Gollub, why are you not working?” Spock demanded as he stepped into the Chemistry lab. The sight of the Human who was arguably the best chemist on the ship on her knees, pale and trembling, was a definite annoyance, considering the work that had to be done.
“I… I…” Gollub stammered, then shuddered and rose unsteadily to her feet. “I’m sorry Mr. Spock. Del – Noel DelMonde – or one of him…” She swallowed, taking a deep breath. “There are two of him now, right?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” was the calm response.
“Your Antari wife screwed with my test results!” the chemist almost accused.
“I am aware of it.”
“So this isn’t my fault!”
“I do not believe anyone suggested it was.”
Daffy straightened her uniform, her chin lifting defiantly. “Well, Del – Noel DelMonde – one of him – threatened me. He said he doesn’t want me to find a solution.”
Spock lifted one eyebrow. “That would hardly be advisable, Miss Gollub.”
“You think I don’t know that?” the chemist retorted. “But just who’s gonna save my ass when he…”
“Daffy, what’s wrong?” Ruth Valley said as she and the Human Spock stepped into the lab.
“Mr. DelMonde has threatened her,” the Vulcan replied.
Ruth immediately crossed to her friend, giving her a comforting hug. “Oh, Daf, I’m so sorry!”
Gollub’s eyes widened a little, then a smile quirked at her lips and she returned the embrace.
“Good to see you, Mensch,” she whispered.
“What, exactly, did he say to you, Daffy?” the Human Spock asked.
The chemist stared, then, instead of answering, stated, “Ooh, he’s a cutie!” to Ruth.
Ruth smiled. “Yeah, I know.”
The Vulcan frowned. “Miss Gollub?”
“Oh, yeah.” Daffy straightened. “Del – Noel DelMonde – one of him – said that he had lots of blackmail material to use against me if I went against him. He said he could get people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do if I ‘betrayed’ him.” Her fingers made quote marks in the air. “And people, I gotta tell ya – I believe him.”
“He can be very cruel when he wants to be,” Ruth murmured, her voice containing equal measures of sorrow and fear.
“Nevertheless,” the Vulcan began, “we cannot allow his threats to end our endeavors.”
“Yeah?” Daffy asked. “And just what does he know about you?”
“That is hardly…”
“For Humans, it is,” the Human Spock told his counterpart. “But there are ways around it.”
Ruth stared hopefully at him, while Daffy folded her arms. The Vulcan’s eyebrows took on a disdainful angle.
“First,” the Human Spock began, “we deal with the immediate threat – he told you not to work on a solution, right?”
Daffy nodded. “He destroyed all my solvent trials, too.”
The Human Spock smiled. “But he didn’t erase your memory of the formulas.”
“Nope.”
“So you can tell Ruth, and she can recreate them.”
“Spock, that’s only a technicality…” Ruth said. Her husband held up a hand.
“I know, and it won’t hold for long, but it will last long enough for us to begin to deal with his other threats.”
“Indeed?” the Vulcan put in.
The Human took a breath, facing Gollub directly. “What he might tell Pavel is the biggest concern, yes?”
The chemist didn’t speak, but her flush conveyed her answer.
“So you and I will go have a talk with Pavel, while my other self assists Ruth.”
“Logical,” came the grudging response from the Vulcan.
The Human grinned. “Why thank you, Mr. Spock,” he said.
“The solvent worked to clean everything,” Daffy volunteered. “It’s just that it didn’t deactivate whatever’s reacting with the loony juice.”
“Then we’re already a leg up,” the Human Spock encouraged.
Daffy gave him a tentative smile – which he returned in full measure. She shook her head, then spoke quickly and quietly to Ruth, giving her the formula for the solvent, ending with, “…and you’re really willing to give up that walking piece of heaven?”
“Willing, no,” Ruth replied sadly. “But it’s what has to be.”
“You’re truly a mensch, Mensch,” Gollub returned.
“Just remember he’s in there when he’s back together, okay?”
“Will you be in there when you’re back together?” the chemist wondered.
Ruth made a face, and Daffy shrugged, then took a fortifying breath and turned to the Human Spock.
“Come on, handsome,” she said with faux bravado. “Let’s get this show on the road.”